Map of the Week
Radical Atlas of Ferguson, USA
Coming out this summer from Belt Publishing (publishers of the "50 Maps" book series on Cleveland,...
7 months ago
Coming out this summer from Belt Publishing (publishers of the "50 Maps" book series on Cleveland, Detroit and Buffalo) is the Radical Atlas of Ferguson, USA.
"Ferguson, Missouri, became the epicenter of America’s racial tensions
after the 2014 murder of Michael Brown and the...
Maps Mania
The Unknown Pleasures of Population Density
a year ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Graduated
It seemed like just yesterday that Twelve Mile Circle chronicled the kid who designed an imaginary...
7 months ago
It seemed like just yesterday that Twelve Mile Circle chronicled the kid who designed an imaginary town and counted various forms of transportation. Now my elementary aged student is all grown up, a newly-minted university graduate. Those interceding years passed much more...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 4 (Japan: Exploring Tokyo)
Sure, the tourists sites were great, but Twelve Mile Circle readers know I like to follow tangents...
a year ago
Sure, the tourists sites were great, but Twelve Mile Circle readers know I like to follow tangents even when I do that. I’m always on the hunt for the unusual, or at least the unusual to me. I’m sure everything seemed perfectly normal to anyone from Japan. So I made sure I...
Maps Mania
Have You Earned Your Air Pollution Stripes?
4 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Detour to Ashtabula
About two and a half years ago I planned to capture three unvisited counties at the far northeastern...
6 months ago
About two and a half years ago I planned to capture three unvisited counties at the far northeastern corner of Ohio. Unfortunately it didn’t happen due to a snowstorm that dumped about a foot of snow on the target area. So instead I changed my plans and focused on Michigan’s...
Map of the Week
Mauna Loa Lava Maps
Sure, there are cool livestreams of the Mauna Loa volcano you can watch, but even better, you can...
over a year ago
Sure, there are cool livestreams of the Mauna Loa volcano you can watch, but even better, you can see live maps of the lava flow.
Here is yesterday's status map from the U.S. Geological Survey
The dark red in these maps shows the new lava flow from the last 24 hours. It is...
Maps Mania
Who are Your Neighbors Donating to?
a month ago
Maps Mania
The National Stereotypes Maps - Part Two
a year ago
Maps Mania
Unlocking America’s Visual Time Machine
a year ago
somethingaboutmaps
Leopard Map Disassembly
Friends, it’s been a long while since I last wrote up a walkthrough of one of my mapping projects....
a year ago
Friends, it’s been a long while since I last wrote up a walkthrough of one of my mapping projects. So, today, let’s break down a piece that I made earlier this year for Scientific American magazine. This is actually the first of three pieces that I’ve made for Scientific American...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 9 (Atypical London)
Before we left on our trip to England I promised everyone in the family that we would visit at least...
4 months ago
Before we left on our trip to England I promised everyone in the family that we would visit at least one thing they absolutely wanted to see. We completed that for the younger kid at Tankfest. Two more bucket list destinations happened during our first full day in London. We’re...
Adventures In...
How to Make this Animated Map of Blue Whale Migration
I have a deep admiration for the stirrings inside animals that drive them to undertake...
a year ago
I have a deep admiration for the stirrings inside animals that drive them to undertake thousands-of-miles journeys to far flung locations, and back, in concert with the passage of the our earth around its sun. I’ve reflected on it in writing what became a surprisingly...
Maps Mania
Mapping Gaza's Destroyed Buildings
10 months ago
Maps Mania
How Well Do You Know New York's Subway?
a year ago
Maps Mania
Reconstructing the Ancient Trade Routes
11 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
2024 Freelance Rate Survey Results
Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year’s survey of freelance cartographer...
2 months ago
Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year’s survey of freelance cartographer rates and business practices! Our apologies for the delay in posting the results; life has been busy for both Aly and myself. Before we get to the survey results, here are some handy...
Map of the Week
The Whataburger Power Outage Map
When Hurricane Beryl struck Texas last week it left nearly 2 million Houston area residents and...
5 months ago
When Hurricane Beryl struck Texas last week it left nearly 2 million Houston area residents and businesses without power. Local power company Center Point Energy's online power outage map has been unavailable since May. Social media user BBQBryan noted that Texas based...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Great American Beer Festival (and More)
I hinted at ulterior motives in the last article about my long weekend in Denver. I didn’t travel...
a month ago
I hinted at ulterior motives in the last article about my long weekend in Denver. I didn’t travel all the way out there just to casually tour around. Indeed, I had a very specific purpose in mind — checking off a bucket list item in fact — attending the Great American Beer...
Map of the Week
Parking Lot Map
The Parking Lot Map is a project of the Parking Reform Project, an organization dedicated to climate...
a year ago
The Parking Lot Map is a project of the Parking Reform Project, an organization dedicated to climate action, safer streets and housing affordability. The map explores how much land in the central area of the major cities of the United States is dedicated to parking. On average...
Adventures In...
Make this 3D printed globe please
Ah, it’s that time of year when we geographers pour ourselves a steaming mug of hot coffee and place...
a year ago
Ah, it’s that time of year when we geographers pour ourselves a steaming mug of hot coffee and place a stroopwafel over it until the caramel is nice and gooey and take the hand of other nearby geographers and sing O Denneboom together. Say, what’s with all the Dutch references?...
Map of the Week
An Appreciation of Ordnance Survey Maps
I spent some time in May at the British Library randomly looking at atlases and maps, some of which...
5 months ago
I spent some time in May at the British Library randomly looking at atlases and maps, some of which will be featured here in upcoming weeks. They have a huge collection of Ordnance Survey atlas books of 1:1056 scale (1 inch = 88 feet) map sheets. While these maps are primarily...
Adventures In...
Layout sandwich
Here’s how to make an ArcGIS Pro layout where certain elements of the map step over the neatline and...
a year ago
Here’s how to make an ArcGIS Pro layout where certain elements of the map step over the neatline and the graticule is relegated only to the oceans. Because that looks cool! Mapping has a long and handsome history of neatlines that are interrupted by bits of land spilling over it,...
Map of the Week
Thirty Day Map Challenge 2023-Days 17-23
Another week of 30 Day Map Challenge Maps…
Day 17 - Flow
Probably the intention here was to have...
a year ago
Another week of 30 Day Map Challenge Maps…
Day 17 - Flow
Probably the intention here was to have people make maps of the flow of surface water or air or traffic but I decided to make a flow chart instead.
A vaguely interesting look at the trip home I had to make many times as...
Transit Maps
New Official Map: San Francisco Muni Metro Map with Central Subway
This map has actually been out for a while, but today – celebrating the full opening of the Central...
a year ago
This map has actually been out for a while, but today – celebrating the full opening of the Central Subway – seemed like the appropriate day to post about it. Design-wise, this is very much an evolution of previous efforts (see my review of the post-COVID resumption of service...
Transit Maps
Submission – Unofficial Diagram of Victorian Ferry Routes, 2024 by Bushland Maps
Submitted by Bushland Maps, who say: Ferries are a bit of a forgotten mode of transport in...
a month ago
Submitted by Bushland Maps, who say: Ferries are a bit of a forgotten mode of transport in Melbourne. With no integration into the fare system or journey planners, and with overarching public transport body PTV only “overseeing” three of the routes (which doesn’t have any...
Adventures In...
Stories
Here are some StoryMap stories that I’ve written over the years… Piracy & Time Travel How Deep is...
a year ago
Here are some StoryMap stories that I’ve written over the years… Piracy & Time Travel How Deep is Challenger Deep? Julie’s Improbable Flight How to Write a Story, starring sharks and hurricanes Gap, Pass, Notch, & Saddle College Football Air Mile Index Rivers of Plastic Smoking,...
Map of the Week
Tyne River Shipbuilders
While researching something unrelated, I came across this series of maps showing ship builders and...
a year ago
While researching something unrelated, I came across this series of maps showing ship builders and related industries on the River Tyne in and near Newcastle, UK.
The maps, from 1972, stretch from the mouth of the river (above) to the City of Newcastle upon Tyne,
and westward...
Maps Mania
I'm Sending You Back to the Future!
4 weeks ago
Maps Mania
America's Changing Plant Hardiness Zones
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Sad State of Local News 2023
10 months ago
Map of the Week
Map of Endangered Languages - Part 2
Last week's post showed a huge number of indigenous languages throughout the world. Here is a...
11 months ago
Last week's post showed a huge number of indigenous languages throughout the world. Here is a summary (via the Living Tongues Institute) showing hotspots of endangered languages.
The above site has a companion living dictionaries site where you can find a language by...
Map of the Week
Icelandic Glacier Web Portal
This web portal is a collaborative effort by Icelandic institutes, agencies, companies, societies...
a year ago
This web portal is a collaborative effort by Icelandic institutes, agencies, companies, societies and private persons to display an overview of glaciological research and variations of Icelandic glaciers. The portal provides access to measurements, observations and photographs...
Transit Maps
Submission – Unofficial Map: Arendal Region Transit Map, Norway by Hazael
Hi! I made this transit diagram myself. I saw there was no “real” map with all the stations for the...
3 months ago
Hi! I made this transit diagram myself. I saw there was no “real” map with all the stations for the region of Arendal in Norway, so I decided to do this project. I would love to read your comments and criticisms! Transit Maps says: There’s a lot to like about this diagram – a...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 2 (In the Shadow of the Volcano)
We landed at Juan Santamaría airport in San José on a Friday afternoon, clearing Immigration and...
a year ago
We landed at Juan Santamaría airport in San José on a Friday afternoon, clearing Immigration and Customs nearly effortlessly. Then we got a taste of rush hour traffic riding on the shuttle to retrieve our rental car. Driving conditions became a lot more difficult later in the...
Map of the Week
The Alphabet Railway
Radio personality Bill Barry was fascinated with the place names of his native Saskatchewan. So much...
a year ago
Radio personality Bill Barry was fascinated with the place names of his native Saskatchewan. So much so that he wrote a Dictionary of Saskatchewan Place Names, I'm sure you've probably read it already but an interesting item about this toponymy is how many of the towns were...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Mackinac’s Orbit, Part 11 (What’s Brewing?)
Twelve Mile Circle readers don’t really care about my brewery visits. I get it. You won’t offend me...
over a year ago
Twelve Mile Circle readers don’t really care about my brewery visits. I get it. You won’t offend me if you skip this article or scroll through the pictures without reading anything. I really do this more for myself to create a record of my visits that extend beyond the simplicity...
Map of the Week
30 Day Map Challenge-Admiring the Work of Others
For the past several years November for me has meant working on the 30 Day Map Challenge. This year...
a month ago
For the past several years November for me has meant working on the 30 Day Map Challenge. This year I’ve been too busy to participate - also I really needed a break from it. Not participating means I’ve been able to admire the work of other cartographers. Here are some highlights...
Adventures In...
Analysis in the Browser
Here is a two-pack with some small adventures with data in ArcGIS Online. The first is a smashing of...
a year ago
Here is a two-pack with some small adventures with data in ArcGIS Online. The first is a smashing of two fields into a new frankenfield ready for mapping, and the second shows how to create entirely new map layers and cram them with meaningful attributes. … Sometimes you have all...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 2 (Walla Walla to Pendleton)
We awoke in Walla Walla at the beginning of our first full day. We couldn’t check-in at our...
2 months ago
We awoke in Walla Walla at the beginning of our first full day. We couldn’t check-in at our accommodations in Pendleton, Oregon until mid-afternoon and the drive would only take about an hour. So we needed to find something we could do locally and we got another chance to explore...
Maps Mania
Mapping Marine Light and Noise Pollution
a week ago
GeoCurrents
The Historical Geography of Psychoactive Substances: GeoCurrents Lecture Series on YouTube
GeoCurrents has been on a long summer hiatus as I have reconsidered my plans for the site. As I have...
3 months ago
GeoCurrents has been on a long summer hiatus as I have reconsidered my plans for the site. As I have retired from academia, one of my main goals is to convert my old lecture courses into publicly accessible YouTube lecture series. To do so, I have revived an all-but-forgotten...
Maps Mania
How Big is Your Country's CO2 Footprint?
a month ago
Maps Mania
The World's First OpenStreetMap
10 months ago
Transit Maps
Official Map: Newark International Airport Regional Rail Connections, 2023
Every so often, I come across a transit map that is just so unfit for purpose that all I can do is...
a year ago
Every so often, I come across a transit map that is just so unfit for purpose that all I can do is scratch my head and ponder, “Just why?” This is one of those maps. Produced by (or on behalf of) Newark International Airport, it purports to show regional rail services that you...
Map of the Week
The Spread of Slavery in the United States
In September, 1861 the U.S. Coast Survey published this large map showing the enslaved population by...
a year ago
In September, 1861 the U.S. Coast Survey published this large map showing the enslaved population by county. It was "sold for the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers of the U.S. Army."
The image above is from an article in Smithsonian. Here is a detailed view showing part...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 4 (Bristol)
In retrospect we probably should have done this as an overnight trip. As we soon learned, there’s no...
5 months ago
In retrospect we probably should have done this as an overnight trip. As we soon learned, there’s no fast, direct way to drive from Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck to Bristol (map). Google says it should take a couple of hours in optimal conditions which sounds doable, if a bit slow....
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 5 (Venturing West)
My second day of county counting focused west of Dayton, once again targeting five new counties....
8 months ago
My second day of county counting focused west of Dayton, once again targeting five new counties. This time I planned to capture Butler and Darke counties in Ohio; and Union, Fayette, and Randolph counties in Indiana. Hopefully this excursion would also take about three hours like...
Map of the Week
The Lost Subways of North America
A new book by Jake Berman, The Lost Subways of North America explores the history of unbuilt and...
11 months ago
A new book by Jake Berman, The Lost Subways of North America explores the history of unbuilt and discontinued transit in 23 cities in the United States and Canada. Mexico is not included because "Mexico's urban history is so unlike that of the United States and Canada."
Cities...
Maps Mania
Mapping a Global Coral Bleaching Event
8 months ago
Map of the Week
America's Garden Capital
I have more way more items to post for Philadelphia month than there are weeks left so in the next...
a year ago
I have more way more items to post for Philadelphia month than there are weeks left so in the next few weeks I will be doing some extra postings, and a few minor notes thrown in like this one.
Did you know that Philadelphia is America’s Garden Capital? A bit of local boosterism...
Maps Mania
Alternatives to Google Maps Street View
a year ago
Map of the Week
Pittsburgh Week
This week I am attending the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) meeting in...
a year ago
This week I am attending the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) meeting in Pittsburgh so I haven't had time for a proper blog post. There's lots of great stuff here that may make for future blog posts but in the meantime here are a few random maps I've come...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Cicada Chase, Day 2
The first day of cicada chasing exceeded expectations and we hoped for similar results on the...
6 months ago
The first day of cicada chasing exceeded expectations and we hoped for similar results on the second. However the weather began to change overnight with downpours possible during daylight hours. Local meteorologists predicted a line of thunderstorms rolling through the Midwest,...
Map of the Week
Lenapehoking-The Delaware Watershed
A more modern take on last week's Coaquannock map, Lenapehoking is a map of the Delaware Watershed's...
a year ago
A more modern take on last week's Coaquannock map, Lenapehoking is a map of the Delaware Watershed's natural environment. The title means land of the Lenape people.
The map was created by Illustrator Meg Lemieur and is available on Etsy. The map is beautifully illustrated with...
James Cheshire
The long history of using maps to hold water companies to account
James Cheshire, UCL Southern Water was handed a record fine of £90 million in July 2021 after...
over a year ago
James Cheshire, UCL Southern Water was handed a record fine of £90 million in July 2021 after pleading guilty to illegally discharging sewage along the rivers and coastline of Kent, Hampshire and Sussex. More than a year later, the headlines have not improved for Britain’s...
Map of the Week
Make Your Own Ferraris Map
While researching the Ferraris Atlas of Belgium from my last post, I came across a Github page that...
2 months ago
While researching the Ferraris Atlas of Belgium from my last post, I came across a Github page that lets you create your own Ferraris style map using QGIS. The author, Manuel Claeys Bouuaert did an excellent job creating a hand drawn looking style using modern technology....
Map of the Week
30 Day Map Challenge-One Final Note
In writing yesterday’s post I forgot about this awesome music video about the 30 Day Map Challenge....
2 weeks ago
In writing yesterday’s post I forgot about this awesome music video about the 30 Day Map Challenge. The lyrics are French with English subtitles and it’s fun to hear how musical words like choropleth and story map can sound in French. “Some people sell houses, chickens, bidets, I...
Musings on Maps
Fifteen Two-Hundred Pound Bombs
Dropping at least fifteen two hundred pound bombs equipped with precision guidance systems–bunker...
2 months ago
Dropping at least fifteen two hundred pound bombs equipped with precision guidance systems–bunker busters that could penetrate deep underground and flatten built structures–that killed Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and much of his high command follows a terrifying explosion of...
Maps Mania
The Manhole Card Collectors Map
4 months ago
Map of the Week
The Possible Collapse of Oceanic Circulation
This map, via Down to Earth shows the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).
The AMOC...
8 months ago
This map, via Down to Earth shows the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).
The AMOC is like a "heat conveyor belt". It moderates temperatures on the planet by moving warmer air to northern latitudes while returning cooler air to the tropics. It has already slowed...
Map of the Week
Paris Olympics 1924
Paris will host the Olympics in a few days. They previously hosted them 100 years ago. Here is a...
5 months ago
Paris will host the Olympics in a few days. They previously hosted them 100 years ago. Here is a small map of the 1924 Olympic venues.
via metropolitiques
Artist Pauline de Langre has some nice, artistic maps showing the venues in 1924 and 2024.
A bit hard to read at this...
Maps Mania
Guess This City - Daily Challenge
7 months ago
Maps Mania
The Great Amazonian Indigenous Land Grab
a year ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 1 (Intentions and Observations)
This was supposed to be the younger kid’s trip. It was his turn to select a destination — anywhere...
a year ago
This was supposed to be the younger kid’s trip. It was his turn to select a destination — anywhere in the world — as a present for his upcoming high school graduation next year. The older one chose Australia back in 2018 and we expanded it to include New Zealand too. England...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Tram and Busways of Casablanca, Morocco, 2024
Submitted by Leo, who says: On September 24, the Casablanca tramway network nearly doubled in length...
2 months ago
Submitted by Leo, who says: On September 24, the Casablanca tramway network nearly doubled in length with the opening of T3 and T4. The Casatramway network, operated by RATP, is depicted in the new map alongside the Casabusway BRT lines currently under construction. The map...
Transit Maps
Submission – Historical Map: Relief Map of Street Railway System in Pittsburgh and Vicinity, 1910
Submitted by Marc, who says: Hi ! I enjoy the historical maps, especially. Here’s my all-time...
4 months ago
Submitted by Marc, who says: Hi ! I enjoy the historical maps, especially. Here’s my all-time favorite historical map — a hand-made relief map of the Pittsburgh streetcar system, from 1910. Transit Maps says: Oh, I just love this, Marc! This fantastic map was included as part of...
Adventures In...
Women in GIS Workshop
If you aren’t doing anything else on the allotted 2.5 hours of January 24, 2025, then consider...
3 days ago
If you aren’t doing anything else on the allotted 2.5 hours of January 24, 2025, then consider tuning in to this Women in GIS workshop where I’ll share the process (and all the data and documents) for making this migration map. The cost is free, unless you count the 2.5 hours of...
Map of the Week
Tacografical Maps
International Taco Day is coming up on Sunday, March 31st - not to be confused with National Taco...
9 months ago
International Taco Day is coming up on Sunday, March 31st - not to be confused with National Taco Day in October. Here are a few maps to enjoy your tacos by. This one I've seen in several taquerias. It took a long time to find a version that is readable online (you may need to...
Adventures In...
Imagery basemap ready for data
Imagery is the most detailed, most literal of basemaps. You are actually seeing a picture of what...
a year ago
Imagery is the most detailed, most literal of basemaps. You are actually seeing a picture of what the ground looks like at any location. And while this sort of context can be incredibly useful, it can also wreck the way we see and understand thematic data that is draped over it....
Map of the Week
Emancipation National Historic Trail
It took over two years for the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Galveston, Texas. Specifically...
6 months ago
It took over two years for the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Galveston, Texas. Specifically June 19, 1965 hence the Juneteenth holiday. Galveston was the largest slave market west of New Orleans. The newly emancipated fled Galveston to Freedmen's Town and other parts of...
Maps Mania
The 100 Most Segregated School Districts in America
9 months ago
Adventures In...
How to add mist to terrain in ArcGIS Online
There are lots of reasons to cloak your terrain in a fluffy ephemeral layer of mist. It gives an...
a year ago
There are lots of reasons to cloak your terrain in a fluffy ephemeral layer of mist. It gives an overall sense of the slope and elevation trends in your view, it showcases meandering river valleys in a charming realism, hilltops peak through with clarity and drama…and it just...
Maps Mania
Global Sentiment Towards Israel & Palestine
a year ago
Map of the Week
More Maps and Views at the British Library
Here is another installment of maps on display at the British Library - part 1 can be found...
4 months ago
Here is another installment of maps on display at the British Library - part 1 can be found here.
Estate Map by Margaret Bowles, 1659
Apologies for the dark and shadowy picture, the display hall is not brightly lit. Margaret Bowles was an English cartographer whose surviving...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Map at Bergenline Avenue Station
Submitted by Kara, who says: At the (extremely cool) Bergenline Avenue station, [my partner and I]...
a year ago
Submitted by Kara, who says: At the (extremely cool) Bergenline Avenue station, [my partner and I] stumbled across this official map that I’d never seen before, depicting both the HBLR and the PATH! It was actually all over that station, and it’s definitely a relatively old map,...
Map of the Week
A Few Nice Eclipse Maps-Part 1
In a month a total eclipse will make its way across North America. On April 8th the path will travel...
9 months ago
In a month a total eclipse will make its way across North America. On April 8th the path will travel quickly, (under two hours) from Mazatlán on Mexico's Pacific coast to Newfoundland, Canada and then into the Atlantic Ocean. There are some really nice visualizations of the...
Map of the Week
Map Failbruary Challenge Days 15-28
Here is the second half of the #MapFailbruaryChallenge. For the first half and explanations...
a year ago
Here is the second half of the #MapFailbruaryChallenge. For the first half and explanations see here. Here are the categories, again with minimal commentary.
Day 15 - You do not need to know geography to be a cartographer
Day 16 - Not safe for work
Day 17 - Not enough or...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Mitten Accomplished
I got a unique opportunity to visit counties in a corner of the Midwest I hadn’t touched much when...
over a year ago
I got a unique opportunity to visit counties in a corner of the Midwest I hadn’t touched much when my older kid decided to go to college in Michigan. But it didn’t offer a lot of time for my quest, just a four year window before graduation. Even so, I set what I thought was...
Transit Maps
Submission – BART “Heat Map” by Harsha Devulapalli
Submitted by Harsha, who says: I’ve been a big fan of your blog for over a decade. Recently, I had...
4 months ago
Submitted by Harsha, who says: I’ve been a big fan of your blog for over a decade. Recently, I had the opportunity to replicate the BART transit map for a data visualization in a story I wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle. I would love to hear your thoughts on it! Transit Maps...
Maps Mania
Today's Global Heating Forecast
6 months ago
Map of the Week
The New Acadian Heritage Room
On my recent trip to Nova Scotia, I stumbled upon the grand opening of the New Acadian Heritage Room...
a year ago
On my recent trip to Nova Scotia, I stumbled upon the grand opening of the New Acadian Heritage Room at the O’Dell House Museum in Annapolis Royal. I had not known anything about it, but was in the right place on the right day. The room is primarily a collection of maps from the...
Adventures In...
North Arrow Necessity
Can a map still be considered a map if it doesn’t have a north arrow? Yes. A north arrow is an...
4 months ago
Can a map still be considered a map if it doesn’t have a north arrow? Yes. A north arrow is an optional map accompaniment and you should think critically about your map to determine for yourself if it needs a north arrow or not. For what it’s worth, often a map should not have a...
Transit Maps
Submission – Fantasy Map: New York Regional Rail Concept by James G
Submitted by James, who says: I created this map based on various concepts (mainly the work of Alon...
4 months ago
Submitted by James, who says: I created this map based on various concepts (mainly the work of Alon Levy) for through-running regional rail in the New York region. This network would integrate all of the current commuter rail networks, increasing frequencies to metro-like levels,...
Maps Mania
Google Updates Satellite Imagery of Ukraine
a year ago
Adventures In...
Three Maps & the Truth
You may have heard that “all maps lie” and that’s right (also, here’s some required reading). Each...
a week ago
You may have heard that “all maps lie” and that’s right (also, here’s some required reading). Each map is a collection of compromises, whether they’re geomatic (your projection and scale choices), editorial (your choice of subject and what you’ve chosen to show and not show), and...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Rail and Bus Map of Southeast Queensland, Australia, 2024
Submitted by Lachlan, who says: Brisbane dropped a new transit map and it is EXTREMELY pretty. I’m a...
2 months ago
Submitted by Lachlan, who says: Brisbane dropped a new transit map and it is EXTREMELY pretty. I’m a big fan. Definitely the best-designed official transit map in Australia in my opinion. It even acknowledges the rapid bus routes and the G-Link light rail! I wish it could have...
Maps Mania
The Self-Driving Car Simulation
11 months ago
Adventures In...
The Bounding Box Podcast
The one where I chat with Rene Rubalcava about the importance of unstructured data-play, the risk of...
a year ago
The one where I chat with Rene Rubalcava about the importance of unstructured data-play, the risk of metrics becoming the goal, where to find inspiration, brewing chaos into professional development, and loving our neighbors!
Maps Mania
Where Mountains Rise From Oceans
6 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
St. Mary’s (and Calvert), Maryland
County counting becomes increasingly difficult as I continue my glacially slow progress. Now it...
a year ago
County counting becomes increasingly difficult as I continue my glacially slow progress. Now it takes more than five hours to reach the closest unvisited county from my home. Fortunately I found a workaround by shifting my focus to overnight county visits. There are plenty of...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Greater Copenhagen Rail Map, 2024
Submitted by Jakob, who says: The M4 branch extension to Copenhagen South has just opened, and with...
4 months ago
Submitted by Jakob, who says: The M4 branch extension to Copenhagen South has just opened, and with it, a much improved map compared to 2019 [My review of the 2019 map can be found here – Cam]. The Circle Line is now more spacious, junctions are labeled more clearly, and metro...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 7 (Hodgepodge)
The Dayton trip came to an end but I still had a bunch of stuff to talk about that didn’t fit into...
7 months ago
The Dayton trip came to an end but I still had a bunch of stuff to talk about that didn’t fit into any of the earlier articles. Naturally I’ve collected them all together within this final compilation to serve as a wrap-up. Then we can call this one done and move onto the next...
GeoCurrents
The Electoral Transformation of Wisconsin and Minnesota
The neighboring states of Wisconsin and Minnesota are an instructive place to examine the recent...
a month ago
The neighboring states of Wisconsin and Minnesota are an instructive place to examine the recent transformation of electoral geography in the United States. Both states saw a comparatively modest “red shift” from the presidential election of 2020 to that of 2024. In Wisconsin,...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 3 (Let the Races Begin)
The main reason we went to the Inland Northwest was to run some races. It also became an excuse to...
2 months ago
The main reason we went to the Inland Northwest was to run some races. It also became an excuse to experience a part of the country I hadn’t explored much. Either way, the first of the races was finally about to begin. The Oregon Race We walked through the dark to a park along...
Maps Mania
The River Basins & Watersheds of the World
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Distressed Communities of America
9 months ago
Map of the Week
Countries with Women Leaders
Here is a map from the Washington Post, via Reddit showing countries past & present with women as...
a month ago
Here is a map from the Washington Post, via Reddit showing countries past & present with women as heads of state. Click it (and then again) for higher resolution.
We in the United States like to think we are the most advanced country in the world but by this metric we are well...
Adventures In...
Find and download vintage USGS topo maps
The new Historical Topo Map Explorer is out of beta and ready for you to dive into a collection of...
6 months ago
The new Historical Topo Map Explorer is out of beta and ready for you to dive into a collection of over 180,000 beautiful vintage USGS topo maps! Use this updated Living Atlas app to geographically browse, download, export, and even animate, these cartographic objects of joy....
Maps Mania
Russia's Secret Nuclear Targets in China
4 months ago
Transit Maps
Historical Maps: Private Railways and Extra-urban Tramways of Italy, 1936
I stumbled across this atlas of maps the other day and had to share. A few sample pages are below –...
a year ago
I stumbled across this atlas of maps the other day and had to share. A few sample pages are below – head to the originating website to view all 20 of them. Enjoy! Source: Stagniweb.it
Map of the Week
The Hidden Logic of Cities
The Beautiful Hidden Logic of Cities by Erin Davis shows the streets of various cities in the United...
a year ago
The Beautiful Hidden Logic of Cities by Erin Davis shows the streets of various cities in the United States color coded by suffix - (street, road, avenue, etc).
From where I've lived there seemed to be a clear logic to streets, avenues, boulevards and others. In my mind...
Maps Mania
The Interactive Turbulence Map
11 months ago
Adventures In...
Make this AI-inspired topo landscape please
Many weeks ago I saw an achingly beautiful bit of AI-generated terrain art shared by Esri’s glorious...
a year ago
Many weeks ago I saw an achingly beautiful bit of AI-generated terrain art shared by Esri’s glorious instagram account. Initially I was a bit intimidated by the robots; it was so charming and tactile and wondrous and dreamlike and sinuous. But also…inspiring. I wondered if I...
James Cheshire
Newspapers and the 1976 Drought
With each new temperature record that tumbles the UK, climate skeptics have a standard stock phrase:...
over a year ago
With each new temperature record that tumbles the UK, climate skeptics have a standard stock phrase: ‘it was this hot in 1976’. Of course it wasn’t, and crucially the planet overall was not as hot then as it is now. Parts of the UK media have had their part to play in fueling...
Maps Mania
Piecing the World Back Together
4 months ago
Maps Mania
Mapping the Political Landscape
2 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
An Educational Experiment
(Edit: sign-ups are now closed. I received over 150 responses for 4 available slots, which has been...
a year ago
(Edit: sign-ups are now closed. I received over 150 responses for 4 available slots, which has been great but overwhelming. I may offer this again in the future if it goes well, so make sure to follow me on Twitter and subscribe to the blog, to be notified of when this happens.)...
Musings on Maps
A Global Landscape of Growing Glacial Loss
With frozen glaciers disappearing into the oceans at an unprecedented rate, the rise of an...
a year ago
With frozen glaciers disappearing into the oceans at an unprecedented rate, the rise of an ecotourism of glacier viewing is hardly unexpected. But the rise of new heights of glacial melt that are feared for much of the arctic this … Continue reading →
Maps Mania
The 2nd 1 Hour AI Map Challenge
11 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
Kickstarter 3: The Return
For the past several years, I’ve enjoyed the process of cyanotype printing, and have released a...
a month ago
For the past several years, I’ve enjoyed the process of cyanotype printing, and have released a number of projects based on this technique (including my favorite item I’ve ever made). Now, I’ve decided to take my recent work in developing terrain sketches, and turn it into a new...
Map of the Week
Your Climate in 60 Years
This fall's supercharged hurricanes are a reminder that despite the dishonest rhetoric coming from...
2 months ago
This fall's supercharged hurricanes are a reminder that despite the dishonest rhetoric coming from top Republican politicians, global warming is definitely not a hoax. The University of Maryland has a new mapping tool to show you where on earth your climate will most resemble in...
Adventures In...
Historical Topo Map Explorer (beta)
The USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer is getting an update, and you can try out this new beta...
a year ago
The USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer is getting an update, and you can try out this new beta version, here: LivingAtlas.ArcGIS.com/TopoMapExplorer The United States Geological Survey has a rich history of creating exquisite topographic quadrangle maps. These topo maps are...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 7 (Abrupt End)
What should have been a ten day trip ended unexpectedly on the seventh day. The previous evening our...
2 months ago
What should have been a ten day trip ended unexpectedly on the seventh day. The previous evening our kid who was watching the house called to tell us about our soaking wet basement carpet. Our ancient boiler was leaking. So we immediately contacted our insurance provider, a water...
Map of the Week
Some Maps in the Wild: Nova Scotia Edition
There is an entire web site dedicated to #MapsintheWild - also a social media hashtag. On a recent...
a year ago
There is an entire web site dedicated to #MapsintheWild - also a social media hashtag. On a recent trip to Nova Scotia, I found some very nice examples, including last week's post. Here are a few more.
There are many memorials throughout the province to the Acadians who were...
Maps Mania
Using the Overpass API with Leaflet
10 months ago
Maps Mania
Tory Candidates Violently Attacked
5 months ago
Maps Mania
Tracking American Spies in Germany
5 months ago
Musings on Maps
Along Narnia’s Enchanted Shores
As we face an age when the norms of legal conduct in the United States stand to be shredded, we have...
3 weeks ago
As we face an age when the norms of legal conduct in the United States stand to be shredded, we have been suggested to benefit from looking, both for perspective and solace, if only for relief, to fantasy literature as … Continue reading →
Transit Maps
Historical Map: Diagram of Passenger Stations in the Sydney Metropolitan Area, 1928
There’s a lot to like about this simple little track diagram of Sydney’s rail system from 1928....
4 months ago
There’s a lot to like about this simple little track diagram of Sydney’s rail system from 1928. There’s a lot of different angles – both with route lines and station labels – but it still manages to hang together as a coherent whole. A big part of that is the dead straight...
Map of the Week
Maps of Julian Hoffman Anton
I'm always excited to find new cartographic artists. Here are some maps from Julian Hoffman Anton....
a year ago
I'm always excited to find new cartographic artists. Here are some maps from Julian Hoffman Anton. The first one is his Tokyo Eat Map. I've cropped the map a bit to fit the format of this page. To see it all click here.
This is really a heat map showing restaurant density. Egg...
Maps Mania
Alien Arrivals Nosedive in 2023!
10 months ago
James Cheshire
Being creative is reason enough to try different data visualization
A simple line chart might be all you need to communicate the patterns in a dataset, but it might not...
over a year ago
A simple line chart might be all you need to communicate the patterns in a dataset, but it might not be given a second glance. Getting the viewer to work a little harder to interpret and think about a graphic can be a very effective way of generating engagement. This is where the...
somethingaboutmaps
A Free eBook of Terrain Lines
Friends, earlier this week I mentioned that I’d completed a whole bunch of terrain sketches using...
a month ago
Friends, earlier this week I mentioned that I’d completed a whole bunch of terrain sketches using some novel techniques that allowed me to create a hachure drawing style from digital elevation data. If you’d like to see the whole set, I’ve now assembled them into a quick eBook...
Map of the Week
Mid 1900's Urban Planning in Philadelphia
Here are a few urban planning items to close out Philadelphia month. Hope you have enjoyed the...
a year ago
Here are a few urban planning items to close out Philadelphia month. Hope you have enjoyed the journey.
Cathedral Road:
There are many discontinued highways and roads to nowhere throughout the United States, including Woodhaven Road, a dead end expressway in Northeast...
Maps Mania
Geolocating Visual Media in Conflict Zones
a month ago
Maps Mania
Mapping Russian Military Facilities in Crimea
a year ago
Adventures In...
Dashing Maps
There are lots of reasons why cartographers use dashed lines in their maps. Sometimes there are a...
a month ago
There are lots of reasons why cartographers use dashed lines in their maps. Sometimes there are a lot of different sorts of lines going around and it’s the best way to differentiate between different categories of things. Or we can embed meaning into them, like a dashed line...
Maps Mania
Car Commutes are Getting Longer
10 months ago
Maps Mania
The Supply Chain of Deforestation
9 months ago
Map of the Week
Guided Across Switzerland by Hand Drawn Maps
The New York Times has a piece where the author ditched his phone and walked across Switzerland...
4 months ago
The New York Times has a piece where the author ditched his phone and walked across Switzerland guided only by hand drawn maps from the people he met along the way. I love a nice hand drawn map and this article provides lots of good examples.
These maps illustrate the things...
Map of the Week
Heat Islands of Philadelphia
Program Note: This month is Philadelphia month! Don't get too excited. In the past I've done San...
a year ago
Program Note: This month is Philadelphia month! Don't get too excited. In the past I've done San Francisco Week and New Jersey Week. Much of that content was posted to Twitter. These things happen when I suddenly find a trove
of information about a specific place. In this case...
Adventures In...
Cartography Workshop in Utrecht, April 2024
I’m going to be in the Netherlands April 23, 2024, to spend a day nerding out on map making. I’ll be...
11 months ago
I’m going to be in the Netherlands April 23, 2024, to spend a day nerding out on map making. I’ll be a guest of Esri Netherlands, and will lead this workshop day, called “Mapping Magic with John Nelson” (no pressure). It’s a kickoff to their Esri Connect 2024 event. Here’s a...
Maps Mania
Flip Off the World with Street View
9 months ago
Transit Maps
Historical Map: Argentine Railways, 1907
Now this is a map! This is just superb cartography: detailed, clear and lovely to look at. I love...
a year ago
Now this is a map! This is just superb cartography: detailed, clear and lovely to look at. I love the way that brown is used for mountainous features, and a light blue is used for water features – it allows this information to be visible, but it doesn’t compete with the overlaid...
Maps Mania
The World's Most Controversial Interactive Map
10 months ago
Map of the Week
The Incredible Shrinking Great Salt Lake(s)
NOTE: due to accidental deletions on this platform I have lost some of the original attributions for...
a year ago
NOTE: due to accidental deletions on this platform I have lost some of the original attributions for this post.
Here is a map of the paleo-lakes of the Great Basin from the Pleistocene Era.
The present day lakes are shown in lighter blue though even those have shrunk from the...
Maps Mania
Spreading Love & Peace in Nutopia
7 months ago
Maps Mania
The Street Names of Budapest
10 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
Challenging the Idea of a Bad Map
We’re just a couple of weeks away from the 30 Day Map Challenge, an annual celebration of...
a year ago
We’re just a couple of weeks away from the 30 Day Map Challenge, an annual celebration of cartographic creativity. I know some of you are already brainstorming about what you might do this year. Each day has a prompt, and you’re encouraged to make a map that day that is based on...
Maps Mania
The 3rd Hour of the 1 Hour AI Map Challenge
11 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
Automated Hachuring in QGIS
I seem to have accidentally come up with a method for duplicating a centuries-old terrain...
5 months ago
I seem to have accidentally come up with a method for duplicating a centuries-old terrain representation technique. If you’ve looked at old maps, you’ve probably seen hachures: lines that run up and down along the slope of terrain features. There were a wide variety of approaches...
Transit Maps
New Official Map: Los Angeles Metro with Regional Connector, 2023
Just dropped on the LA Metro Twitter account, here’s a first look at their new system map once the...
a year ago
Just dropped on the LA Metro Twitter account, here’s a first look at their new system map once the Regional Connector opens at noon, this Friday June 16. First off, one prediction I made in my previous review [October 2022] has been proven true: this map marks the end of the old...
Maps Mania
135,000 Years of Changing Sea Levels
a year ago
Musings on Maps
Floating Sargasso Sea
Mapped from the Canaries to the West Indies, against a blank background, the Sargassum Belt seems...
a year ago
Mapped from the Canaries to the West Indies, against a blank background, the Sargassum Belt seems removed from the levels of phosphorous of our coastal oceans leaving the high density of its thirteen million tons on a blank screen as the latest whacky disturbance of the...
Adventures In...
How to make tapered rivers in ArcGIS Pro
Cartographers will often exaggerate the natural scale of a mapped feature to help it communicate...
a year ago
Cartographers will often exaggerate the natural scale of a mapped feature to help it communicate something of its nature. Some examples are vertical exaggeration of terrain or the very existence of point symbols (cities aren’t actually that big). We embellish for effect. Making a...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 3 (Apalachicola)
Next we began the actual “road” portion of the road trip as Atlanta receded into the distance behind...
a year ago
Next we began the actual “road” portion of the road trip as Atlanta receded into the distance behind us. We spaced our drives into four segments of 5-6 hours each to make them manageable. I figured that would cover a decent distance without consuming the entire day. The first leg...
Map of the Week
Summer Light Reading 2024
Here is another installment of what is becoming an annual summer tradition. Just like the light...
4 months ago
Here is another installment of what is becoming an annual summer tradition. Just like the light beach reading, here is some light map reading. Not much to comment about, just some maps and related items I like.
First of all since the Olympics are in Paris, a nice papercut map you...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 3 (Museums)
Sure, I visited the various Wright Brothers museums, historical sites, and memorials but they...
8 months ago
Sure, I visited the various Wright Brothers museums, historical sites, and memorials but they weren’t the totality of Dayton’s remarkable legacy. It wasn’t even the reason why we visited. I mentioned the younger kid’s interest in all things aeronautical earlier and it traced back...
GeoCurrents
New Lectures on U.S. Presidential Elections Posted on YouTube
Several new lectures on the historical geography of U.S. presidential elections have been posted on...
a month ago
Several new lectures on the historical geography of U.S. presidential elections have been posted on the GeoCurrents YouTube channel. The most recently posted lecture covers elections from 1880 to 1992. These lectures include many maps, some which are analyzed in detail, down to...
James Cheshire
If Data Could Talk Podcast
We sat down with Andy Cotgreave for the If Data Could Talk podcast to give some behind the scenes...
over a year ago
We sat down with Andy Cotgreave for the If Data Could Talk podcast to give some behind the scenes insights about our collaborative process and some of the work that went into Atlas of the Invisible.
GeoCurrents
The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election Was No Landslide
Donald Trump clearly enjoyed an unexpected and decisive victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential...
a month ago
Donald Trump clearly enjoyed an unexpected and decisive victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Indeed, many journalists and pundits have described the results as nothing less than a “landslide.” In truth, it came nowhere near that standing. Although the final vote count...
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