Map of the Week
Turkey and Syria Earthquake Response
Parts of Turkey and Syria have been devastated by the strongest, most destructive earthquake in the...
a year ago
Parts of Turkey and Syria have been devastated by the strongest, most destructive earthquake in the recorded history of those countries. The earthquake has been followed by over a hundred powerful aftershocks, including one almost as powerful as the original magnitude 7.8...
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...
Map of the Week
Summer of Extremes
It's been a summer of extremes around the world. Here is the United States we have dangerous...
a year ago
It's been a summer of extremes around the world. Here is the United States we have dangerous heat,
via Washington Post
droughts and floods, existing in close proximity in places,
US Drought Monitor
and wildfire smoke covering much of the country.
via...
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
Fantasy Map: Washington Commanders 2023 “Season Map”
Posted yesterday on the Commanders’ Twitter account, here’s a Washington Metro-themed map of the...
a year ago
Posted yesterday on the Commanders’ Twitter account, here’s a Washington Metro-themed map of the team’s 2023 season. It basically just places the team’s opponents for the year on a vaguely US-shaped map using some Metro iconography and colours and calls it a day. It’s...
Maps Mania
Tory Candidates Violently Attacked
5 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...
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...
Maps Mania
It's War on the Streets of Paris
7 months ago
Maps Mania
The 2nd 1 Hour AI Map Challenge
11 months ago
Map of the Week
Humpback Whale Migration
The Arctic University of Norway leads the Whaletrack program to map Humpback and Killer Whale...
a year ago
The Arctic University of Norway leads the Whaletrack program to map Humpback and Killer Whale migrations.
Whales are tracked as they travel thousands of miles from the Barents Sea in the Arctic where they feed to winter breeding breeding grounds in the Caribbean Sea. The map...
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...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 7 (Tankfest)
Finally the single event that justified our entire trip to England arrived, the renowned Tankfest....
4 months ago
Finally the single event that justified our entire trip to England arrived, the renowned Tankfest. It’s everything the name implies, a festival of military tanks, and it happens only once a year on the grounds of the Tank Museum in Bovington (map). This is what the younger kid...
Maps Mania
Have You Earned Your Air Pollution Stripes?
4 months ago
Map of the Week
The Southern Underground Railroad
This map, via Smithsonian, shows the main passageways that the enslaved took southwards to...
a year ago
This map, via Smithsonian, shows the main passageways that the enslaved took southwards to freedom.
The southern Underground Railroad was less traveled and much less well documented, but Mexico after gaining independence passed strong anti-slavery laws. Even before that the...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 2 (Atlanta Revisited)
I ventured into familiar territory as we started the trip, back to the same eastside of Atlanta that...
a year ago
I ventured into familiar territory as we started the trip, back to the same eastside of Atlanta that I’d explored just four months prior. That wasn’t a coincidence. I enjoyed the area so much that I wanted the whole family to experience it too. So it made perfect sense to fly...
Maps Mania
Mapping the History of the Railway
9 months ago
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?...
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
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...
Maps Mania
The Easter Bunny's Egg-cellent Adventure
8 months ago
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...
James Cheshire
The Scarred Landscape of the Climate Crisis
I’ve been obsessively checking satellite imagery to witness the UK turn from green to yellow, thanks...
over a year ago
I’ve been obsessively checking satellite imagery to witness the UK turn from green to yellow, thanks to the period of extreme heat and lack of rain Europe has been enduring. The parched landscape is unlike anything I’ve seen before and a cloud free day today (10th August) has...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 4 (Venturing North)
The ultimate destination was Dayton, Ohio and it took about seven and a half hours to get there....
8 months ago
The ultimate destination was Dayton, Ohio and it took about seven and a half hours to get there. However we didn’t just sit in Dayton for an entire week. If I had to drive all that way you better believe I would do some County Counting along the way too. At this point I’ve...
Map of the Week
The Auschwitz Exhibition
This past weekend I saw a traveling exhibition in Boston about the Auschwitz concentration camp. It...
3 months ago
This past weekend I saw a traveling exhibition in Boston about the Auschwitz concentration camp. It contains over 700 objects from shoes to gas masks to implements of torture and experimentation. The exhibit was co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and has been in...
Map of the Week
The 2022 Hurricane Season
While I was busy obsessing over my 30 Day Map Challenge in November, CNN put out this map in a...
over a year ago
While I was busy obsessing over my 30 Day Map Challenge in November, CNN put out this map in a summary of the 2022 hurricane season.
It's interesting to see all the hurricane tracks on one map. While the season started out slowly, it finished with several memorable storms...
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...
Maps Mania
How Near do You Live to a Mass Shooting?
a year ago
Map of the Week
Nice Eclipse Maps - Part 2
As promised from last week's post here are a couple additional sites that nicely visualize the path...
9 months ago
As promised from last week's post here are a couple additional sites that nicely visualize the path of next month's eclipse. The first one is from Bloomberg, How to Find the Best Cities to Watch the Eclipse. One of the best things about this page is that it starts with an...
Musings on Maps
Security Walls: “This is Just the Beginning”
Attending New Year’s service in an Oxford Orthodox synagogue, I paused when the ritual prayer book I...
a year ago
Attending New Year’s service in an Oxford Orthodox synagogue, I paused when the ritual prayer book I held–a Machzor-moved smoothly from prayers to George VI (it was an old one) to prayers for the Israel Defense Forces. The rabbi, who … Continue reading →
Maps Mania
Memorial Day Weekend Helicopter Flights
4 months ago
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...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 5 (Mississippi Gulf)
Next we returned to familiar territory. I’ve mentioned the Mississippi Gulf Coast many times on...
a year ago
Next we returned to familiar territory. I’ve mentioned the Mississippi Gulf Coast many times on Twelve Mile Circle because I go there fairly regularly and I have a lot of family there. However, my last trip was way back in 2019 and only for a long weekend. Somehow I never figured...
Maps Mania
The Manhole Card Collectors Map
4 months ago
Maps Mania
I'm Sending You Back to the Future!
4 weeks 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...
GeoCurrents
Wikipedia’s Visually Striking but Inaccurate Cartograms of U.S. Presidential Elections
When preparing the illustrations for my current lecture course on the historical geography of U.S....
a month ago
When preparing the illustrations for my current lecture course on the historical geography of U.S. presidential elections, I was thrilled to discover that Wikipedia’s articles on most of these elections are illustrated with visually striking cartograms of the results, mapped at...
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...
Musings on Maps
Swing States, Battleground States and Hot Spots
Are the maps of President Trump's 2024 electoral evidence of a sudden shift or deep undercurrents of...
a month ago
Are the maps of President Trump's 2024 electoral evidence of a sudden shift or deep undercurrents of disaffection? The sudden partisan shift of voting maps suggest a dark undercurrents in American politics. Continue reading →
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
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
Maps Mania
Mapping Moving Borders in Real-Time
3 months ago
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
Today's Global Heating Forecast
6 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
A New Take on an Old Style
Gentle readers, I have some exciting things to share with you. After several months of tinkering and...
a month ago
Gentle readers, I have some exciting things to share with you. After several months of tinkering and toolmaking, I have created a series of posters of iconic peaks (and other terrain), illustrated in a sketch style inspired by old hachure drawings. There are 37 designs to choose...
Map of the Week
The Climate Impact of Your Neighborhood
This latest New York Times interactive map shows how people who live closer in to city centers have...
over a year ago
This latest New York Times interactive map shows how people who live closer in to city centers have a relatively small carbon footprint, while those who live further out have some of the largest footprints in the nation.
While that may not be surprising by itself there are some...
Map of the Week
Hidden Hydrology
In my day job I've mapped buried streams to give an indication of areas that are most likely to...
a year ago
In my day job I've mapped buried streams to give an indication of areas that are most likely to flood in major storms. It turns out that buried streams in older urban centers is common everywhere. Hidden Hydrology is a great resource for exploring disappeared waterways throughout...
Maps Mania
The Stunning Beauty of Air Traffic Data
8 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 6 (South Korea: Seoul)
I didn’t get much time to wander around Seoul like I did in Tokyo. Every day was a work day and it...
a year ago
I didn’t get much time to wander around Seoul like I did in Tokyo. Every day was a work day and it was a brief stop. So I was confined mostly to what I could see from the windshield as we drove through the city or from the hotel. However, this was my first trip […]
The post...
Maps Mania
Adding URL Parameters to an Interactive Map
11 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...
Maps Mania
How to Make Your Own Map Jigsaw Puzzle
4 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...
Maps Mania
The Self-Driving Car Simulation
11 months ago
Map of the Week
Bad News For Local News
Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative released the latest State of Local News. It...
a month ago
Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative released the latest State of Local News. It highlights the dire state of print journalism with maps to illustrate the problems. This one highlights counties that are on the watch list to become news deserts.
News deserts...
James Cheshire
The era of the megalopolis: how the world’s cities are merging
James Cheshire, UCL and Michael Batty, UCL On November 15 2022, a baby girl named Vinice Mabansag,...
over a year ago
James Cheshire, UCL and Michael Batty, UCL On November 15 2022, a baby girl named Vinice Mabansag, born at Dr Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila, Philippines, became – symbolically – the eight billionth person in the world. Of those 8 billion people, 60% live in a town or...
Maps Mania
Battles of World War II & American Wars
5 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...
somethingaboutmaps
The Projection Collection Returns
About a year ago, I released The Projection Collection, a set of 77 trading cards based on map...
a year ago
About a year ago, I released The Projection Collection, a set of 77 trading cards based on map projections. Each card features a unique map produced by one of 65 different cartographers. While my colleagues and I did our best to let everyone know about these cards, some people...
Map of the Week
Indigenous Map of Southern Ontario
Christi Belcourt is a Metis artist who "indigenized" the regional maps and surveys of Albert Salter...
6 months ago
Christi Belcourt is a Metis artist who "indigenized" the regional maps and surveys of Albert Salter into a map called "Good Land".
One side of the map has the English text that most people are familiar with, while the other side uses indigenous place names and commentary....
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
Using the Overpass API with Leaflet
10 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 5 (University Loop)
This was another early morning start although not as early as some of the others. We wouldn’t need...
2 months ago
This was another early morning start although not as early as some of the others. We wouldn’t need to drive very far anymore now that we’d settled into our temporary home in Lewiston, Idaho for four nights in a row. The Washington Race Sunrise came quickly and we soon found...
Maps Mania
The Rise & Fall of National Rail Networks
a year ago
Maps Mania
Four Free Alternatives to GeoGuessr
8 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
Another Atlas of Minor Projects
A few years ago, I compiled a PDF of various small odds-and-ends mapping projects that I’d done....
10 months ago
A few years ago, I compiled a PDF of various small odds-and-ends mapping projects that I’d done. Now, I’ve done it again. Please enjoy Another Atlas of Minor Projects, which houses a few dozen cartographic items that needed a home. These are all small, mostly-quick projects that...
Map of the Week
Terrain Representations from the Atlas of Design
In last week’s post I reviewed Volume 7 of the Atlas of Design. As an occasional cartographer I have...
2 months ago
In last week’s post I reviewed Volume 7 of the Atlas of Design. As an occasional cartographer I have been interested in how topography is represented in maps for a long time. This atlas volume provides many contrasting examples. From the “cartographic realism” of Tom Patterson’s...
Maps Mania
Google Updates Satellite Imagery of Ukraine
a year ago
Maps Mania
Mapping the Political Landscape
2 months ago
Maps Mania
Out of Africa - The Story of Human Migration
6 months ago
Transit Maps
15% Off All Prints in the “Transit Maps” Store
Just a reminder that the best way to support the site is by buying a print from our online store,...
3 weeks ago
Just a reminder that the best way to support the site is by buying a print from our online store, because you get something awesome in return! We’re having a Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday sale with 15% off all prints. Choose from my original...
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...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 1 (The Wright Stuff)
When people have asked, I’ve told them with a straight face that we didn’t go to Daytona for Spring...
8 months ago
When people have asked, I’ve told them with a straight face that we didn’t go to Daytona for Spring Break, no, we went to Dayton. As in Ohio. As in probably the least likely Spring Break destination in the United States. We managed to avoid warm weather, sandy beaches, and...
Maps Mania
The Best Graphics Team in the World
4 months ago
Maps Mania
The 3rd Hour of the 1 Hour AI Map Challenge
11 months ago
Maps Mania
1000+ Streets Called Washington
5 months ago
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
How Well Do You Know New York's Subway?
a year ago
Maps Mania
540 Million Years of Planet Earth
7 months ago
Maps Mania
The Newest Maps of Mars - in 3D
6 months ago
Map of the Week
Mapping Etymology
Mapologies is a website that shows many interesting etymology maps such as this one showing the word...
8 months ago
Mapologies is a website that shows many interesting etymology maps such as this one showing the word for Earth throughout Europe-from their planets page.
The countries are color coded by the language family origins of the words. Here are peaches from the fruits page.
I like...
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...
somethingaboutmaps
Projection Cards
I had a whimsical idea a few months ago: map projection trading cards. Something nerdy and...
over a year ago
I had a whimsical idea a few months ago: map projection trading cards. Something nerdy and map-related that you could collect and exchange at conferences. I poked around at some design ideas for a while, and here’s what I’ve come up with so far. This is the front side of the...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Cumberland Parkway Time Zone Crossing
Time Zone crossings in the United States generally happen at state borders which of course are...
12 months ago
Time Zone crossings in the United States generally happen at state borders which of course are easily recognizable landmarks. So you simply cross the state line and you change your watch. No big deal. Unfortunately Time Zones cut right through the middle of some states, like...
Maps Mania
The Loss of the Great American Grasslands
6 months ago
Map of the Week
Maps and Views at the British Library
The British Library contains over 4.5 million maps, atlases, globes, and digital models dating back...
5 months ago
The British Library contains over 4.5 million maps, atlases, globes, and digital models dating back to medieval times. A small sample of these are displayed on the walls in a section called "Maps & Views". Here are some mediocre pictures I took with links (where I can find them)...
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...
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...
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
Buffalo in 50 Maps
New from Belt Publishing - the third book of their "50 Maps" series, Buffalo in 50 Maps is now out....
a year ago
New from Belt Publishing - the third book of their "50 Maps" series, Buffalo in 50 Maps is now out. Previous books on Cleveland and Detroit have been briefly covered on previous blog posts. The author, cartographer Victoria Johnson-Dahl was kind enough to send me an advance copy...
Map of the Week
My Favorite New Jersey Drone Map
Here is my favorite “map” showing the drone hysteria over New Jersey. It’s from Instagram...
4 days ago
Here is my favorite “map” showing the drone hysteria over New Jersey. It’s from Instagram user wmh_x_0, aka Oona Harrigan.
It is based on these maps of drone sightings that have been going around the internet.
The “globe” text is there because she is known for designing sad...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 2 (Oahu: Beyond Waikiki)
I didn’t spend all of my limited time strictly within the confines of Waikiki Beach and downtown...
a year ago
I didn’t spend all of my limited time strictly within the confines of Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu. Whether work-related or during precious spare time I did explore more of southeastern Oahu than I had on my previous trip. Unfortunately I couldn’t linger much and truly...
Maps Mania
Mapping Every US Election Since 1840
2 months ago
Maps Mania
Tracking Russia's 'Dark' Shadow Ships
3 months ago
Maps Mania
Car Commutes are Getting Longer
10 months ago
Maps Mania
Your Hour-By-Hour Guide to Election Night
a month ago
Adventures In...
Storybook Cartography
ArcGIS Pro is a serious tool for serious GIS analysis. Are you ready for some seriously charming...
a year ago
ArcGIS Pro is a serious tool for serious GIS analysis. Are you ready for some seriously charming illustration style cartography? Ok! . . Children’s maps are a valuable thing. They are often the first impressions the world of geography has on every single one of us. What an...
Adventures In...
Close Encounters of the Cartographic Kind
I was watching the Steven Spielberg 1977 classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with the...
7 months ago
I was watching the Steven Spielberg 1977 classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with the family last night and nerded out when I saw a character that claimed to be a cartographer. I always do. It was the cartographer who recognized that the signals the aliens sent were...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 7 (Hill Country)
The extended road trip finally arrived at its western terminus in the Texas Hill Country. This also...
a year ago
The extended road trip finally arrived at its western terminus in the Texas Hill Country. This also marked my first visit to Burnet County, a rural locale situated northwest of Austin. Locals pronounce it something like BURN-it, and that’s how it felt as the mercury hit 103°...
Maps Mania
Spreading Love & Peace in Nutopia
7 months ago
Maps Mania
The Best Price Comparison Maps
10 months ago
Maps Mania
The Riskiest Places to Live in America
5 months ago
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
The Book Banning Map of America
3 months ago
Maps Mania
What is Your Neighborhood Scare Score?
2 months ago
Maps Mania
Mapping the Spread of War in the Middle East
10 months ago
Adventures In...
On-the-Fly Generalization Hack for ArcGIS Pro
Generalization is one of the most important tools in a map maker’s tool kit. Sometimes the...
10 months ago
Generalization is one of the most important tools in a map maker’s tool kit. Sometimes the complexity of our geometry needs to be smoothed out to best visually represent a place or appear best at various scales. Here is a way (complete hack, but surprisingly effective) to...
somethingaboutmaps
Projection Connections: A Very Nerdy Poster
Friends, I’m excited to offer to you a new poster. Not a map this time around, but something...
over a year ago
Friends, I’m excited to offer to you a new poster. Not a map this time around, but something map-related. A 16 × 24-inch tangled web showing how 100+ different map projections are all related to each other: Projections are a niche topic even among cartographers, so I don’t...
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...
Map of the Week
New Orleans Slave Revolt
Despite what some officials in Florida want to teach, not all enslaved people appreciated the job...
10 months ago
Despite what some officials in Florida want to teach, not all enslaved people appreciated the job training they were getting from their benevolent overseers. In fact there were numerous rebellions. The largest one was in 1811 outside of New Orleans.
The map above is from a...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Kaiserslautern
I hope to stay longer than 72 hours the next time I visit Germany. I don’t recommend such a short...
7 months ago
I hope to stay longer than 72 hours the next time I visit Germany. I don’t recommend such a short visit. However I went there for work as I do occasionally, and I had no choice. So that’s what I did. I landed in Frankfurt on Monday, drove down to Kaiserslautern, stayed through...
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...
Maps Mania
2½ Half Weeks with Mrs Rauer
11 months ago
Adventures In...
Tolkien Style Maps in a GIS: part 4, Assembly
“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” In this 4-part series...
10 months ago
“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” In this 4-part series we’ll walk through the reckoning of a Lord of the Rings style fantasy map, right in ArcGIS Pro. We map-makers get to breathe honest to goodness geographic life into the seminal...
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
Middle Earth Transit Map
Hard to believe that those dumb hobbits risked their lives walking all the way to Mordor when they...
7 months ago
Hard to believe that those dumb hobbits risked their lives walking all the way to Mordor when they could have just taken the Orange Line.
Oh wait, the tunnel under the mountain is closed
so they would have had to switch to the Red Line at Bree and then made another...
Adventures In...
How to make this drought map in ArcGIS Online
Here’s how to make the drought map used in the Drought Aware app. This video covers creating a...
6 days ago
Here’s how to make the drought map used in the Drought Aware app. This video covers creating a custom imagery basemap, modified to best support thematic data, and a styling method for the overlain drought polygons so they tint the imagery a color based on severity and have a...
Adventures In...
Add Multiple Maps to One Layout
Of course Alaska and Hawaii are glorious places, beloved by all for their lovely inhabitants and...
3 months ago
Of course Alaska and Hawaii are glorious places, beloved by all for their lovely inhabitants and majestic natural environs. It would be an error of omission should they not appear in a map of the United States, but it would also be a shame to shoe-horn them in looking sad with an...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 8 (Completing the Circuit)
Too soon the Costa Rica adventure approached its end and it was time to wrap things up with a final...
a year ago
Too soon the Costa Rica adventure approached its end and it was time to wrap things up with a final few activities. The route involved the usual complexities, driving down the mountain from Monteverde and heading towards the airport outside of San José. We also took a little...
somethingaboutmaps
2022 Freelancer Survey Results
Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year’s survey of freelance cartographer...
over a year ago
Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year’s survey of freelance cartographer rates and business practices! Herein, you will find the results of the survey, sliced into a few different charts and visuals, all crafted by my survey partner Aly Ollivierre. For...
Transit Maps
Historical Map: Sydney Railway Layout, c. 1940
Unearthed on Twitter (It’ll always be Twitter to me, no matter what Elon says) by @crossing_lights,...
a year ago
Unearthed on Twitter (It’ll always be Twitter to me, no matter what Elon says) by @crossing_lights, this is quite an extraordinary find. Long-time readers may have seen the 1939 version of this diagram (and the digital recreation that I made). Here’s the thing: the general...
Maps Mania
Racial Covenants in Santa Clara Properties
2 months ago
Musings on Maps
Maps and Metaphors
The war around Gaza is not for territory, but rather for the destruction of the presence of a terror...
10 months ago
The war around Gaza is not for territory, but rather for the destruction of the presence of a terror network that has entrenched its power base deep underground. In many case, deeper than thought. While Israel has been pretty clear about … Continue reading →
Adventures In...
The Geoholics Podcast
I got to join The Geoholics podcast this week and had a fun conversation with Kent Groh, Ryan Kelly,...
a year ago
I got to join The Geoholics podcast this week and had a fun conversation with Kent Groh, Ryan Kelly, and Nik Smilovsky Here is a link to the episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0sHBwsGyfAoZE3ra5RaeVB?si=f1f3bdf9ab3b4695 Here’s the episode’s description: Raised by two...
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...
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...
Map of the Week
Maps GPT
I've been seeing a few interesting uses for ChatGPT-type artificial intelligence lately. Of course...
a year ago
I've been seeing a few interesting uses for ChatGPT-type artificial intelligence lately. Of course there has to be a map generator. MapsGPT is powered by Proxi, an alternative to Google's MyMaps. I started out looking at their map suggestions, such as worst places to take a nap...
Map of the Week
Map of Endangered Languages
Languages become endangered when parents teach a more dominant language to their children. This...
11 months ago
Languages become endangered when parents teach a more dominant language to their children. This clickable map can be found on Ethnologue, a language reference guide and a good place to spend part of this International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
Hover over a language to see...
GeoCurrents
Will the United States Recognize Somaliland as Somalia Continued to Devolve?
Recent reports claim that the incoming Trump administration is considering giving diplomatic...
2 days ago
Recent reports claim that the incoming Trump administration is considering giving diplomatic recognition to Somaliland, a de facto independent state that broke away from the wreckage of Somalia in 1991. Republican representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania has already introduced...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Long Island Rail Road Screen Maps at Grand Central Madison
Submitted by Griffin, who says: I work upstairs in the old Grand Central and was every excited to...
a year ago
Submitted by Griffin, who says: I work upstairs in the old Grand Central and was every excited to check out the new station this morning. Spotted this new map on the wall down there, thought you might find it interesting. Transit Maps says: Oh, I do like this. Graphically strong...
Transit Maps
Submission – New Official Map: UTA Rail and BRT Map, 2023
Submitted by Browne, who says: UTA, the primary transit provider for northern Utah, has officially...
a year ago
Submitted by Browne, who says: UTA, the primary transit provider for northern Utah, has officially launched its newest BRT service, and with it, a new transit map. The OGX is a new BRT route from Ogden Central Station, downtown, Weber State University, and down to McKay-Dee...
James Cheshire
Atlas des Unsichtbaren
Thrilled to announce the publication of German edition of Atlas of the Invisible: Atlas des...
over a year ago
Thrilled to announce the publication of German edition of Atlas of the Invisible: Atlas des Unsichtbaren. It is published by Hanser, who also did an amazing job with our previous book Die Wege der Tiere, and available in all good bookshops across the German speaking world. Click...
James Cheshire
PhD Opportunity: An Atlas of Health and Social Inequalities
Excited to announce that we have funding for a +3 studentship in the UCL Department of Geography for...
over a year ago
Excited to announce that we have funding for a +3 studentship in the UCL Department of Geography for the project “An Atlas of Health and Social Inequalities”. The research will be carried out in association with the Health Foundation and will comprise the creation of a range of...
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.)...
Adventures In...
How to make this thematic map, and stuff
One of the great joys of working here at Esri is the opportunity to collaborate with amazing people....
4 months ago
One of the great joys of working here at Esri is the opportunity to collaborate with amazing people. Recently I had the opportunity to present at the User Conference about thematic mapping, with Sarah Bell and Kenneth Field. It was a lot of fun and we all surprised each other...
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...
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...
Maps Mania
The Chain Restaurants of America
10 months ago
Map of the Week
Indigenous Languages-Part 3
Here is part 3 in what was meant to be a two part series. In between my last two posts, Vivid Maps...
10 months ago
Here is part 3 in what was meant to be a two part series. In between my last two posts, Vivid Maps posted a map of indigenous languages. I think this was just a coincidence. I only saw their post yesterday and I don't think they saw or were reacting to what I posted. Anyway this...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 5 (Japan: Farther Afield)
Monday arrived and I had to get back to work. A weekend in Tokyo was nice although I had other plans...
a year ago
Monday arrived and I had to get back to work. A weekend in Tokyo was nice although I had other plans and that involved getting out of the city. After all, the whole premise for this trip was visiting U.S. military facilities USS Blue Ridge The 7th Fleet of the United States Navy...
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...
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....
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 4 (Brew Day)
We hadn’t visited any breweries in the first several days but that was about to change. It turns out...
a year ago
We hadn’t visited any breweries in the first several days but that was about to change. It turns out Costa Rica has a fairly lively craft brewery scene and we were moving into an area rich with them. Several fell within our direct path between La Fortuna and Tamarindo and that...
Maps Mania
Create an AI Poster for Your Location
3 months ago
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...
somethingaboutmaps
My Decade with Blender
It occurs to me that I have been Blendering for a long time. In fact, it’s been almost exactly a...
7 months ago
It occurs to me that I have been Blendering for a long time. In fact, it’s been almost exactly a decade since I gave my first public presentation on the technique of generating shaded relief using Blender. And in that time, the method has been adopted far more widely than I could...
Maps Mania
The EJAtlas: A Map for Environmental Justice
3 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
Historical Map: Trams of Brisbane, Queensland, 1957
A simple but nicely drawn map of tram services in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1957. The lack...
a year ago
A simple but nicely drawn map of tram services in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1957. The lack of any sort of key for the routes means that users need to have some familiarity with the city to decipher where trams might go. The pamphlet that the map is part of includes...
somethingaboutmaps
Thoughts on Practical Cartographic Education
While I have not conducted a formal survey, I think I have the right impression when I say that most...
over a year ago
While I have not conducted a formal survey, I think I have the right impression when I say that most university cartography courses, at least in the United States, are taught by people whose primary job (when they are not teaching) is not the regular production of maps. These...
Map of the Week
Endangered Languages of New York City
In January I did a series of posts on endangered languages. A few weeks ago the New York Times had...
9 months ago
In January I did a series of posts on endangered languages. A few weeks ago the New York Times had an excellent "scrollytelling" graphic story on these languages and where they are spoken within New York City.
as you scroll down the page languages appear down Manhattan...
Adventures In...
How to find (and style!) detailed water polygons for your map
I often struggle to find high resolution polygons for things that tend to change, like water, urban,...
a year ago
I often struggle to find high resolution polygons for things that tend to change, like water, urban, ice, whatever. Here’s how you can wrangle some up-to-date, detailed, water polygons for your small or medium scale maps (plus five different ways you can style them up)… Here’s...
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...
Maps Mania
One Million Screenshots. One Map!
4 months ago
Adventures In...
How to emboss an imagery basemap
Ah the simple pleasures of the World Imagery basemap. So much earth. So much imagery. So many...
a year ago
Ah the simple pleasures of the World Imagery basemap. So much earth. So much imagery. So many corners of this world to explore. How can we take something so verdant and charming and just ratchet it up to eleven? We’ll use a water mask and some layer effects, that’s how! 0:00...
Maps Mania
2024's Climate Tipping Points
11 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
Projection Cards: Now a Reality
A couple months back, I floated an idea for making some fun trading cards based on map projections....
over a year ago
A couple months back, I floated an idea for making some fun trading cards based on map projections. I’m very happy to report that several dozen of you responded and contributed designs to help make the set happen. I’ve been spending several weeks on managing everyone and working...
Transit Maps
What I’m Up To and the Future of the Blog
Hi, everyone – it’s been a while! Quite a few people have written in lately wondering why I haven’t...
5 months ago
Hi, everyone – it’s been a while! Quite a few people have written in lately wondering why I haven’t updated the blog in a while, so I thought I should address that. Firstly, for those that were concerned something was wrong, I’d like to reassure you that I’m a-okay and everything...
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...
Maps Mania
There are 2,773 stories in the Naked City
9 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...
GeoCurrents
Hope and Peril in Somaliland
As noted in the previous GeoCurrents post, the incoming Trump administration is considering the...
3 hours ago
As noted in the previous GeoCurrents post, the incoming Trump administration is considering the recognition of the hitherto unrecognized state of Somaliland, which seceded from Somalia in 1991. On the diplomatic front, Somaliland’s position is looking increasingly promising. Its...
Adventures In...
Puget Sound 3D block diagram
Here’s a map of the Puget Sound area that I made a couple years ago for presentations to folks in...
11 months ago
Here’s a map of the Puget Sound area that I made a couple years ago for presentations to folks in the US northwest. Recently I wanted to work some more at labeling in a 3D environment and found this to be a handy target. Additionally, I thought it would be fun to make more use …
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
Where to Watch April's Solar Eclipse
10 months ago
Map of the Week
Snickelways of York
Note: In May, I spent some time traveling through England. This is the first of maybe several posts...
5 months ago
Note: In May, I spent some time traveling through England. This is the first of maybe several posts from that trip.
In York, England a snickelway is a narrow passageway variously referred to as a"snicket", "gimmel" or "alleyway", the word being a combination of all of these. Mark...
Maps Mania
Trains, Balloons and Automobiles
5 months ago
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...
GeoCurrents
Fernand Braudel: The Greatest Geographer of the Twentieth Century?
[Today’s post is the text of an oral presentation that I recently gave at a Stanford-Berkeley...
a week ago
[Today’s post is the text of an oral presentation that I recently gave at a Stanford-Berkeley Symposium on the legacy of the French historian Fernand Braudel.] In 1981, I entered the graduate program in geography at U.C. Berkeley and found myself in a war zone. The traditionalist...
Maps Mania
The River Basins & Watersheds of the World
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 –...
Inland Northwest, Day 4 (Lewis & Clark Country)
We were now officially between races. A day earlier I ran a half-marathon in Pendleton, Oregon and I...
2 months ago
We were now officially between races. A day earlier I ran a half-marathon in Pendleton, Oregon and I had to do it again in Clarkston, Washington the following day. So this was the rest day, or at least it was for me. Most participants in the Mainly Marathons Northwest series...
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