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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...
9 months ago
128
9 months 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...
GeoCurrents
Canadian Provinces and U.S. States Economically Compared As noted in the previous GeoCurrents post, Alberta is Canada’s most prosperous and economically...
3 months ago
50
3 months ago
As noted in the previous GeoCurrents post, Alberta is Canada’s most prosperous and economically productive province. But it does have, as might be expected, by the country’s highest cost of living. Although living costs in Alberta are above the national average, they are below...
Map of the Week
Panorama Italia Tapestry There was no Map of the Week last week. That is because I was on vacation in northern Italy with my...
3 months ago
33
3 months ago
There was no Map of the Week last week. That is because I was on vacation in northern Italy with my wife and brother in law who provided some local knowledge and translation services. A typical vacation for me involves taking pictures of interesting maps I find along the way....
Adventures In...
Tolkien Style Maps in a GIS: part 3, Water “The world has changed. I see it in the water.” In this 4-part series we’ll walk through the...
a year ago
83
a year ago
“The world has changed. I see it in the water.” 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 aesthetic found in the LOTR...
Maps Mania
Love Story 2 - Dressed to Kill!
3 weeks ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 6 (Houston) The heat really cranked up as we entered Texas, never dropping below a daily high of 100° Fahrenheit...
over a year ago
87
over a year ago
The heat really cranked up as we entered Texas, never dropping below a daily high of 100° Fahrenheit (38° Celsius). Here my hybrid working vacation transitioned completely to pure work for a day. That’s where I needed to attend meetings at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston...
Maps Mania
Air Tours of the World
6 months ago
GeoCurrents
GeoCurrents Listed as One of the 100 Best GIS Blogs and Websites in 2025 I am pleased to report that GeoCurrents has been selected by FeedSpot as one of the “100 Best GIS...
5 months ago
28
5 months ago
I am pleased to report that GeoCurrents has been selected by FeedSpot as one of the “100 Best GIS Blogs” for 2025. It is an honor to receive this recognition and I give my sincere thanks to FeedSpot for the acknowledgement, although I do have to say that GeoCurrents is more a...
somethingaboutmaps
2024 Freelance Rate Survey Results Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year’s survey of freelance cartographer...
11 months ago
110
11 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...
Maps Mania
7 Free Alternatives to GeoGuessr
a month ago
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...
11 months ago
94
11 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
Rebuilding the Berlin Wall
6 months ago
Maps Mania
Mapping Whale Superhighways
3 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: GoBus Ohio, 2024 Submitted by Leo, who says: The state-supported GoBus system in Ohio has a somewhat strange route...
a year ago
124
a year ago
Submitted by Leo, who says: The state-supported GoBus system in Ohio has a somewhat strange route scheme (e.g. no direct route from Columbus to Cleveland, or Columbus to Cincinnati via Dayton) but their map, despite being overall fairly poor, makes some interesting stylistic...
Maps Mania
The Map to Your Heart
a month ago
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
114
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...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 4 (Bug Loop) Sure, the southern United States has more than its fair share of pesky bugs that most people...
over a year ago
79
over a year ago
Sure, the southern United States has more than its fair share of pesky bugs that most people actively avoid. Mosquitos, horseflies, and palmetto bugs probably top that list. So it probably sounds strange that we devoted an entire day to insects, particularly to the appreciation...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 1 (Oahu: Honolulu Waterfront) Most of my work trips are pretty mundane. The last three were rather typical — Philadelphia, Tampa...
over a year ago
86
over a year ago
Most of my work trips are pretty mundane. The last three were rather typical — Philadelphia, Tampa and Atlanta — for example. Sometimes I go to more interesting places like my quick jaunt to Germany a few years ago. However, this time I hit the jackpot: Hawaii, Japan, and South...
Maps Mania
Switzerland’s Landscape - Reimagined
6 months ago
GeoCurrents
Map Art or Scientific Cartography? Many maps, in my view, are also work of art, regardless of their creators’ intentions. Some maps,...
5 months ago
28
5 months ago
Many maps, in my view, are also work of art, regardless of their creators’ intentions. Some maps, however, are explicitly made as art, and as such are not designed to convey spatial information beyond that found in the mere geographical shapes that they contain. Increasingly, it...
Maps Mania
The Whole of Human History Mapped
2 months ago
Maps Mania
How Big is Anything?
2 weeks ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: TRAM d’Alacant Fare Zones, 2023 Submitted by Roberto, who says: I would like to share the TRAM d’Alacant fare zone map. It describes...
over a year ago
139
over a year ago
Submitted by Roberto, who says: I would like to share the TRAM d’Alacant fare zone map. It describes the different zones and stops of this tramway/narrow gauge train in the Spanish province of Alacant (Alicante). It’s been reopened recently after six years of renovation works....
Maps Mania
The Meaning Behind Our Place Names
3 months ago
Map of the Week
Los Angeles Wildfire Extent The extent of the forest fires in and around Los Angeles is horrific and may become even worse in...
7 months ago
46
7 months ago
The extent of the forest fires in and around Los Angeles is horrific and may become even worse in the next few days. The New York Times has some very detailed maps showing the extent of destruction. Here is a close up of Altadena from the Hurst Fire. via New York Times -...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 3 (Dorchester) We began to explore a little further afield, still within Dorset, as we began to settle in to our...
a year ago
113
a year ago
We began to explore a little further afield, still within Dorset, as we began to settle in to our home for the week. That took us a little further west and a few miles inland from the English Channel. It included a lot of open countryside and then a sizeable settlement....
Maps Mania
The Treasure Hunting Game
5 months ago
GeoCurrents
Comparing Recent Patterns of Electoral Geography in the United States and Canada (Part 1:... Comparing electoral maps of Canada and the United States is a challenging exercise. The two...
3 months ago
44
3 months ago
Comparing electoral maps of Canada and the United States is a challenging exercise. The two countries have markedly different political systems: the United States is a presidential democratic republic and Canada is a nominally monarchical state governed through a...
Maps Mania
Wiki Explore
6 months ago
Maps Mania
The Russian Sabotage Map
5 months ago
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...
over a year ago
60
over 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...
Maps Mania
Poland's Political Partition Persists
3 months ago
Maps Mania
The College Football Imperialism Map
3 days ago
Maps Mania
The Invasion of America
5 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 6 (Bournemouth) We didn’t go far but it seemed like a world apart, traveling from an isolated corner of Dorset into...
a year ago
116
a year ago
We didn’t go far but it seemed like a world apart, traveling from an isolated corner of Dorset into its most populous area. That led us to Bournemouth (map), a coastal town along the English Channel. There are so many ancient places in the United Kingdom but this is not one of...
Maps Mania
Unlocking Google’s Hidden Maps
3 months ago
Maps Mania
GeoGuessing Reimagined
7 months ago
Musings on Maps
“A Mighty Redwood Has Fallen” Malcolm Margolin was the coolest people I knew. If we can’t be hugely saddened by his passing, and...
6 days ago
14
6 days ago
Malcolm Margolin was the coolest people I knew. If we can’t be hugely saddened by his passing, and the loss of his dynamic presence in the East Bay, he’ll be a model for persisting a vision quest in a dark … Continue reading →
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 8 (Postscript: Interesting Signs) I know that some of the articles in this series veered into heavy topics. So let’s take things in a...
over a year ago
96
over a year ago
I know that some of the articles in this series veered into heavy topics. So let’s take things in a less serious direction for a moment now that I’ve completed the travelogue portion. It’s no secret that I enjoy signage, the more unusual the better. Sometimes I even collect them...
Maps Mania
Is Flying Becoming More Dangerous?
3 months ago
Adventures In...
The Geoholics Podcast I got to join The Geoholics podcast this week and had a fun conversation with Kent Groh, Ryan Kelly,...
over a year ago
100
over 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...
Maps Mania
When is the sun directly overhead?
2 months ago
Maps Mania
The Start of Hurricane Season
3 months ago
Maps Mania
Mapping the Sudanese Civil War
4 months ago
Adventures In...
How to Make Features Illuminate an Underlying Basemap Sure, we can make features look like they are glowing. But how can we make them look like they are...
over a year ago
64
over a year ago
Sure, we can make features look like they are glowing. But how can we make them look like they are casting light on the basemap below? Here’s a silly little trick using crafty symbology and blend modes in ArcGIS Pro. In this case we’ll use glorious stork migration paths,...
Adventures In...
Inner Glow Effect for Polygons in ArcGIS Online Sure, there’s a glorious drop shadow effect in the ever-more-capable ArcGIS Online Map Viewer to...
5 months ago
72
5 months ago
Sure, there’s a glorious drop shadow effect in the ever-more-capable ArcGIS Online Map Viewer to give features a sweet glow, BUT there’s no inner glow effect. How do we cast that beautiful glow inward? I’ll admit that I’ve been stumped by this one for longer than I care to admit,...
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
99
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...
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...
9 months ago
106
9 months 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...
Maps Mania
Scrambled Vintage Maps
6 months ago
Maps Mania
Data Visualization in VR
18 hours ago