I found this tool six years ago and meant to post it but forgot until now. Fortunately it still works and is still pretty cool. You can click anywhere in the United States and trace the path of a raindrop to the ocean. I chose a random point northwest of White River City in western Colorado. River Runner is a tool from Sam Learner, a graphic journalist from the Financial Times. After it loads, you will get a fly through video tracing the raindrop's path. Here it is flowing down the Green River after passing through "Unnamed River" then Crooked Wash and then the White River. The red on the full USA map marks where you are at any given moment in the fly through. Here is the river as it approaches the Grand Canyon, and here it is in the agricultural landscape along the Arizona-California border. Unfortunately since this river goes into Mexico before flowing into the sea, the path is detained at the border (this is no longer true see update below). To see an example of a river's mouth here is the Mississippi flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. Don't expect a precise level of detail. I clicked at my house and it picked a point about a mile away where the flow to the nearest river is a bit different from where I am. It also got the name of a nearby lake wrong. Go here to see your local journey. UPDATE: River Runner is now a global phenomenon! You can now cross borders and go anywhere!

Malin and Mizen is a company that makes specialty maps like the California Surf Map   I love the wavy lines and details showing ideal wind and swell directions, coordinates, shark sightings, etc. The hand drawn details on the land are also very nice.  The company is named for Malin and Mizen Head, the northernmost and southernmost points in Ireland. Here you can see North Malin from the Irish Surf Map.  They make maps for different sports, history and beer and wine. Here is part of the Irish Pub Map. The x indicates where hot food is available.  Here is some detail from the California Vineyard Map, the letters indicate grape types and the other symbols are for visiting and tasting information.  There are also many swimming and golf maps.  Other surf maps include Australia with its varied topography. Kangaroos and ostriches dot the land.  Finally, closer to home (for me) is New Jersey.

Is this a map, a landscape painting or a beautiful piece of propaganda? This panoramic map was produced at the beginning of the 1900’s in London by W. H. Payne for Letts, Son & Co., a British stationary and map seller. The perspective is from a hilltop in British India, now Pakistan, overlooking Afghanistan. Two British soldiers in the foreground are looking out over Kandahar and other lands yet to conquer. In the far distance, along the Amu Darya (once known as Oxus River) lies the boundary of Russian territory. The Great Game was an 18th Century rivalry between the British and Russian Empires. This map was produced in that milieu with both sides vying for control over central Asia. The British aimed to create a protectorate in Afghanistan to prevent Russia from having access to the Persian Gulf or the Arabian Sea. Eventually borders were agreed upon but not entirely as seen below. The line along the western frontier is boundary of Persia, now Iran. The dominant mountain in the far distance looks a bit fanciful but may be inspired some of the peaks around Azhdar National Park. After failing to conquer these lands the British eventually settled for Afghanistan as an independent buffer state between the empires.

The United States Disappeared Tracker is a new Tableau visualization from Danielle Harlow. It shows where people have been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This map is part of a dashboard that “visualizes person brought into ICE custody when the trump Administration has demonstrated undeniable political motive/animus and/or the person has been denied appropriate due process, even if the charges are eventually substantiated in a court of law.“  Being a dashboard, there are also charts and lists of the disappeared.  You can also hover over the map for details on some of the incidents.  The data sources are not clear but 370 people just in Massachusetts? The author is also working on an ICE Flights Tracker.

Semiquincentennial is a word we will be hearing quite a bit over the next few years as the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary. The Revolutionary War’s 250th anniversary will be marked on April 19th of this year. On that day in 1775 British forces exchanged gunfire with local militia in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts while attempting to seize munitions stored by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, an alternate government set up by colonist outside of Boston. These skirmishes became full scale battles forcing the British to evacuate back to Boston. This map is literally close to home for me as I live along the route. -via US Army The map above is from the US Army which will also celebrate its semiquincentennial this year. The route through Lexington and Concord, known as the Battle Road is where thousands of Colonial and British troops fought a bloody battle on that day. This area is now known as Minute Man National Historic Park. The park’s web site provides a nice interactive map where you can click around the various historic sites within. To see the upcoming commemorations and related events visit Revolution 250 online.