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GeoCurrents
Floristic Kingdoms and the Architecture of Continents The two previous GeoCurrents posts examined the biological significance of continents by looking at...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
The two previous GeoCurrents posts examined the biological significance of continents by looking at the distribution of animals. It is time now to turn out attention to plants. One of the most influential divisions of the world into “floristic kingdoms” is that of botanist Ronald...
Maps Mania
Celebrating 20 Years of Maps Mania
4 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
2025 AFC Freelancer Survey Though it’s been about a week since we sent it out there, I just recalled that I haven’t alerted all...
4 months ago
58
4 months ago
Though it’s been about a week since we sent it out there, I just recalled that I haven’t alerted all of you to the 2025 edition of the freelance cartographer survey that Aly Ollivierre and I conduct. Due to popular demand, we are going to try conducting it annually, rather than...
Maps Mania
Spinning at a Thousand Miles an Hour
4 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
A Usefully Useless Projection Friends, I’m excited to share that I have just completed a world physical map, in my new asymmetric...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
Friends, I’m excited to share that I have just completed a world physical map, in my new asymmetric monstrosity projection. It’s free to download, or if you want to buy a 30″ × 20″ print, you can also do that (and I will be pleasantly surprised). If you download it and print it...
Maps Mania
The Most Beautiful Places in the World
4 months ago
GeoCurrents
How Does an Updated Map of Zoogeographic Regions Mesh with the Architecture of Continents? An important 2013 article in published in Science, “An Update of Wallace’s Zoogeographic Regions of...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
An important 2013 article in published in Science, “An Update of Wallace’s Zoogeographic Regions of the World,” redivides the world’s faunal regions. The study is based on a sophisticated statistical and phylogenetic analysis of 21,037 species of amphibians, non-pelagic birds and...
Map of the Week
Revolutionary War Semiquincentennial Semiquincentennial is a word we will be hearing quite a bit over the next few years as the United...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
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...
Maps Mania
Mapping the Red Sea Attacks
4 months ago
GeoCurrents
Zoogeographical Regions & the Architecture of Continents: The Legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace If the division of the terrestrial world into continents is partially but misleadingly rooted in...
4 months ago
38
4 months ago
If the division of the terrestrial world into continents is partially but misleadingly rooted in geology, as recent GeoCurrents posts have argued, we must also ask whether it reflects the distribution of animal and plant life. Are continents, in other words, entities of...
Maps Mania
The First Cuckoo of Spring
4 months ago
GeoCurrents
The Biological Significance of Micro-Continents: The Fascinating Caecilians of Seychelles (and Other... On the surface, there is little to distinguish small islands on continental fragments from oceanic...
4 months ago
37
4 months ago
On the surface, there is little to distinguish small islands on continental fragments from oceanic islands that have no continental connections. Careful observation, however, can reveal some interesting differences. The Seychelles microcontinent in the Indian Ocean is an...
Adventures In...
Hack some bokeh into your ArcGIS Online map You know how you can crank up the sense of drama and studio photography professionalism by switching...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
You know how you can crank up the sense of drama and studio photography professionalism by switching over to portrait mode on your phone’s camera? It just looks…cool. The subject is in focus and the peripheral background content is blurry. It’s actually how our eyes and brains...
Maps Mania
The Treasure Hunting Game
4 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...
4 months ago
25
4 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...
Map of the Week
Wall Street Before the Wall This bird-eye diagram of lower Manhattan appeared in a Harpers Magazine article from 1908 titled...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
This bird-eye diagram of lower Manhattan appeared in a Harpers Magazine article from 1908 titled “The Story of a Street.”  In 1844 the Dutch governor of New Amsterdam ordered the town’s citizens to construct a cattle guard at the north end of the settlement to keep the cattle...
Maps Mania
The Future Risk Index Rides Again
4 months ago
GeoCurrents
Mapping Continents Based on Continental Crust As the previous GeoCurrents post argued, the division of the terrestrial world into a handful of...
4 months ago
27
4 months ago
As the previous GeoCurrents post argued, the division of the terrestrial world into a handful of continents derives in part from the division of the Earth’s crust into tectonic plates. But there is another geological factor equally pertinent to the concept of “continent.” It...
Maps Mania
Federal Funding & Jobs Slashed
4 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,...
4 months ago
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4 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
How Deep was That Earthquake?
4 months ago
GeoCurrents
Are Continents Rooted in Plate Tectonics? Tectonic plates are the basic building blocks of the Earth’s lithosphere, its outermost rocky layer....
4 months ago
36
4 months ago
Tectonic plates are the basic building blocks of the Earth’s lithosphere, its outermost rocky layer. As these large segments of crust slowly move, landmasses and sea expanses are gradually rearranged. The current configuration of tectonic plates shows a tight connection with the...
Map of the Week
Karen Wynn Fonstad's Middle Earth Maps I was not aware of Karen Wynn Fonstad until a recent article from the New York Times “Overlooked”...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
I was not aware of Karen Wynn Fonstad until a recent article from the New York Times “Overlooked” series. Overlooked are obituaries about people whose deaths (in this case in 2005) were unreported in the Times. Fonstad created the Atlas of Middle Earth to accompany the works of...
Maps Mania
Make Your Own Scrambled Maps
5 months ago
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
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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,...
Map of the Week
Iditarod Course Change Alaska’s famous Iditarod dog sled race concluded last week. Global warming meant the route needed to...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
Alaska’s famous Iditarod dog sled race concluded last week. Global warming meant the route needed to be moved further north to start at Fairbanks instead of Anchorage. -Map via Anchorage Daily News While not the first time the route has run from Fairbanks, this year’s race...
Maps Mania
State of the Global Climate 2024
5 months ago
Map of the Week
The Maps of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a Native American artist died a few weeks ago. Her artwork highlighted a...
5 months ago
48
5 months ago
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a Native American artist died a few weeks ago. Her artwork highlighted a Native worldview juxtaposed with American pop culture and included many maps. -via Center for Public Art History In State Names (2000) paint drips obscure the European...
Maps Mania
Switzerland’s Landscape - Reimagined
5 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Chicago Metra Line Rebranding Submitted by Nick, who says: Hi Cameron. I live in Chicago and our commuter rail Metra is...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
Submitted by Nick, who says: Hi Cameron. I live in Chicago and our commuter rail Metra is considering rebranding its lines and recently released two proposals. I thought you and your readers might enjoy reviewing them. The announcement, proposed designs, and link to a survey are...
Adventures In...
Make a seafloor map in the spirit of Marie Tharp & Heinrich Berann Here’s how you can make a map inspired by the glorious collaboration of geologist Marie Tharp and...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
Here’s how you can make a map inspired by the glorious collaboration of geologist Marie Tharp and landscape painter Heinrich Berann. We’ll use ArcGIS Pro (injected with a special terrain toolbox provided by cartographer, author, and public figure Ken Field), its amazing raster...
Maps Mania
ViewPoint 3000
5 months ago
Map of the Week
The Brattleboro Words Project Last year I was in Brattleboro, Vermont and saw an interesting map on display. It is part of...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
Last year I was in Brattleboro, Vermont and saw an interesting map on display. It is part of the Brattleboro Words Project. The project “connects community members to the Brattleboro area’s unique history, the art of audio storytelling - and each other” through audio pieces, maps...
Maps Mania
Wiki Explore
5 months ago
Adventures In...
Gradients along lines, rather than across While there isn’t a direct way to symbolize a line feature in ArcGIS Pro to have a gradient that...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
While there isn’t a direct way to symbolize a line feature in ArcGIS Pro to have a gradient that travels along its length (rather than across its width), there are a handful of workarounds to get you there. If your line is wiggly, you might have to try a more robust method, like...
Maps Mania
Mapping Myths Across the World
5 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Metro Rapid Map, Madison, Wisconsin Submitted by Matthew, who says: Madison, WI just opened the first phase of our new BRT system, with...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
Submitted by Matthew, who says: Madison, WI just opened the first phase of our new BRT system, with new stations, new electric buses, and a new diagrams. I’d love to know what you think about the design, especially how the city handled differentiating the two types of station...
Maps Mania
The Battering School Kids Map
5 months ago
Musings on Maps
Victory! Sensing a need for administering a national shot of dopamine without much to accomplish for n end to...
5 months ago
61
5 months ago
Sensing a need for administering a national shot of dopamine without much to accomplish for n end to war in Ukraine–despite promises of one being imminent–and with less low-rate beachfront properties available than hoped for amidst the rubble in Gaza, … Continue reading →
Map of the Week
The Invasion of Ukraine Ukraine was invaded by Russia three years ago. Since the new president of the United States is in...
5 months ago
48
5 months ago
Ukraine was invaded by Russia three years ago. Since the new president of the United States is in full surrender to Putin mode and wants to blame Ukraine for starting the war, I am posting this map, from February 27, 2022. It is to remind anyone that needs reminding of who...
Maps Mania
The Best & Worst Rated Countries in the World
5 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Culpeper Co., Virginia I enjoy county counting but it becomes increasingly difficult to reach new counties as my count...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
I enjoy county counting but it becomes increasingly difficult to reach new counties as my count increases. That’s why I began a sub-variant involving overnight counties. You see it counts “more” by my arbitrary rules if I spend an entire night there instead of simply passing...
Musings on Maps
Counterfeit Puppets: Hustler’s University, Red Pills and the Manosphere HU–“Huster’s University”–bills itself as the only real access to a world of Money Makers where they...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
HU–“Huster’s University”–bills itself as the only real access to a world of Money Makers where they can lead a fulfilling life, able to lead those who enter to an alternative reality, mentoring users who ar able to click on “the … Continue reading →
Maps Mania
2024 - Another Year of Record Heat
6 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Transit Map of Denpasar, Bali, 2025 Submitted by Ida Bagus Nararya Adityananda, who says: This is the new transit network map of...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Submitted by Ida Bagus Nararya Adityananda, who says: This is the new transit network map of Denpasar, Bali metro per January 1st 2025. After the closure of Trans Metro Dewata buses that connects 4 regencies and city in Bali. Now, only Trans Sarbagita operates with its 2 corridor...
Maps Mania
Zoom, Pan, and Explore: Sutro Tower in 3D
6 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Historical Map: Suburban Tramways of Bordeaux, 1954 Submitted by Florian, who says: I submit this map because first of all, I live there and I was...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Submitted by Florian, who says: I submit this map because first of all, I live there and I was thrilled to learn there is a blog about transit maps design. And I love old maps, which I was also thrilled to see they are welcome here. This map dates from 1954, merely 4 years before...
Map of the Week
Mapping Prejudice Mapping Prejudice is a project by a team of scholars and activists at the University of Minnesota....
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Mapping Prejudice is a project by a team of scholars and activists at the University of Minnesota. The project maps racial covenants, clauses that were inserted into property deeds to keep people who were not White from buying or occupying homes.  The mapping page has an...
Maps Mania
The Best (and Worst) Cities for Rail Transport
6 months ago
Musings on Maps
Putting out Fires and Ensuring Water Flow Before the mass firings of civil servants, members of government, and oversight by the Trump...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Before the mass firings of civil servants, members of government, and oversight by the Trump administration, we were already shocked by two major disruptions that suggest the danger of the new President’s reflexive knee-jerk responses from his over-sensitive gut. Both–the …...