Maps and Cartography
Maps and cartography are essential tools in geography that enable us to visualize and understand the Earth’s surface and its features.
Cartography is the art and science of creating maps, which involves the use of sophisticated technology and techniques to accurately represent the Earth’s physical and cultural features.
Maps provide a visual representation of the world, allowing us to identify patterns, explore spatial relationships, and navigate through unfamiliar terrain.
Using GIS to Improve Hurricane Evacuation and Preparedness
As hurricane season gets underway in the Atlantic, GIS is being use to better prepare communities and property from the devastating effects of storms.
Earliest Known Map Showing Florida
Published in 1511, the first map to show the peninsula of Florida is also a map of other firsts.
Track Real-Time Air Pollution With this Crowdsourced Map
One way to track air quality at the local level is by visiting PurpleAir, an interactive map that pulls in crowdsourced data.
First Published Map of Wales
Humphrey Llwyd developed the first map focused on Wales which was published in 1573.
Google Adds Near Real-time Wildfire Boundaries to Search and Maps
Google pulls data from NOAA's GOES satellites to map out wildfire boundaries.
H3: Open Source Geospatial Indexing System
H3, developed by Uber, divides the Earth into hexagons.
Using GIS to Track Historical Land Cover Change and Growth Rate at Fort McCoy
Christian Rodriguez outlines the process to track land cover changes on a military installation using ArcGIS.
Find Your Way Downstream with Streamer
Water is essential for life on the planet, and tool from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) makes it easy and fun ...
Monitoring Volcanoes Using UAVs
With the increase usage of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, scientists now have a powerful tool to map active volcanoes safely.
Using Mobile Phone Data to Limit the Spread of COVID-19
Mobile phone data could be used to limit the spread of the virus while medical experts can also use it to project next steps in fighting a pandemic.
What is “Horror Vacui” in Cartography?
If you've ever looked at a map created in the 1500s and 1600s, you might notice that many cartographers have filled every space with some kind of detail.
Mapping the Spread of the Novel Coronavirus: COVID-19
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) is mapping the spread of the coronavirus in near-realtime.
This Map is Tracking the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Near-Realtime
An interactive GIS dashboard developed by Johns Hopkins University is mapping COVID-19 cases with near real-time tracking.
See the First Atlas Created of a Country
The "Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales," published in 1579, is the first atlas produced for any country.
This Detailed Map Shows 119 Years of Earthquakes
The USGS has released a highly detailed and updated map of seismicity from 1900 to 2018.
Counter Mapping and Cultural Preservation
A group of A:shiwi elders and artists are working to change how maps are drawn of their ancestral lands.
An Incredibly Detailed Map of the Moon’s Geology
Entitled, "Unified Geologic Map of the Moon" the newly created map summarizes the current state of lunar geologic knowledge.
Mapping the Transportation Network of the Roman World
ORBIS is a mapping project developed by researchers at Stanford that reconstructs the financial and spatial challenges of transporting goods and people during Roman times about 200 CE.
Mapping Epidemics
Forecasting the spread of viruses and mapping potential epidemics is gaining important attention in the medical community.
Review | Phantom Islands: In Search of Mythical Lands
In this book, Dirk Liesener provides the life-stories of islands, some thirty of them, which though thought to exist in some cases for many centuries turned out to either not be an island or to have never existed to start with.
Mapping Australia’s Bushfires
Tools based on near-real time data from satellites, such as those used by Australia or developed by NASA, have great utility in monitoring existing fires while giving the public near real-time monitoring.
Geospatial Data Available: Global Sea-surface Salinity
Data from three satellite missions has been merged to produce a global time-series showing sea-surface salinity measurements between 2010 and 2018.
Thanksgiving Maps and Geography
Thanksgiving maps about this holiday involving major feasting. Maps shown include distribution of turkey, green beans, sweet potatoes, and cranberries by Zellmer and a similar interactive map by Esri.
DNA Science and GIS
In recent years, spatial analysis has supplemented our understanding of genetic variation and DNA studies.
Mapping Out California’s Methane Emissions
With half of the methane emissions originating from human activities, researchers from NASA wanted to map out point-source emitters in California to understand where the highest volume of methane emissions occur.