InternetResources for Maps & Map Making

A fabulous geographer, Carol Gersmehl, Monroe Community College, has provided the following excellent list of internet mapping resources!!!!



Internet Resources for Maps & Mapping—Examples November 2007 with July 2008 & December 2008 updates - - carol.gersmehl@gmail.com


U.S.
The U.S. Census provides ready-made maps about counties of the U.S. :
http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/atlas.html
This is a great introduction to census maps.
Topics: population, diversity, race, and Hispanic origin (by counties)

Use census.gov to create thematic maps using Census data from year 2000:
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ThematicMapFramesetServlet?_bm=y&-_lang=en
“American Factfinder” provides data about the U.S.. It steps you through creating a map. If you want to look at all of the U.S., then you would map data for “counties.” If you want to look at a smaller portion of the U.S., you might map data for “tracts” or “block groups":
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en
Overview of American Factfinder:
http://factfinder.census.gov/jsp/saff/SAFFInfo.jsp?_pageId=gn7_maps
Thematic & reference maps:
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/CP_MapProducts.htm

Use historical U.S. census data to create maps:
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/
Historical Census Browser. This site provides data for states and for counties—for every decade all the way back to 1790.

Find aerial photos and topographic maps for local areas in the U.S.
Terraserver and Topozone:
http://www.terraserver.microsoft.com/ --for aerial photos and topographic maps. Generally, choose a small area (part of a city or part of a county) and zoom in.


Use the National Atlas to find printable maps or to select layers for your own map (technical).
“Printable Maps” http://www.nationalatlas.gov/printable.html
mainly thematic maps
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/printable/reference.html
reference maps (with or without labels)
“Map Maker” Section http://nationalatlas.gov/natlas/natlasstart.asp Choose one state or a group of several states. Note “Redraw Map.” http://www.nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html http://www.nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp-na.html for download

Find maps and data about agriculture in the U.S. (Census of Agriculture, NASS)
http://www.nass.usda.gov/research/atlas02/ has nice already-made maps (e.g., about milk cows)
http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/
http://www.nass.usda.gov/QuickStats/ for data
http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/censuscd/index.htm for data download for experienced GIS


Digital atlases provide ready-made maps. (William A. Bowen California Geographical Survey) We can talk about the use of circles and the choice of colors on these maps. Notice that there are separate maps for total number of persons vs. percentages of persons.
http://130.166.124.2/NYpage1.html maps about census data for New York City
http://130.166.124.2/dcpg1.html maps about census data for Washington, DC
http://130.166.124.2/US_1.html maps about census data (ancestry) for U.S. counties

Find data and maps about religion in U.S.
http://www.thearda.com/ http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/maps.asp Choose maps and reports about religious groups.
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/society/rellinks.htm provides general overview and links

Other U.S. government websites (mortality, environmental quality, watersheds)
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/other/atlas/atlas.htm has already-made maps about diseases and types of injury from the Centers for Disease Control - Atlas of United States Mortality
EPA Enviromapper http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/em includes NYC air sampling data after 9/11
EPA Surf Your Watershed http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm includes “locate your watershed”

Find maps in the Library of Congress Map Collection. There are 1000’s of maps.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html Search by keyword or choose a section.
This has many current and historic maps for the U.S. and also for other parts of the world.


WORLD (Also look into Google Maps and Google Earth!)
Worldmapper: http://www.worldmapper.org/ http://www.worldmapper.org/textindex/text_index.html
- has unusual type of map (cartogram); topics include present-day and also some historical:
Population in Year 1 http://www.worldmapper.org/ and
Wealth in Year 1 http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=159

World Resources Institute has maps and also data lists: for example http://earthtrends.wri.org/maps_spatial/index.php?theme=4

Columbia University, CIESIN, has maps: http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/gpw/global.jsp

CIA Factbook is a basic source for reference maps and comparative data.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
Choose a country (e.g., Afghanistran) and you will see a map followed by much data and description. OR – Do not choose a country and then click on “Reference Maps” to see maps of world regions.

Globalis has many map layers about countries and world regions. http://globalis.gvu.unu.edu/index.cfm Start in upper left--choose a theme under Thematic Maps.
You will see maps about the entire world, or at top left, choose “Zoom to” to select an area.
Choose map topics under either “Statistics” or “Thematic maps.” Be sure to “Update map.”

Le Monde Diplomatique has already-made maps about issue-oriented and controversial topics.
http://mondediplo.com/maps/

Geography Network is an ESRI interactive mapping site where you can “Search” for maps.
http://www.geographynetwork.com/maps/arcexplorerweb.html You can launch ArcExplorerweb from here.
Using this can be more complicated, but is worth learning about.


Ready-made maps from National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/matrix3.html has “starter” lesson ideas
GOOD: Human footprint http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/map/atlas/africa-human-footprint.html


Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection has many current and historic ready-made maps.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ Choose from a list of continents or from current interest topics.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/ provides historical maps


UNESCO World Heritage has locator map, photos, and descriptions of important historic places.
http://whc.unesco.org/ Zoom in and move around on the map to see locations of important places.
http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31 Important historical places are listed within countries.


USGS Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change (satellite images)
http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/earthshots/slow/tableofcontents has image and article about each yellow dot


Various historic maps for U.S. and world
http://www.davidrumsey.com/ David Rumsey map collection provides 1000’s of historic maps, BUT
technology and sometimes GIS experience may be necessary.


Geography.about.com is a searchable site designed for teachers.
http://www.geography.about.com/ has dozens of links on the left side


World Atlas of Panoramic Aerial Images shows landforms and land cover. http://130.166.124.2/world_atlas/index.html COOL! Choose a region within the world or the U.S.
http://130.166.124.2/library.html shows contents of “The Electronic Map Library” by Wm. Bowen


GEsource is recommended by librarians for geography-related maps, data, and articles. http://www.gesource.ac.uk/worldguide/ summarizes CIA Factbook for countries
At top, for “Country,” please select country/region.” Then press “Go.”
http://www.gesource.ac.uk/geography_timeline.html Choose topic and date range.
http://www.gesource.ac.uk/worldguide/countrycompare.html Compare 4 countries at a time.
http://www.gesource.ac.uk/worldguide/cities.html has city maps (satellite images)
http://www.gesource.ac.uk/home.html Use “keyword search” to find maps and articles.

THANKS CAROL! Teachers: Great resources to use with your smart boards!!!!!!!!!!