Teaching With Maps

Below are links to map sources, resources, and sites with geographical data. Some links show examples of the types of materials that may be located on the World Wide Web. For quick-finding on this page, use your browser's "Find" command and enter terms.

University at Buffalo Map Collections

• University Libraries Map Collection. Shows selected maps, descriptions of collections, tips on searching for maps using BISON the UB Library Catalog, and other items.
  • City of Buffalo Neighborhoods Map. Map, with overview of each neighborhood in Buffalo. Also has links to relevant other maps and websites.
  • Buffalo, New York in Maps, Charts, and Images. Virtual and physical collections of maps, charts, and aerial photographs.
  • Historical Topographic Maps of Buffalo. Briefly describes the collection and shows some examples. These maps range from 1895-1948.
  • Aerial Photographs of Buffalo and Erie/Niagara Counties. Photographs made in 1927-1928, 1966, and 1978. Covers various altitudes and locations. Index maps make it possible to locate specific sites in region. Sample image of South Buffalo area. [See also: Satellite and Remote-Sensing Images for more aerial/satellite images of the area.]
  • Fire Insurance Maps of Buffalo. Sanborn Fire Insurance Company maps. Detailed maps of individual blocks. UB has a subscription to the entire New York State historical Sanborn maps (UB users only), and a microfilm set of Buffalo.
  • Zoning Map of Buffalo. Basic reference to commercial, industrial, and residential zones.
• Geography & Map Resources Web guide (UB Libraries) listing internet resources for maps, cartographic data, and materials relating to geography.

Locating Maps on the World Wide Web

Country Map Sites

• See also: Thematic maps.
• World Atlas Political. Political map of the world, which allows the user to zoom in to any country.
• World Political Maps. (Holt Reinhart). Simple maps of each continent and country.
• World Sites Atlas. Interactive maps allow you to choose political, physical, or locations of interest maps for each country. Site links to geographical data and photos of chosen regions or locations. (Sample)
• Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (University of Texas at Austin). Digitized collection (3,000+) of historic and contemporary maps. Many maps are U.S. government originals and may be downloaded and used without copyright restrictions. Also has links to websites for maps worldwide. Main map arrangement is by continent, further broken down into regional and city maps, among other categories. To jump to the starting point for maps by continent use the following links:
  • Maps of The World
  • Maps of Africa
  • Maps of The Americas
    • Maps of The United States More than 700 maps.
  • Maps of Asia
    • Maps of Russia and the Former Soviet Republics
  • Maps of Australia and the Pacific
  • Maps of Europe
  • Maps of The Middle East
  • Maps of Polar Regions and Oceans
  • Historic Maps. Starting point for rare and historical maps in UT collection and links to historical maps worldwide. (Sample) (Sample)
  • Links to Maps on Other Websites. This page is maintained by PCL, offering links to various sites in the world that have maps. Maps vary in quality, but many are very good, and cover places that are not easily found. The page is arranged into the following sections: Cartographic Reference (including gazetteers), City Maps, Country Maps, General Maps, Historical Maps, Outline Maps, State Maps, and Weather Maps. There are also Maps of Current Interest showing maps of news-related locations.
  • Tanzania Maps. Example of the types of maps referred to from the UT site for specific countries. For each country in the maps above, links such as this are given for good links around the World.
• United Nations Cartographic Department Map Collection. Excellent source for maps of many countries and regions of the World. Emphasis on maps for mission-specific countries.
• World Maps and Geographical data (UniMaps.com). Site has maps of continents, countries, and provides climate, flags, and other basic data. Maps include colonial, explorations, science and weather, among others. See examples:
  • Africa Today
  • Africa Flags, Climate, Location (by country)
  • Colonial Africa (1886-1914)
• World Sites Atlas. Find simple political and physical maps of countries, states, and provinces, along with basic geographical information.
• Maps of Pacific countries and the Pacific Region. Islands and archipelagos.
• Map Library. Source of public domain basic map data concerning administrative boundaries in developing countries. The data is broken down into manageable chunks to make it easier to download. Has image files and ESRI-GIS useable files. Current coverage: Africa, Central America.
• Sadalmelik Relief Maps (Sadalmelik). Maps of countries in: Africa, Asia, Central & South America, Indonesia (some main islands), various Pacific islands and island groups, among others.
• Asia-Related Maps (AskAsia.org from the Asian Society). A variety of thematic maps (e.g., relief, political, ethnic). Maps sorted for K-12 use (but also suitable for college), and by chronological period of history.
• Intute Worldguide. Maps and satellite images for countries and features in those countries. Also includes geographical data and other materials.

Selected Maps From Other Sites

• Active Maps Worldwide. Links to map sites by country.
• Afriterra. Cartographic library assembling and preserving original rare maps of Africa.
• Atlas of Canada. Provides political and other maps of Canada and its provinces and territories. Includes good outline maps as well. The National Atlas Collection contains: satellite images, photographs of various landscapes in Canada, maps, and links to additional images and maps.
• National Atlas of Canada, 5th Edition, 1978 to 1995. View and download maps of Canada, such as: historical, climate, forests, drainage basins, politics, population, and more. Other Canadian map, GIS, and geodata resources are available (some for free) at the Resources Canada, Earth Sciences Sector page.
• Canadian Atlas (Canadian Geographic). Very good for Canadian data (plus maps from other parts of the World). More maps/data for Canada at the CG Mapping page.
• Botswana Maps. All kinds of maps ready to view.
• China (Center for Chinese Studies, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa). Great variety of maps, including maps showing ethno-linguistic groups (with a map for each group as well).
• Language Atlas of China (Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences). Good maps and related data on language and dialects.
• India Maps of India site. General, thematic, district maps. (Sample).
• Demographics of India. Maps showing population data, literacy rates, and data relating to various characteristics.
• Italy, Virtual Map. In Italian, but the system operates the same as most other interactive maps. (Sample)
• Portugal. A variety of maps from their army mapping department. Maps are large scale, and very detailed.
  • Sistema Nacional de Informação Geográfica (SNIG) (National System for Geographic Information). Includes digital geographic information, maps, aerial photographs, satellite images, GPS and GIS materials, and more.
• Guide to Maps and Mapping on the Internet. Golden Gate University Library guide. Links to collections of maps from General topics, San Francisco region, to Worldwide coverage. Some links refer to the Perry-Castañeda and other libraries, but many are unique. Library page refers to the University Library's guides that offer geographic country data as well as maps.
• Maps of Europe. Short list of maps, emphasis on 1500 A.D. and later; also covers earlier periods.
• Maps From ReliefWeb. Good, clear maps of major trouble spots, areas where relief operations are taking place, and other. Gives current names of cities and towns, and shows boundaries of neighboring countries.
• Maps of the World site. From Outdoorguides.com. Well arranged, collection of maps. Some are from the PCL (see above), but many are from other sites.
• Maps and GIS on the Web. A collection of maps, including country, historic, other.

United States Maps

• Color Landform Atlas of the United States Landform maps, with various characteristics; also satellite images of each state. Also provides links to other maps for each state, and for the entire country.
• The National Atlas of the United States of America. USGS site to promote geographical awareness. Begun in 1997; still in progress.
• Boundaries of the United States and the Several States. Animated map of the country showing border changes by year. Very good for graphic depiction.
• Bureau of the Census. Provides access to census data and related materials, including glossaries, descriptions of data types, and other information. Some pages are:
  • Subjects Index. Everything on the Bureau's site is indexed here. A good place to begin.
  • American FactFinder. Create maps for counties and metropolitan areas by providing requests for different characteristics (i.e., income, households, sex, etc.).
  • State and County Demographic and Economic Profiles. Click on state, then county to obtain census data. Map may be drawn of the area selected.
  • GIS Gateway (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Offers connections to many Geographic Information Systems (GIS) resources available on the Internet.
  • TIGER Map Service (Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing system). Sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Provides a public resource for generating high-quality, detailed maps of anywhere in the United States, using public geographic data. Users can prepare custom data maps online or may purchase CD-ROM products to generate maps at their own computer. Examples of the tools available include: The Census Tract Street Locator (provides data by street name and zip); Census Tracts/Block Numbering Area (BNA) locator; Map Gallery (outline maps and other); School District Names; and other.
  • Geography Products. Links to TIGER service and also other Bureau geographic materials.
  • U.S. Gazetteer. Lookup names and locations for: cities and towns, rivers and streams, cemeteries, parks, and all other geographic features in the United States. Also links to TIGER system so a map may be generated for the selected location.
  • 1990 Census Lookup. Enter a state, county, town, or zip code and create a custom report on a large number of parameters (i.e., age, sex, household, national origin, language, etc.
• American Memory Map Collections (Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress). Includes historic and other maps, with a variety of search indexes, on the following topics:
  • Cities/Towns
  • Conservation/Environment
  • Discovery/Exploration
  • General Maps
  • Cultural Landscapes
  • Military Battles/Campaigns
  • Transportation/Communication.
• American Ethnic Geography. Cultural Geography of the United States and Canada. County-level choropleth maps based on the 2000 Census. Has links to statistical data.
• U.S. State Images from 30 Second Topographic Data: 3rd Edition (June 1999). Topographic images of each state.
• State Maps (geology.com). Good collection of outline, physical, and other maps for each state, plus links to additional maps on other sites.
• U.S. County Outline Maps (Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection). U.S. Census outline maps.
• Graphical Locater Home Page. Primarily for data on hydrologic regions (HUC), but also has data for most features. Using a map, locate geographical features and find coordinates, hydrologic data on the feature (and USGS topo map info).
• See also: Government Resources for U.S. maps produced by government agencies.

Thematic and Special Use Maps

Thematic maps show specific, topical features, so that concepts or correlation between concepts can be visualized more readily. Often thematic maps show graphical representations of data, but many also show data in a standard map for ease of understanding. Some examples of thematic maps appear below. Also see Additional Examples.

• World Mapper. An excellent source for maps of the World that show demographics, economics, and other statistical sets. Almost 400 maps that display data by varying the size of each country based on statistical data sets.
• Buzztracker. See the daily news on a map. World map shows news hotspots using density by location/city. Great visualization tool, and you can read the top stories from major news sources world-wide.
• Animated Maps. Using Flash or other software, these maps graphically demonstrate chronological concepts or other principles.
  • Formation of California Missions. Animated map providing chronological description of the missions.
  • Invasive Species Animated Map. See visually how Zebra Mussels spread across American waterways.
  • Travels of Alexander the Great. Animated map shows his route of conquest.
  • Centennia. A commercial, map-based guide to the history of Europe and the
    Middle East from the beginning of the 11th century to the present. It is a
    dynamic, animated historical atlas. Watch over 9,000 border changes occur
    as the map reshapes itself from one date to the next. There is a demo version available at this site.
• Area Comparison Maps
• Comparison maps show comparisons between two or more countries or places. For most area compaisons, use a search engine (e.g., Google) and serach for "comparison map" or "size comparison map" and add names of geographical features (e.g., country names). Here are a few samples of specific countries:
  • Israel Size Comparison Maps
  • Australia's Size Compared
  • Europe vs. US Size Comparison Map. A different version of the same theme:
  • How big is Afghanistan? Compare Afghanistan to the United States.
  • How big is Iraq?
  • Size of Africa
  • Foreign Country Land Mass Compared to United States
• The Electronic Map Library. (California Geographical Survey Department of Geography California State University, Northridge). Demographic maps created from digital data on: Population and Race, Citizenship, Income, Poverty, Education. Includes a series of atlases currently being produced by individual authors or project groups. Examples are:
  • Digital Atlas of California
  • Digital Atlas of New York City
  • Digital Atlas of Washington D.C. and Vicinity
• Eamus VRoma! a virtual tour of Rome, based on a clickable map of the city.
• Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI). This site features cartographic tools for "visualizing and analyzing historical and cultural phenomena." Users may create "maps based on a theme, era and region." The "Projects" section provides examples, and the "Participating" section provides instructions. Also includes information about the underlying technology. Note: Access to some data sets requires a password. Sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley.
• Historical Atlas of Europe. Interactive atlas covers Europe, by century, in two periods: Europe 1-1000 A.D.; 1100 to 2000. Samples: 1; Rome 100; 1000; 1500; 2000.
• Fanciful and Unusual Maps. Cartographical Curiosities at the Yale University Map Collection.
• Genealogical Maps. GIS that uses current telephone directory data to produce a maps showing the distribution of surnames. Present countries: United States; Italy (search "Cognome"). Samples of output: United States; Italy.
• Geologic Maps of Pennsylvania
• Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century. Series of maps relating to variety of themes, with additional tables of data. Some maps provide animated view over time periods (Example)
• India, Historical Maps of. Includes historical maps of the country, cities, regions, and other maps. Also some historic world maps.
• Ireland History in Maps. Great site for study of Ireland's past.
• Latin American maps (Latin American Network Information Center, UT Austin). Historic and modern maps, mostly Latin and Central America, but many cover other countries and locations. Also has links to more collections.
• Luso-Hispanic World in Maps (Library of Congress). Manuscript maps and atlases (pre- 1900).
• Linguistic Maps of Africa. Extensive detailed maps showing regions and countries, with lists of over 1,500 languages.
• London, 1859. During the time of Dr. John Snow (1813-58), the prominent epidemiologist and anesthesiologist. Created by the Dept. of Epidemiology University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Map is original, but is presented using software that lets you zoom in or move about the map.
• Map of the Roman Empire. Find good, scholarly resources on each Roman province by clicking within the borders of a specific province on the map, or by clicking on the name of the province below the map.
• Maps Featured in News and Articles. Diverse range of thematic maps from printed and web periodicals.
• Mount St. Helens. Maps and geographic data show visually how this volcano changed the landscape; even how it is still changing. This site has a wealth of maps. Additional maps appear under the heading Additional Maps and Graphics.
• NOAA Historical Map and Chart Collection. Office of Coast Survey collection of historical maps and charts in digital form. The collection contains a wide variety of documents including nautical charts from the mid-1800's through the early 1900's, sketches of coastlines; a Civil War collection; a Washington, DC topographic series; and early exploration maps of the Pacific Northwest. These documents serve as excellent examples of 19th Century cartography.
• Interactive Nolli Map Website. "The 1748 Map of Rome, by Giambattista Nolli is widely regarded by scholars as one of the most important historical documents of the city ever created. This project is a collaborative exploration of the exquisite Nolli engraving, through its historic significance and contemporary application."
• Resource Atlas of Canada. An interactive map building system that includes data on natural, economic, and human resources. (Government of Canada). (Still in progress.)
• Silk Road Atlas (Silk Road Seattle, Daniel C. Waugh, University of Washington). More than just the trade routes, this shows maps of the various empires, cities, dynastic holdings, etc. Excellent site.
• Stone Circles (Megalithic sites, etc.). Interactive maps for locating sites, photographs, and data on stone circles in the British Isles, and Brittany.
• Travel Websites. A collection of travel-related sites, most of which offer maps or links to maps.
• WORLDTIME® An interactive world atlas (shows daytime/nighttime graphically), information on local time as well as sunrise and sunset times in several hundred cities, and a database of public holidays worldwide.
• Transportation Map Collections
  • Subway - Historical Maps of New York City's Subway system. Also go to main map page, which has route maps and related maps, as well as NYC Omnibus Corp. maps.
  • Historic Transportation Maps. Mostly Ohio, but also rare maps for other U.S. regions, including "System Maps of specific railroads."
  • Historical New Jersey Railroad Maps (includes a number of Pennsylvania Railroad System Maps).
  • Central Pacific Railroad Maps (many related to transcontinental railroads; also links to other sites).
  • Traveler's Official Railway Guide, 1877 (University of Alabama & other collections). Historic RR maps; good collection. See also: Railroads collection.
• See also: Maps Online: Digitized and Electronic Map Resources.

Outline Maps

• Outline Maps (Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection ). Outline maps and links to many sites having outline maps.
• World Outline Maps (Brigham Young University, Geography Dept.). Copyright-free maps you are welcome to use--please attribute them to "BYU Geography Department."
• Outline Maps of the World. (Houghton Mifflin). Outline maps available free to print or download for personal use in activities, reports, or stories." Fair quality, basic maps.
• Outline Maps from the National Geographic Society. Maps may be labeled, or blank, at user's choice. You can select either "simple" or "more detailed" maps, and with or without borders.
• Free Outline Maps (d-Maps.com). Extensive collection of maps, each available in 6 formats: GIF, PDF, CDR, SVG, AI, WMF.
• Free Blank Outline Maps of the Countries and Continents of the World. Free and definitely blank. These are strictly outlines of countries and states. [Note: additional outline maps (US) click here]
• Outline Maps (Enchanted Learning). Good source for simple outline maps. Also links to descriptive materials on geography, map projections, and terms.
• Outline maps (Pupilvision.com). Simple outline maps to use for geography projects.
• Alabama Maps (University of Alabama). Maps covering world, countries, states. Maps include: outline, historical, current, in pdf, jpg, and Mr. Sid. Has :
  • Historical Map Index
  • Contemporary Map Index
• United States Outline Maps of States (Geology.com). Good collection of outline, physical, and other maps for each state, plus links to additional maps on other sites.
• Canada Outline Maps . Government page with a selection of maps relating to Canada. Includes outline maps on: Canada, Provinces and Territories, International.

GIS Maps and Sites

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow the user to create custom maps based on a variety of data sets. There are also databases of Map & Satellite Images.

What is GIS? (USGS). Good introduction to GIS, including: data input and how data layers are shown. This is a good page to show someone who does not understand GIS.

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Collection of links to databases that can be manipulated to produce maps on demand for specific topics. Use for specialized or detailed maps.
• GIS Gateway (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Offers connections to many Geographic Information Systems (GIS) resources available on the Internet.
• Graphical Locater Home Page. Primarily for data on hydrologic regions (HUC), but also has data for most features. Using a map, locate geographical features and find coordinates, hydrologic data on the feature (and USGS topo map info).
• Map Machine. National Geographic Society GIS. Has a variety of map types.
• National Atlas Online, Interactive Map. U.S. government site. Create an online map from a variety of parameters (population, agriculture, infrastructure, etc.).
• New York State Data for GIS. Data sets of the NYS Museum site. Download and use data sets with ArcInfo and ArcView software (that you provide).
• Perseus Atlas Project. A GIS for building and developing maps.
• TIGER Map Service (Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing system). (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Fuller description appears above.
• TopoZone Web topographic map made with data from the USGS to create the Web's first interactive topo map of the entire United States. Similar to the TerraServer.
• USGS Maps and Aerial Photo Images Online. Compilation of links to selected USGS Business and Cooperative Research and Development Agreement partner sites where you may view USGS maps and aerial photo images from your Web browser.

Search engines

Use search engines to locate maps and related materials. Maps can be found almost anywhere but these are some websites that may have the most relevant to your needs include: Government sites (any country, state, municipality), tourism sites, university or commercial sites, personal pages.

• All engines (Good starting place). Offers tips, links to all engines; sorted by best use.
• Google More comprehensive searches, may also bring more specific results. Begin searching for web pages, then try your search as an "Image search."
• Google Maps. Useful for a variety of map types, however, generally use Google first.
• AltaVista (basic search structures [+place name+map = +cambodia+map]
• See also: Directories of Map Collections for sources of e-maps.
• See also: Maps Online: Digitized and Electronic Map Resources.

Government & Commercial Map Producers/Distributors. Find maps and cartographic data for purchase.

Here are listed a selection of links to geography, cartographic terms, basics of map use, and other helpful resources.

• UB Department of Geography. Contacts and links for more extensive needs.
• Cartographic Reference Resources (P-C Library, UT Austin). Many links to resources on: Gazetteers, Distance, Calculators, Time, Zones, Sun, And, Moon, Rise/Set, Calculators, Tides, Map, Projections, Map, Scale, Glossaries, And, Guides.
• Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook. Geography materials, names, reference maps, more.
• Elevations and Distances in the United States (USGS). Quick tables, with elevation references for various topics (e.g., U.S. cities and their elevations).
• Glossaries of Geographical Terms. Also has GIS glossaries.
• My Community, Our Earth (MyCOE). Website to build a geographically literate generation able to use this knowledge in their everyday lives to bring about true sustainable development. Projects, mentors, teachers, and other resources.
• Electronic Resources for Geography. Geared toward students and teachers.
• Map Projections. Pages devoted to map projections, from basics to designing and software.
• United States Reference Data. The 50 States.com Web site that contains basic statistics and geographical data on each state.
• Xpeditions. Geography site by National Geographic Society. Diverse collection of materials. For maps, click on Atlas.

• Block, Kristen. "Teaching with Historic Maps: College-and University-Level Approaches." Mapline 88-89 (Winter 1999-2000). Published by the Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography, at the Newberry Library. See index to locate additional articles. Other useful resources for teachers from the Smith Center include topics, such as: Historic Maps in K-12 Classrooms.
• Dictionary Of Abbreviations And Acronyms In Geographic Information Systems, Cartography, And Remote Sensing by Philip Hoehn (David Rumsey Collection) and Mary Larsgaard (Map & Imagery Lab, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara Library). Designed by John Creaser (Earth Sciences & Map Library, Univ. of California, Berkeley). Comprehensive list of all acronyms. Good for identifying map data.
• Digital Diplomacy for Students. Geography learning site by U.S. State Department. Includes a variety of materials for K-12 and higher education. One page, on Social Studies contains much for teachers and students.
• Geography Educational Materials (USGS). Educational resources in a variety of media explaining the mapping sciences and earth resources. Product list Educational Materials from the USGS provides an indepth list of materials available from the USGS. For more information call toll-free 1-888-ASK-USGS or visit ask.usgs.gov.

  • Geography Booklets/Circulars. Online digests of booklets on geography and mapping sciences using easy to read text and attractive illustrations. Great for teachers.

• How Far is It? At this site, you can enter the names of two cities in the World, and it will return distance in miles, kilometers, and also latitude/longitude coordinates.
• Gazetteers. Identify names of geographical features, and their locations on maps.
• Xpeditions: Geography Standards in Your Classroom (National Geographic Society). A website developed for teachers and students (K-12, though many good concepts are available for older learners). Contains:
  • Geographic Lesson Plans, ready-made lessons for range of grades and geographic standards
  • Activities, all sorts of interactive programs to enhance study
  • Atlas of Maps, a variety of maps useful in classroom
  • Xpedition Hall, virtual museum on geography and related matter
  • U.S. National Geography Standards. Document and explanation on why geography is important.
• Latitude: The Art and Science of Fifteenth-Century Navigation. (Rice Univ). Basic history of the development of latitude. Also has: Portuguese Nautical Master Charts (on the origin of nautical charts).
• Topographic Maps. USGS page describing terms and concepts relating to topo maps. Also see USGS Topographical Map Symbols page for a list of symbols and their meanings.
• Topographic map symbols are usually self-explanatory, however, there are many symbols that only show up on some maps and are not as common. Topographic map symbols, landforms, and map examples are also on a geology website (California State Univ, Sacramento).
• Hubble Space Telescope Image Base. Not all maps are of terrestrial locations.
• Custom Star Charts. Constellations and celestial objects are plotted for any location and time. Several sources are:
  • Your Sky. View and produce maps of skies by location, date, and time.
  • Sky Maps. View and produce maps of current skies. Other data available.

Guide Author: David J. Bertuca

Last Update: 8 February, 2010