Maps Mania

In the Minds of Tudor England

2020-12-10T11:47:00.001-05:00

I am currently reading Hilary Mantel's fantastic historical novel Wolf Hall, which explores the plots and intrigues of the court of Henry VIII, told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell. I am in awe of Mantel's skill in being able to bring to life (in the minds of her readers) the lives of people from half a millennium ago.The only other way I know of gaining such an insight into the minds of

Mapbox 3D in 3D

2020-12-10T07:16:00.000-05:00

If you have been enjoying viewing maps in 3D using version 2 of Mapbox GL JS then you might also enjoy the 3D Stereoscopic Anaglyph and Crossview Map.A 3D anaglyph image works by placing two images of the same thing, taken one eye width apart. One of the images is tinted red and the other blue. The two images are then superimposed on top of each other. When you then look at your anaglyph image

Who is Dreaming of a White Xmas?

2020-12-09T13:11:00.000-05:00

If you are dreaming of a white Christmas this year then you should check out this interactive map from NOAA. NOAA's White Christmas map uses historical weather data to provide a prediction of the chance of experiencing at least 1 inch of snow at your location on Christmas Day. The whiter the map at your location then the more chance there is of having a white Christmas.If you want to know when

Vintage Maps in 3D

2020-12-09T05:42:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Mapbox released version 2 of the Mapbox GL JS mapping library. Among the new features included in version 2 is the ability to view the world's terrain in 3D. One consequence of this is that we can now overlay vintage / historical maps on top of a 3D terrain. I've set up a little demo map which shows an 1833 map of Vesuvius draped over the terrain of Mount Vesuvius in Italy. Vintage

Mapbox GL JS V2 Launches

2020-12-08T16:31:00.001-05:00

Mapbox GL JS V2 has been released, and it arrives with some truly impressive new features. The standout new features in version two of Mapbox GL mostly relate to the new 3D mapping options in the Mapbox JavaScript library. A digital elevation model allows you to map the world's terrain in three dimensions. A Camera API allows you to seamlessly move around this 3D terrain and a Sky API allows you

A History of Southern America

2020-12-08T12:00:00.054-05:00

Southern Journey - The Migrations of the American South, 1790–2020 is a new history of the American South, written by Edward L. Ayers. The book explores southern history from the founding of the United States up to the present day. Ayers history weaves geography with history to illuminate how migration is the dominant theme of southern history. Southern Journey is illustrated throughout with

Planting Britain

2020-12-08T04:48:00.000-05:00

Countryfile Plant Britain is an ambitious two year project to plant 750,000 trees across the UK. That is one tree for every UK child starting primary school this year. Countryfile is a BBC television programme which reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. Their Plant Britain campaign is designed to help fight climate change and to help wildlife and our

Around the Sun in 365 Days

2020-12-07T12:00:00.014-05:00

PD: Earth/Sun is a brilliant 3D map which visualizes the orbital relationship between the Earth and the Sun. The map is a fantastic tool for learning about relative solar motion and visualizing the orbital relationship between the Earth and Sun at any time of the day and on any date of the year. Earth/Sun is a WebGL powered interactive model of the orbital relationship between the Earth and

Gritty McGritface - Scotland's Live Gritter Map

2020-12-07T05:05:00.001-05:00

When winter comes, and the temperatures drop below freezing, Scotland's brave gritters take to the roads. Luke Snowalker, Grittie McVitie, the Ice Queen and the many other Scottish gritters leave their council depots, and led by the fearless Sir Salter Scott, they begin making Scotland's roads safe for all drivers. The Trunk Road Gritter Tracker is a real-time interactive map which allows you to

The Six Minute Map

2020-12-05T09:22:00.001-05:00

The new European Union Map - Minus the United Kingdom For my breakfast this morning I decided to make a 6 minute map. I like to share, so you can find the recipe for my map below.At the end of this month the UK will leave the European Union. This means that there is likely to be a lot of demand for new maps of the European Union sans the UK.By following my recipe for the Six Minute Map you can

Living Nations Poetry

2020-12-04T10:21:00.001-05:00

Joy Harjo is the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. As a member of the Muscogee Nation she is also the first Native American to hold the position of Poet Laureate. Joy's signature project as the 23rd Poet Laureate is an interactive map of the United States featuring recordings of a number of Native Nations poets and their poems. Living Nations, Living Words - A Map of First Peoples

Mappng Elon Musk's Starlink Network

2020-12-03T12:00:00.058-05:00

Elon Musk's space transportation company SpaceX is in the process of creating a constellation of thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit. This constellation is called Starlink. The small satellites in Starlink will be used for a range of military, scientific and exploratory purposes.SpaceX has already launched hundreds of these small satellites into space. You can explore

New Zealand in 3D

2020-12-03T06:41:00.001-05:00

I've often thought about how I might go about creating an interactive 3D map of Middle-earth. Unfortunately that particularly feat is currently beyond the reach of my limited mapping skill-set. Which means for now I have to settle for browsing New Zealand 3D and imagining that I am actually navigating the world of the Lord of the Rings.New Zealand 3D allows you to explore all of New Zealand's

The Rental Affordability Index

2020-12-02T17:15:00.004-05:00

The homeless charity National Shelter has released an interactive map which visualizes how affordable rents are across Australia. The Rental Affordability Index (RAI) is an indicator of the "price of rents relative to household income based on new rental agreements". The index is updated annually by National Shelter and its partners. The percentage of the population renting in Australia is on

Mapping American Incomes

2020-12-02T12:00:00.114-05:00

Graphicacy has mapped out the Median Household Income in every census tract area in the United States. Graphicacy's interactive map shows the average median income in over 73,000 census tracts between 2013 and 2017. The map uses data from the American Community Service.If you click on a census tract on the interactive map you can view the median household income in that tract recorded by the ACS

The Irish Famine Atlas

2020-12-02T05:24:00.004-05:00

From 1845 to 1849 the potato blight sweeping across Europe caused a mass famine in Ireland. Ireland suffered much more than other European countries mainly due to the inadequate respone to the famine in Ireland by the British parliament in London. As a result of the famine around one million people died in Ireland and one million people emigrated. Overall the famine caused Ireland's population

Scrollytelling Paintings

2020-12-01T12:00:00.068-05:00

Jason Farago of the New York Times has released yet another scrollytelling critique of a famous work of art. In previous critiques Farago has closely examined Katsushika Hokusai's "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" (in A Picture of Change for a World in Constant Motion), an Albrecht Dürer self portrait (in Seeing Our Own Reflection in the Birth of the Self-Portrait), and Thomas Eakins' painting

Death in the English Channel

2020-12-01T04:52:00.003-05:00

Since 1999 nearly 300 refugees have died trying to cross the English Channel. Currently the UK government refuses to provide safe passage for people with a legitimate claim to asylum. This forces many refugees to attempt often very dangerous methods of crossing the English Channel.The Observatory of Deaths at the Border is an interactive map which uses data from the Institute of Race Relations

City Tree Scores

2020-11-30T12:00:00.087-05:00

American Forests want to give every neighborhood in the USA a Tree Equity rating. The number of urban trees and the amount of tree cover in cities in the United States is often very closely tied to the distribution of income and race. Trees are usually very sparse in low income areas. On the other hand neighborhoods with lots of trees and tree cover are very often the most expensive areas in

Mapping Missing Bike Paths

2020-11-30T05:16:00.006-05:00

Over the last few years many towns and cities in the UK have worked hard on improving their cycling infrastructure. However, despite these improvements, the UK has a long way to go before it is a fully cycling friendly country. Cycling UK has a plan to help councils across Britain improve their cycling provision and make life safer for all cyclists. Cycling UK wants to know the location of paths

Alternate States of America

2020-11-29T05:18:00.002-05:00

Random States of America is an interactive map which allows you to randomly-generate new state boundaries to create new maps of the United States. Recent presidential election results can then be viewed on your alternate map of America to show you who would have won the election if the United States was configured in a different way. If you are a Trump supporter still struggling to

Spikkin Scots

2020-11-28T05:02:00.003-05:00

The Scottish newspaper the Press and Journal has published a series of articles about the Scots language. This series includes a Spikkin Scots interactive map which features a number of sound recordings of people speaking Scots across the whole of Scotland. The newspaper estimates that there are currently around 1.5 million Scots speakers in Scotland. Scots is classed as a vulnerable language by

The Color of Passports

2020-11-27T12:00:00.057-05:00

For many English people one of the major benefits of leaving the European Union is that they will be able to have a blue rather than a red passport. After Brexit they will no longer be able to enjoy free movement in Europe but at least they won't have to carry the same color passport as a Frenchman. Red is the New Black is an interactive map which shows the colors of passports around the world.

The Tube Map of London Lives

2020-11-27T10:00:00.053-05:00

If I lived just 13 stops further west on the London Underground District Line I could extend my life expectancy by 10%. Unfortunately it would cost me over £1 million pounds to move those 13 stops west. I guess I'll just have to accept that one of the costs of being poor is an unacceptably foreshortened life. Tube Creature is a fascinating interactive map which allows you to explore lots of

World Heritage Journeys in Europe

2020-11-27T05:02:00.001-05:00

There are over 400 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Europe. Many of them are very well known but there are many others which I am sure that you have yet to discover. Which is why you might want to explore the World Heritage Journeys of Europe. World Heritage Journeys of Europe is an interactive mapped tour of UNESCO World Heritage sites throughout the European continent. The map includes four