Best World Atlas

• This Hubpage is a list of links to the Best Map and Atlas Websites on the Internet.
• My goal is to replace the hardcover atlas textbook(s) that I have used for my online geography classes at Northern Arizona University.
• Suggestions for additional site are welcome - just leave a comment below.

CONTENTS

1. WORLD SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY MAPS
2. WORLD PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY MAPS
3. US GEOGRAPHY MAPS
4. BASIC COUNTRY, REGION, OUTLINE & CLIPART MAPS
5. WORLD, COUNTRY & US STATISTICS & INFORMATION
6. DIRECTION AND LOCATION MAPS
7. WEB 2.0 MAP MASHUPS + MAP MAKING
8. GEOGRAPHY MAP GAMES
9. OUR INTERESTING WORLD

   
   

Thematic Maps show reference information, such as population, religion, income and other mostly socio-economic data. (These are not listed in any particular order.)

1. WorldMapper.org - WorldMapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. Search my Map Categories, Map Thumbnails or Map Index.
2. National Geographic Map Machine - Roads/Places - And thematic maps on Population, Natural Resources, Weather and more.
3. MSN Encarta World Atlas - General world physical and street/place map.
4. MSN Encarta World Atlas Historical and Thematic Maps - Categories include Art, Language, & Literature; Geography; History; Life Science; Physical Science & Technology; Religion & Philosophy; Social Science.
5. World Bank Data Maps - World maps showing: Aid Flows, Arable land, CO2 Emissions, Forest Area, Forest Loss, Fresh Water, Growth in Gross, Domestic Product, Income Per Person, Infant Mortality, Life Expectancy, Ratio of Girls in School, Telephone Lines - Also has links to country data
6. Europedia Europe Guide Maps - Maps of languages, religion, hair + eye color, ethnicity, legal age to drink alcohol, GDP, and more for Europe.
7. Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, Univ. of Texas - and Maps.NationMaster.com - These two sites have a large number of scanned historical maps, economic maps, cultural thematic maps, and some physical maps, as well as contemporary region maps and outline maps. Maps come from a variety of sources, so there is little consistency in design. NationMaster has more physical maps and is better organized. UofT has more maps overall, including more regional maps, and links to other map websites.
8. Linguistic Maps from Muturzikin - and - Ethnologue - Both provide language maps of the world. Muturzikin is easier to use to just find maps, while Ethnologue has some additional linguistic information in text.
   

LIVE MAPS - Including animated maps and maps linking to current events.

1. Maps of War - A Flash map of Middle East History from 3000 BCE to Present. See the history of this important region in about 3 minutes.
2. Global Incidents Map - Icons linking to current news events related to terrorism and related events worldwide.

   
   

Physical Geography includes Geomorphology (physiography/topography), Biogeography, and Climatology (including climate change). (These are not listed in any particular order.)

1. World Atlas of Panoramic Aerial Images - Beautiful oblique/3-D color satellite images of the surface of the earthy - giving a sense of mountains ranges, valleys and plains.
2. Geology.com - has satellite images and political and topo maps of the US States and the World, plus a lot of miscellaneous geology stuff.
3. NASA Earth Observatory Global Maps - Mostly focused on climate conditions and change over the entire earth - some are animated time series maps.
   
   

All Types of Maps and Data of the US. -- Also seed the Web 2.0 Map Mashups, listed below, most of which focus on the U.S. (These are not listed in any particular order.)

1. National Atlas of the United States - Comprehensive atlas where you can also make your own maps. Map Layers (categories) include: Agriculture,Environment, People, Biology, Geology, Transportatio, Boundaries, History, Water, Climate, Map Reference (places).
2. Census 2000 Atlas of the US - the first census atlas in many years. The chapters are available as .pdf downloads, and include housing, education, race, income, and more.- Also check out this cool ArcGIS version of US Census map data.
   
3. National Geographic Atlas Explorer - US Political (and roads) Map, with a geopohysical overlay and interesting notes here and there. Can be zoomed in and out for the the entire world.
4. Topographic ("Topo") Maps of the US -TerraServer - Aerial photographs and USGS topo maps of the entire US. Also has captures of famous sites from the aerial photos.
5. The Geography Map Game USA - easy way to learn the names and locations of US states - from AddictingGames.com
6. David Rumsey Map Collection - Over 18,000 scanned Historical Maps of the US and the World

Data on the World and Places in the World. (These include the US and are not listed in any particular order.)

1. CIA World Factbook - Best known for its country statistics, also has basic outline maps of countries and continents.
2. GeoHive.com - I think this is the best site for country and world statistics - regularly updated.
3. NationMaster.com - Very comprehensive site that includes well organized statistics and country descriptions, maps, flags, an education section and adiscussion forum.
4. World Bank Key Development Data and Statistics - by various regional groupings and by country - Also from the World Bank: Data By Topic - comprehensive index of development statistics
5. World Audit.org - The world-wide focus is on democracy, human rights, press freedom, corruption and the rule of law.
6. Global Edge - general region, country and US state description, information, statistics and news. Similar to the CIA, but more education-related resources.
7. InfoPlease.com - World Geography - definitions and major physical geography features (mountains, earthquakes, etc.) of the world.
8. Gapminder.org - Global human development trends over time come alive through moving graphics - quite amazing! - see a video presentation of these data here.
9. US Census Bureau's International Data Base website - Not much variety, but good time series (historical) data.

    

USA Data Sources

1. Statistical Abstract of the US - Annual compendium of US data from the US Census Bureau
2. USA.gov - Portal to online resources about the US from the US government
3. City-Data.com - This is a very comprehensive one-stop data source. I am not sure, though, how current the data is.
4. ZipSkinny.com - Best site for US zip code level census and other stats - easily compare different zip codes.
5. EconData.net - Diverse and comprehensive resource for population and demographic on the US from census blocks to the entire country.
6. US Census Bureau's American Factfinder - data can be viewed in map format and downloaded in Excel and other formats.

Arizona Data Sources (for my students at NAU)

1. Arizona Department of Commerce Information and Research links webpage
2. Arizona Dept of Commerce - Population and Demographics page
3. Arizona Workforce Informer - lots of data on labor, employment, income, and business for Arizona

Basic Region and Country Maps are maps that do not specialize in social or physical geography.

1. WorldAtlas.com - Lots of maps of regions and countries. Also has Map clip art, Flags, Outline maps, Population tables, Continent populations and sizes date, World time conversion, and Definitions of Latitude, Longitude, and other geographic terms. (The website is visually very busy, which makes it not easy to find things.)
2. Geology.com - in addition to geology and topo maps, this site has political and road maps of the US States and World Countries.
3. Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, Univ. of Texas - and Maps.NationMaster.com - These two sites are also listed under Social Geography Thematic Maps, above. It put them here because they both have a large number of scanned historical and contemporary maps and outline maps. Maps come from a variety of sources, so there is little consistency in design. UofT has more regional maps. NationMaster is better organized. UofT also has links to other websites with outline maps.

Outline Base Maps show simple outlines of continents, regions and countries. Some are Blank Base Maps that can be used for testing the location knowledge (such as which country is located where).

1. All Free Blank Maps & World Maps - this is the best site I have seen for downloadable maps - Includes the Printable World Map and Printable US Map - tools on which you can color countries and states and zoom in and out before printing.
2. Houghton Mifflin's Education Place - Free blank and base maps for personal and classroom use.
3. National Geographic Xpeditions Atlas - The best source for Continent and Country base maps for classroom use. Can select with or without country names, and with or without country borders. Unfortunately, they do not have regional maps (in between a continent and a country, like Southeast Asia). Also has lesson plans and activities.
4. United Nations Cartographic Section - Base maps with country outlines and cities, including a variety of regional maps and maps of every country. This is the best source for regional maps.
5. Blank Base Maps - This is a website that I created many years ago with blank base maps of the US (with no text, just borders and rivers), and links to similar maps of the world.

Globe and Map Clip Art (Free)

1. CoolClips.com - Categories: world, maps, travel, flags
2. GraphicMaps.com/WorldAtlas.com - Categories: continents, flags, globes, outline maps, USA, world

These all provide Road Maps, Business Locations, and Satellite Views. Ask and Mapqest also have topography (elevation). Live also has provides a 3-D / oblique image view of selected cities. They are listed in the order that they were rated in PC World (Feb 2007).

1. Google Maps (maps.google.com)
2. Ask.com Maps (maps.ask.com)
3. Microsoft Live Local (maps.live.com)
4. Yahoo Maps (maps.yahoo.com)
5. Mapquest (mapquest.com)

These sites mostly use Google Maps on which they overlay (mashup) other, more specialized information. (not listed in any particular order)

1. Weather Bonk.com - Live feed weather conditions, Traffic reports and Webcams for cities around the world.
2. Housing Maps.com - Plots location and links to houses and apartments for sale and rent that are listed on Craigslist.com - covers the US and London.
3. Zillow.com - Houses for sale, Recent house sales, and Estimated house values for any property in the US.
4. Rrove.com - Make your own Google Maps and easily copy the code to your website.
5. Web 2.0 Maps Services Hubpage - a list of 50 map sites, not organized in any way except alphabetically.

MAKE YOUR OWN MAPS

1. QuickMaps.com - Allows you to mark, draw and doodle on Google map, and then save it for other to see.
   
2. Google My Maps - is a more powerful map drawing and annotating tool (compared to QuickMaps) for people with Google accounts.
   
3. Scibblemaps.com - is even more powerful than Google My Maps, and, like QuickMaps, does not require registering for an account.
   
   
4. Azimuthal Equidistant Projection Map Server - Not the easiest to use for a map novice, but does give you a lot of flexibility to create simple and accurate line maps centered on different parts of the world. I used this tool to create my series of North America blank base maps that can be found here: Blank Base Maps

These geography map games usually showing a blank outline map where you have to guess the country.

1. Geography Map Game: Europe1 - and - Europe2 - and - Africa1 - and - - and - Australia - and - Central America - and - South America - and - Canada - and - USA - and - Middle East and South Asia - fun way to remember the names and locations of countries - from AddictingGames.com -- An African version used to be here, but is now gone, though there is an alternative Africa map game.

2. Europe Map and Country Code Domain Game - Lingo24 Web Whereabouts - provided by Lingo24.com, a language translation service
3. Seterra - is a free geography game that you must download and install on your PC computer. It has 70 different exercises in which you learn about countries, capitals, flags and cities of the world. You can get it from its Swedish developer's website or fom Download.com.
4. SheppardSoftware.com - US Geography Games - and - World Geography Games - these are some of the best for middle school through college.
5. Huge list of links to Geography Games - if you have time to browse.

1. Fotopedia - A relatively new collaborative photo encyclopedia - including photos and text descriptions of places around the world.

2. Travel Photo Base.com - Nice selection of annotated photos for a huge number of places around the US and the World.

3. Travel Destinations on Bing Visual Search - do not type any text, just click on the photos and links to find places to visit.

4. Amazing Photos of the Earth from Above by Yan Arthus Bertrand - and aerial photographs by Robert B. Haas of Latin America on National Geographic's website.

5. Oden's "Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping" - huge number of bookmarks to websites related to maps and map making.