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Map Information
AAA Online - Throughout the U.S. and Canada, AAA/CAA offers its members a variety of services and benefits. Be in touch with your local AAA office anytime with AAA Online.
CIA World Factbook - Did you know that Kenya (569,250 square kilometers) is twice the size of Nevada? Did you know that in Denmark four languages are spoken (Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic, and German)? If you ever wanted to know facts like these about countries around the world, this is the place to look. You'll also find a section on oceans of the world. By the way, did you know that as of 1993 there were 215 million TV sets in the United States?
DeLorme-CyberMaps - DeLorme's powerful and easy-to-use computer mapping products make it easy to plan trips, find people, places and businesses and, with their "Earthmate GPS Receiver" and GPS compatilble products, you'll never get lost again!
How Far Is It? - In the not-too-distant past, finding the distance from one part of the globe to another took a fair amount of work. It involved using complicated tables and converting map scales. Now, we have an alternative. On this page, all you need to know is the name of two locations, and the distance between the two is calculated for you. This service provides distance for almost all places in the United States and a good number of major cities elsewhere. If a city doesn't appear to be in the database, just put in the name of the country and see what cities are available.
Map Machine @ Nationalgeographic.com - Everyone knows how wonderful the National Geographic Society's maps are. Now many of them are online. Need a quick map, facts about a country, state, or province, and a picture of its flag? You'll find it right here at the Map Machine Atlas. Try the selection View From Above (then click on the spinning globe) for colorful maps of the world pieced together from satellite images, digitally enhanced to make it a global cloudless day! You can also get political and physical maps (useful for school reports).
Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map - If you wanted to get to your friend's house but didn't know the way, how would you get there? One way would be to have your friend write the directions on a sheet of paper. That might work if your friend only lived a few blocks away, but it could get very complicated and wordy if he or she lived farther away. The answer: draw a map! This page tells you how maps are made and explains some of the terms used in mapmaking. You'll also find out about the different kinds of maps and how they are used.
MapQuest! - Get customized maps for places all over the world, using the interactive atlas. You can get street-level information and door-to-door directions for many places. It's outstanding, it's fun, and it's free! There's also a TripQuest driving planner. How long have you been begging Mom and Dad to drive you to Disneyland? Maybe they say, "Oh, it's so far, and we'd get lost on the way." No problem. Just go to this site, type in the name of your town, and type in the nearest city to Disneyland (Anaheim, California, is close enough). Magically, you'll get back not only a map but also detailed driving directions, complete with the mileage of each segment! It works for the United States and Canada only (driving to Disneyland from Halifax, Nova Scotia, is 3,618.7 miles). Unfortunately, you can't drive from Hawaii, but you get the idea.
Maps On Us - Maps On Us provides integrated yellow pages, directions and mapping features in an easy-to-navigate site. It's Navigation made simple...All across the United States.
National Atlas of Canada - You'll find maps of all kinds at this interactive learning site about the geography of Canada--in both English and French. You can Make-a-Map by defining map layer attributes from a preselected database, such as birds at risk or wetlands, or follow the link to Our Home: Atlas of Canadian Communities. Also in English and French, Notre Foyer lets you select a Canadian community and read what the kids who live there have written about it. Try your hand at the Interactive Geography Quiz, but don't think you have mastered it all just yet. Make sure you don't overlook the Canadian Geographical Names section--the ultimate Canadian trivia test--to find weird and wonderful answers to questions you never knew you wanted to know!
National Atlas of the United States of America - The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers an intriguing opportunity: create your own U.S. map featuring not only cities and rivers, but overlaid GIS data such as the locations of watersheds, toxic Superfund sites, and even demographic statistics about the human population in each area. There's biological information, too. For example, trace bird migration routes and their proximity to polluted sites. Or consider this question: "Are moths are attracted to nuclear facilities?" What sorts of interrelationships can you discover? If you have the right browser plug-in, you can also view an animated movie about the spread of the zebra mussel throughout the Great Lakes watershed.
Navigation Data Center - Even though waterways don't have roads, you still need a map if you want to visit unknown waters. There are underwater hazards like cables and shoals you'll want to avoid. Plus, you need to follow navigational buoys and channel markers to stay safe. Where on the Net can you get a navigational chart? Right here.
Perry-Castareda Library Map Collection - Available from the University of Texas Library, this collection includes maps from around the world and links to some of the best map collections on the Internet. Check out the historical maps and the current events maps of Kosovo or whatever world hotspot is in the news. If you need a map, check here!
Rare Map Collection - Of course, maps have been around for a long time. You can view one of the finest collections of historic maps on the Internet at this University of Georgia Web site. Included are some great maps of U.S. Civil War battlefields, as well as material on Colonial and Revolutionary America.
Star Journey: The Heavens - Star Chart @ Nationalgeographic.com - Explore a map of visible stars as they appear from the North and South Poles. All 2,844 of these stars (plus nebulae and star clusters also pictured on the map) can be seen with the unaided eye. As you click on the various quadrants, you'll come across special blue squares. That means a Hubble Space Telescope photo of that star is available to view as a close-up. Letters from the Greek alphabet are used to describe the apparent brightness of various stars within a constellation. Alpha is the brightest, followed by beta, gamma, and so on. It's all explained in the Star Chart Notes section.
TIGER Mapping Service - The "Coast to Coast" Digital Map Database - This site will give you color maps with cities, highways, lakes, and other features clearly marked, based on 1992 data. Try searching by ZIP code, latitude and longitude, as well as city name. You can mark your maps with a variety of symbols. The site is also linked to the Census Bureau's U.S. Gazetteer, with information on population. You can save your map as a GIF image (select that button; then click on the map itself) and print it. Enclose it with your next letter to Santa or your relatives or anyone else who needs directions to your house!
TopoZone--The Web's Topographic Map - If you've ever wanted to take a hike, follow a stream to its source, or even check out the elevation of your neighborhood, this is the site for you! It contains every USGS topographic map in the 1:100,000, 1:25,000, and 1:24,000 scale series. You can explore over 54,000 maps! Just type in the place name you seek, and leave out the state. If there is more than one map with that place name, you'll be presented with a list of them all so you can select the right one. A full-color topographic map will be displayed on your screen. To get a closer look, choose a different map scale, or click on the map to re-center it around a spot that interests you. Try searching on some interesting site names, like the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park, or Mount Saint Helens in Washington state (hint: be sure to spell it out, don't use abbreviations). This resource is great for both scouts and armchair explorers alike.
U.S. Gazetteer - A quick way to find the county, state, area code, ZIP code, and latitude and longitude of a place in the United States is to check this resource. It is linked to the XEROX PARC Map Viewer, so once you find out that Prague, Arkansas, is in Grant County, ZIP code 05053, latitude 34 17 12 N, longitude 92 16 50 W, you can click on those coordinates to view the map.
USGS: What Do Maps Show - This site has comprehensive lesson plans and hands-on student activity sheets for students--all related to understanding maps. You can also download student map packets, which you can print out for use with the lessons. This is a great geography teaching and learning tool.
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