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  1. Dartmouth Libraries
  2. Research Guides
  3. Dartmouth Libraries Guides
  4. Maps Online
  5. Understanding maps

Maps Online

This research guide will point you to digital maps within the Library's collections and online. These resources are a combination of subscriptions and those freely available on the internet.
  • Introduction
  • Understanding maps
  • Topographic maps
  • Library resources for digital maps
  • Find maps online
    • Online maps for NH, VT, ME & U.S.
  • Find outline maps
  • Fire insurance maps
  • Redlining maps
  • Census maps
  • Geologic mapping
  • History through Maps
  • Environmental mapping
  • Map humor
  • Evans Map Room
  • Web mapping
  • Google Earth & Maps
  • Digital Mapping
  • Map mashups
  • Cartography
  • Scholarly communication This link opens in a new window

Map Librarian

Profile Photo
Lucinda M. Hall
Email Me
Contact:
Evans Map Room, Baker-Berry Library
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
(603) 646-0962
Website Skype Contact: d1128r8@kiewit.dartmouth.edu
Social: LinkedIn Page LibraryThing Page
Subjects: Film and Media Studies, Geography, Polar Studies

Internet resource(s)

  • The Map Room blog
    • Link
    A blog about maps.
  • Strange Maps
    • Link
    Frank Jacobs loves maps, but finds most atlases too predictable. He collects and comments on all kinds of intriguing maps—real, fictional, and what-if ones—and has been writing the Strange Maps blog since 2006, first on WordPress and now for Big Think.
  • Understanding topograhic maps
    • Link
    This page explains what a topographic map is and explores some the elements on them.

Learning to understand maps

Whether the maps are online, on paper or in a book, it helps to learn about maps so you can understand what the map is trying to say. These books can help you better understand maps.

Selected books about understanding maps

  • Cover artUnderstanding maps by J. S. Keates
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry GA 151 .K38 1996
    ISBN: 9780582239272
    Publication Date: 2nd ed.
    This book addresses the fundamental principles of visual perception and map symbolism and critically examines the assumptions behind the theories of psychophysical testing and cartographic communication. This revised and expanded edition includes new sections on the relationship between cartography and art, and the distinction between knowledge and skill.
  • Default blue coverUnderstanding maps: a systematic history of their use and development by A.G. Hodgkiss
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry GA 201 .H68
    ISBN: 9780712909402
  • Cover artElements of cartography by Arthur H. Robinson, [et. al.]
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry GA 105.2 .E43 1995 c.2
    ISBN: 9780471555797
    Recognized as the classic resource in cartography, this text continues to integrate the latest modern technology with traditional cartographic principles. The balanced author team provides a solid conceptual foundation in the basic principles of cartography while introducing the newest technological advances which have greatly altered modern cartographic techniques. New features include a complete updating of topical data and a shift in emphasis from ``small-scale to all-scale maps.'' Systematic coverage is given to both theory and applications with all basic map making tools presented including formulas, tables and constants.
  • Cover artMap use: reading, analysis, interpretation by A. Jon Kimerling, Aileen R. Buckley, Phillip C. Muehrcke, Juliana O. Muehrcke
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry GA 105.3 .M83 2016
    ISBN: 9781589484429
    Map Use: Reading, Analysis, Interpretation is a comprehensive book designed for the college curriculum. Updated with a new chapter highlighting web map design, the new edition also adds information about the use of imagery and remote sensing. Map Use provides students with the knowledge and skills to read and understand maps and offers professional cartographers a thorough reference resource.

Other cartographic titles

  • Cover artCartography: thematic map design by Borden D. Dent
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry GA 105.3 .D45 1999
    ISBN: 9780697384959
    Publication Date: 5th ed.
    This text introduces students to the different types of map projections, map design, and map production.
  • Many ways to see the world by Ruth Abrams; Diane J. Johnson; Denis Wood; Ward L. Kaiser
    • DVD
    Call Number: Jones Media DVD #6684
    Presents a fascinating exploration into the minds of twelve mapmakers. Discover how their unique backgrounds, philosophies, values, and politics led each to select a particular mathematical formula to create their maps. Learn about the impact those world images have had on us, consciously and unconsciously.
  • Cover artMaps: finding our place in the world by James R. Akerman; Robert W. Karrow, eds.
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry GA 108 .M34 2007
    ISBN: 9780226010755
    Maps are universal forms of communication, easily understood and appreciated regardless of culture or language. This truly magisterial book introduces readers to the widest range of maps ever considered in one volume: maps from different time periods and a variety of cultures; maps made for divergent purposes and depicting a range of environments; and maps that embody the famous, the important, the beautiful, the groundbreaking, or the amusing. Built around the functions of maps--the kinds of things maps do and have done--Maps confirms the vital role of maps throughout history in commerce, art, literature, and national identity. ...
  • Default blue coverSeeing through maps: the power of images to shape our world view by Ward L. Kaiser & Denis Wood
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry GA 105.3 .W66 2006
    ISBN: 9781931057202

Other library resource(s)

  • Mapping the world by Rosie Schellenberg
    • DVD
    Call Number: Jones Media DVD #13102
    From prehistoric rock art to the globe-spanning visions of Google Earth, this three-part series tells the dramatic story of mapmaking--its origins, development, myriad uses, and ongoing potential. Each episode addresses technological hurdles in the evolution of cartography while shedding light on issues relating to power, wealth, religion, and human knowledge across history. After following these seismic scientific and cultural shifts, viewers may never look at maps in the same way again.
  • Arno Peters: radical map, remarkable man by Jamie Traynor
    • DVD
    Call Number: Jones Media DVD #13507
    A fascinating 30 minute documentary exploring the history of how the Peters Equal Area World Map came into being.
  • << Previous: Introduction
  • Next: Topographic maps >>
  • Last Updated: May 14, 2025 4:48 PM
  • URL: https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/mapsonline
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Tags: fire insurance maps, redlining, sanborn maps, Social Sciences

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