Map News: This Month’s Best Articles and Maps

I've scoured the web for the most interesting Map News this month for all you map-lovers!

Map Comic this month from Savage Chicken

New Maps of Alaska: : New mapping data changes what we know about the landscape of Alaska, with some data that hadn’t been updated for 50 years! The results? The highest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley, is shorter than previously thought…Read More

Even with a GPS, You Can’t Get There From Here: Join us on a road trip through Maine, where getting lost with a GPS is painfully easy. Get your paper maps ready for visiting the rural portions of the USA…Read More

Where is the Center of Each United State? And why would you care to know? Some interesting and some funny insights…Read More

What Did the Continents Look Like Millions of Years Ago? Features an interview with artist-geologist Robert Blakey. This article goes into serious depth and really shows the making of these astounding maps in detail. The comment section is pretty interesting as well!…Read More

Facts for Features: Halloween: Did you know the Census Bureau publishes a series on dates and holidays? It boosts interesting facts gathered from all over the immense census database. For example, 47,800 acres of pumpkins were harvested in the US in 2012! Read More Halloween Facts

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The Oddest, Most Bizarre Maps

"Mapping our world" can mean a multitude of things. From our first map of a schoolyard or home, to maps of our favorite places to dine, maps of places we've traveled, maps play different roles in our lives, from the classroom, in our minds, in vacations and to artwork. Take a look at a few of these strangely bizarre maps. They'd make great decor and conversation starters at least!

Click on the pictures to zoom in on any wall map; take a detailed look at the world from an unusual perspective!

Titanic Navigation Chart Wall Map
Chart the the path the largest ship of it's time took across the Atlantic Ocean! Marine Charts are usually coveted by a very specific set of people, but the legacy and myth surrounding the story of the Titanic's maiden and final voyage makes this an usually popular map!

Muir Glacier Alaska Wall Map
Artistic and minimalist, this map of Alaska shows the Muir Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park. The challenge of mapping a glacier make this bizarre map a work of art.

Upside Down World Wall Map
View the world from a different perspective with this Upside Down World map. After all, there is no "UP" in outer space! This bizarre map shows us how the image of the world "right-side up" is imprinted and ingrained into our minds.

Mars Physical Wall Map
We've barely started exploring space but we can already map out our sister planet Mars. This odd map shows more than it appears to at first glance, just zoom in to see!

Alaska's Frontiers: Mapping Strategies for Mineral Resources

Alaska is known as the last US frontier, this Alaska Wall Map shows the vast land rich in minerals. The most difficult part is knowing what areas are important to mine and what areas shouldn't be mined. Here’s where mapping plays a key role. State geologists are mapping the potential of geographical areas from the land and air.

Why is Alaska so geologically important?

Part of that involves being located on the edge of the Pacific crustal plate. That also means multiple volcanoes and unpredictable weather. According to geological surveys, 40 million acres of state land possess high potential for mineral deposits. Only an eighth of this land has been mapped.

Alaska Wall Map

Top resources from Alaska include gold and oil, and they account for a large amount of Alaska’s wealth. Alaska also produces zinc, silver, copper, platinum as well as sand and gravel.

But state geologists are interested in rarer minerals. The strategy is to map areas with minerals strategic for military technology and/or that we import from other countries. This list includes: platinum group antimony, barite, chromite, cobalt, fluorite, gallium, graphite, indium, platinum group elements, rare earth elements, rhenium, tantalum, titanium, tungsten, yttrium and niobium. 

Producing these minerals would make the United States less reliant on importing them from other countries, saving money on technological advances. But mining takes a toll on any environmental system. By knowing exactly where the highest concentrations of minerals are located, environmental impact could be lessened.

Is it worth mining rare minerals and harming Alaska’s ecosystems for the economic independence?