Current Articles
- The topographic map covering my house shows a bench mark nearby. What is a bench mark? - A bench mark is a relatively permanent object whose elevation has been accurately measured... some are brass disks set into the concrete or tarmac on the road or elsewhere.
- What is a Cartophilatelist? - Cartophilately is the study and collection of postage stamps that show maps. Apparently maps are a very popular theme on stamps, and often have commemorative, political or historical interest.
- I've heard a story about Waldo Tobler at UCSB getting mail addressed by latitude and longitude. What's the scoop? - Peter Gould and I conducted a little experiment in the late 1980s to demonstrate this. He sent envelopes on which he had typed my name along with the geographical coordinates of my house to thirty-four colleagues throughout the world.
- What are some of the strangest place names in the United States? - Toponymy is the system of names by which places are known. There is an extraordinarily large number of named features in the United States.
- What is there where whole numbers of latitude and longitude meet, like at 30N 45E? - Wherever you are on earth, there is a confluence within 79 km of you.
- It has been said that everything of geographic interest lies at the intersection of between two and four maps or images. I think the same goes for grid intersections, such as UTM zone boundaries. Are there any exceptions? - UTM stands for the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system. This system divides the world up into 120 slices, that go from pole to pole. Each slice is 6 degrees wide, and is covered by two rectangular grids, centered on the middle of a transverse
- How many definitions are there of the word “map.” - An article by J. H. Andrews entitled “Definitions of the Word 'Map': 1649-1996” lists 321 definitions. I would call this an underestimate, since it covers only part of history and known sources.
Archived Articles
- Who discovered that the earth is not a perfect sphere?
- How far can I see
- I heard a rumor that the green tint on USGS maps shows land that is suitable to “hide a troop of soldiers and their mules.” Is this true?
- What is a good example of a “toponymic blunder?”
- Do cartographers ever make deliberate errors on maps?
- What is Geocaching?
- Why does the zero longitude line pass through Greenwich , England?
- I include a strange map. What is it?
- What is the world's oldest map?
- What is cartographic about the word boustrophedonic?