Grades 4-8

U.S. Maps

COLOR LANDFORM ATLAS OF THE UNITED STATES
fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/states.html

Vivid landform images of the United States fill this site, the creation of Ray Sterner of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. Students from grades 4–12 will delight in the array of cartographic materials, including topographic, county and black-and-white shaded relief maps, satellite images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and a map of the states of the United States in 1895.

NATIONALATLAS.gov
www.nationalatlas.gov

In this atlas, produced by the U.S. Department of the Interior, government information is turned into a "national framework of cartographic data" that can be used by students of all ages. Useful and visually attractive animated maps cover topics such as the incidence of West Nile virus and patterns of invasive species like zebra mussels. Flash, Shockwave, and QuickTime are needed for some of the multimedia maps

TOPOZONE
www.topozone.com

For students in grades 4–12, TopoZone rates highly for interactive topographic maps of the United States, created in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey. Navigation is easy; students can search by place name, location, and state. Zoom-in and pan options are offered.

World Maps

INFOPLEASE
www.infoplease.com/atlas/index.html

Solid maps and quick links to additional information are useful for students in grades four to eight. Most pages have updated content, as evidenced by a quick check of the current head of Afghanistan's government, Hamid Karzai. The links are handy and pertinent, leading to other Infoplease reference tools, including dictionaries, almanacs, atlases, and encyclopedias.

The MAP LIBRARY
www.un.org/depts/dhl/maplib/maplib.htm

Have a class studying many countries? Look to this increasingly comprehensive site. Drawing from its 80,000 physical map collection, the United Nations is creating a corresponding online database, with many physically vibrant maps including city layouts and political, physical, and theme maps. Features such as zoom-in and find enhance details and usefulness.

National Geographic XPEDITIONS
www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions

Looking for an excellent starting point for a wide range of geographic information? The National Geographic's Xpeditions is the educational section of the National Geographic site, noted for its innovative "map machine," with dynamic maps created using GIS technology. Xpeditions also offers a detailed list of the U.S. National Geographic Standards, the foundation for geographic literacy, and links to matching grade-level lesson plans. Many maps required in grades 4–12 assignments are covered in the printer-friendly maps and in the exciting interactive Xpedition Hall, an interactive learning museum. However, some maps, like the World Viewer, which shows the distribution of various religions, are not sufficiently detailed to be informative. Beautiful graphics and clear text accompany enjoyable enrichment activities. It requires Adobe Acrobat and optional QuickTime for optimal viewing.

Specialized Maps

EARTH AND MOON VIEWER
www.fourmilab.ch/earthview

A new understanding of Earth and the moon is stimulated through the sensory richness here. Digital satellite imagery presents a particular astronomical view, determined by the user. GIF and JPEG formats are used for most images; others may require specific site downloads. John Walker of Switzerland's Fourmilab is the author.

Grades 9-12

U.S. Maps

AMERICAN FACT FINDER
factfinder.census.gov/servlet/TMGeoSearchByKeywordServlet?_ts=45589829010

Are your students learning about an aspect of human settlement? Information related to the U.S. National Census is covered succinctly in this Census Bureau site. It includes thematic, physical, political, comparative, and reference maps based on historical census data. Use Real Player and Windows Media for enhanced viewing. For detailed maps with the ability to search by "layers," such as Congressional districts or bodies of water, try the Tiger Map Server, a vector map using GIS.

AMERICAN MEMORY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS COLLECTIONS: 1544 to 1996
lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html

Would a view of Hollywood in 1919 or the O.K. Corral in 1881 pique your students' interest? Take a look at the Sanborn Fire and Insurance Maps available through the Library of Congress (LC) web site. A visit reveals extensive public domain maps and atlases from LC's collections. Maps are categorized into cities and towns, conservation and environment, discovery and exploration, cultural landscapes, military battles and campaigns, and transportation and communication. Though the site is clear and navigable, students in grades four to eight may need help with indexes. The links in Portals to the World lead to specific country information. LC is adopting a high-resolution standard for digitizing its maps.

World Maps

CIA WORLD FACTBOOK 2001
www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

The CIA-based World Factbook site offers in-depth, timely information. Attractive, clear, printable maps for individual countries are provided, along with a reference map section with political and physical maps of the world (divided into regions like Southeast Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and 17 others). Country maps include text, scrollable beneath the map, with information on geography, people, government, and the economy. Uses PDF or JPEG format, or change JPEG to PDF. Use Real Player and Windows Media for enhanced viewing.

PERRY-CASTENEDA MAP COLLECTION
www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/Map_collection.html

The University of Texas at Austin offers students in middle and upper grades an excellent collection of small-scale reference maps. Notable examples are the day-by-day war maps in Afghanistan and wonderful historical maps such as the Plan of the Imperial Forums. A total of 5000 maps are online. Search by continent; view maps in PDF or GIF with Flash plug-in for some.

Specialized Maps

DAVID RUMSEY HISTORICAL MAP COLLECTION
www.davidrumsey.com

Winner of the 2002 Webby award for technical achievement, this extensive historical collection of over 7100 maps focuses on rare 18th- and 19th-century North and South America cartographic materials as well as historic maps of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The development of U.S. history, culture, and population is particularly covered. This personal collection has been made available through special "Luna" software, a high-resolution scanning and compression technology. In the future, users will be able to share multiple maps from this and other collections in a common Internet location. Three views are available: insight Browser, Java Client, and GIS Browser; details are given for viewing requirements and downloads.

EARTH FROM SPACE
earth.jsc.nasa.gov

Need cartographic resources for analyzing the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface? Look to this unique site of NASA photos of Earth taken by astronauts in space, with informative, dated captions. Not every location is covered (links to more are offered), but there are many views of cities, landscapes, and Earth-human interactions like deforestation and drilling. Clear instructions are given for use of three resolutions and format choices. Searches are available. Use Real Player and Windows Media for enhanced viewing. For searchable directory images, visualizations, and animations of Earth go to NASA's visibleearth.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/results.

EARTHSHOTS: SATELLITE IMAGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES
edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/earthshots/slow/tableofcontents

The U.S. Geological Survey presents a stunning set of before and after Landsat images (satellite photos using remote-sensing techniques). Recent environmental events and remote sensing are introduced through topics like disasters, deserts, water, and cities. See the incredible USGS studies of environmental changes at the World Trade Center site in a dated sequence. Some maps may require special downloads; clear information is provided.

ENVIRONMENTAL ATLAS FROM THE U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
www.epa.gov/ceisweb1/ceishome/atlas/index.htm

An environmental map collection can be invaluable for students researching topics like air quality, land use, and water-related issues. If the environmental problems of a particular state are the focus, this site from the EPA might be the answer. Includes maps from individual states and regions like the mid-Atlantic.

ONLINE MAP CREATION
www.aquarius.geomar.de/omc/omc_intro.html

Do you have students making maps? They can interactively create maps by inputting borders, boundaries, features, and projections via Generic Mapping Tool, a software package to create high-quality postscript maps in various projections. A PostScript version is drawn first, which the user then downloads to a hard drive, or GIF versions can be saved in a browser. Zoom-in and pan features are available.

TERRASERVER
terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/default.asp

For unique global spatial perspectives, Microsoft's award-winning TerraServer provides aerial views of specific points, selected by the user. TerraServer is one of the world's largest online databases and is designed to work with commonly available computer systems and web browsers over slow-speed communications links. Users can zoom in and out to a selected U.S. region; finer details emerge with each closer view. Topographic maps are provided.