David Rumsey Map Collection

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Image for David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
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This private collection presents more than 15,800 rare historical maps with a focus on North and South America. The collection is accessible via several formats. A standard browser (the "directory") is designed for use by the general public. In addition to two browsers and a "collections ticker" requiring Insight software (available for free download), a GIS browser shows detailed overlays of maps and geospatial data for the more serious researcher.

Many of the U.S. maps are from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and are often notable for their craftsmanship. Materials include atlases, globes, books, maritime charts, pocket and wall maps, and children's maps. Users can zoom in to view details. Overlay capabilities make this site valuable for its ability to convey how locations have changed over time.

Osher Map Library

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Image for Osher Map Library
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These 14 exhibitions include more than 600 maps and related documents on aspects of history revealed through the study of maps. The website provides well-integrated essays of up to 8,000 words for each exhibit and some annotated bibliographies.

Exhibits focusing on American history include "Mapping the Republic," on conflicting conceptualizations of the U.S. from 1790 to 1900; "Exodus and Exiles," on Diaspora experiences of Jews and African Americans; "The American Way," a collection of 20th-century road maps and guidebooks; "Carto-Maine-ia," on popular uses of maps; and "Maine Wilderness Transformed," that examines "the creation of a landscape of exploitation."

In addition, "The Cartographic Creation of New England," addresses European exploration and settlement, "The 'Percy Map,'" presents a significant Revolutionary War map; and "John Mitchell's Map" offers insight into diplomatic disputes. These maps are especially valuable for studying exploration and cartography in American history.

Digital Map Collection

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Map, Marine protected areas in the Gulf of Maine...
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This specialized site contains more than 6,000 digitized maps. Almost 700 are maps of California, most drawn in the mid-19th century. California map results can be sorted according to users' needs. More than 5,330 maps (primarily from the 19th and 20th centuries) cover other parts of the world, including Portugal, Kenya, Hong Kong, Iraq, and hundreds of other nations or territories. Non-California search results cannot be sorted. Many of the maps are archived by the University of California, Berkeley, but some are accessible by links to other sites.

The maps are extremely high quality, so loading the images may take some time, especially with slower connections. The maps include information about the date and author. The site is difficult to navigate and the search engine is finicky, but the site should be useful to those interested in high-quality maps, especially older ones. This site will be most useful for those who are looking for specific maps.

Historical Maps of the United States

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Map, Exploration Before 1675
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This division of the Perry-Castaneda Map Collection provides access to 500 historical maps of the U.S. Maps are sorted thematically and include three maps of early inhabitants, 11 of exploration and early settlement from 1675 to 1854, and 15 of territorial growth from 1775 to 1970. Of the 95 military history maps covering engagements from 1763 to 1967, 50 are about World War II alone.

Among 183 late 19th- and 20th-century maps, there are 146 of U.S. cities produced around 1920. Historic sites, memorials, and battlefields are represented in 191 maps of sites such as Aztec ruins in New Mexico, the Bering land bridge in Alaska, and the Vicksburg battle site in Mississippi. Most of the maps are excerpted from 20th-century historical atlases. The site will be particularly useful for research in military history and early 20th-century urban history.

Lewis and Clark: Maps of Exploration 1507-1814

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Logo, Lewis & Clark, The Maps of Exploration
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This 1995 exhibition presents approximately 70 maps designed to help "understand [Thomas] Jefferson's views of the West and the nature of the quest to the Pacific," and to "show the evolution of cartographic knowledge of North America up to the time that [Meriwether] Lewis and [William] Clark set out."

Arranged into five sections, it treats the period from the arrival of Columbus in North America to Lewis and Clark's 1803 voyage.

Well-written background essays describe relevant monographs and journals, explain the role of technology in mapmaking, and elucidate the social and intellectual contexts of Western exploration.

The site, which offers both European and American perspectives, also furnishes eight related links and a 31-title bibliography.

Particularly useful for understanding the evolution of geographic knowledge about North America and for tracing the history of cartography during this period.

Envisaging the West: Thomas Jefferson and the Roots of Lewis and Clark

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By the time Thomas Jefferson became the third President of the United States in 1801, interest in exploring the West had begun to shape U.S. policy. This chronological narrative traces Jefferson's life, participation in politics, and accumulation of scientific geographical knowledge from 1735 to 1804. There are four main sections: "The Jeffersons and Their Frontier Virginia Neighborhood," "From Colony to Commonwealth," "Science and Statecraft at Home and Abroad," and "Public Servant to the Early Republic."

This narrative is accompanied by an archive of 169 letters, statues, books, treaties, maps, and journals providing primary source insight into Jefferson's thoughts about the West and the Lewis and Clark expedition in particular. Three interactive maps from the 1700s, overlaid with historical data about cities, private dwellings, natural features, courthouses, and waterways, provide important insight into the geographic and social environment at the time.

Historic Topographic Maps of California

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Map, San Francisco 15-minute Quadrangle, 1895
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Provides historical United States Geological Survey maps of the San Francisco Bay area, from Point Reyes in the north to Half Moon Bay, and east to San Jose. Includes maps from different time periods—the earliest is from 1895, the latest 1997—covering each 7.5-minute and 15-minute quadrangle of the area. Users may zoom in to see minute details. Searchable by quadrangle or place name. Of value for those studying change over time in the development of the Bay Area during the 20th century.

Conservation and Environmental Maps

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Map, Earthquakes and faults in the San Francisco Bay Area (1970-2003)
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A collection of historical and modern maps, this site features more than 150 maps showing early exploration and subsequent land use. The maps show a variety of information, including landscape changes over time, natural and man-made features, recreation and wilderness areas, geologic features, topography, wetlands, vegetation, and wildlife. A series of conservation maps focuses especially on the growth and development of national parks.

The maps have been categorized by purpose, and fit into one of seven categories: Conservation and Environment, Discovery and Exploration, Immigration and Settlement, Military Battles and Campaigns, Transportation and Communication, Cities and Towns, and General Maps.

Historical Maps Online

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Map, D.B. Cooke & Co.'s railway guide for Illinois...
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This website offers more than 400 images of historic maps charting 400 years of development in Illinois and the northwest territory. The collection of maps can be browsed by state or geographic area or by categories such as early maps, topographic maps of Illinois, Indians of North America, waterways, and transportation. Types of maps include maps showing roads and canals, topographical maps, French and Spanish colonial maps, maps of railways, city maps, county and township maps, maps showing regions of settlement, and sectional state maps.

A zoom and pan feature allows the map images to be examined in detail and bibliographic information is provided with each map image. A keyword search is available. An excellent source of historic maps.