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Posted by: Julie Stoner
Drastic climatic change via drought conditions was a major factor prompting residents of the Great Plains, many of them farmers, westward to California in one of the largest migrations in U.S. history.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, American History, Guest Posts
Posted by: Amelia Raines
1960 was a dramatic year for Africa, in which 17 countries gained their independence from colonial powers. This post charts the events of that watershed year through a series of political maps produced by the CIA.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, African History, Borders, Middle East and North African History
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
A picture of a skull and crossbones marks the location of a special collection in the Geography and Map Division. The collection consists of wreck charts published by U.S. federal government agencies, treasure maps made by famous cartographers during the 18th and 19th centuries, and treasure maps published by commercial companies during the mid -20th …
Posted in: 18th century cartography, 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, Exploration
Posted by: Julie Stoner
A blog exploring the hottest place on earth, Death Valley California.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, Series: Extremities of the Earth
Posted by: Julie Stoner
This is a guest post by Geography and Map Division summer intern, Wayne Hastings, who worked on processing and housing the John Parr Snyder Collection. Imagine this. During the summer of 1972, the United States was in the midst of one of the most wildly impressive eras of technological and scientific development – the Space …
Posted in: 20th century cartography, Guest Posts
Posted by: Meagan Snow
This blog posts provides an introduction to some early maps produced from images captured by ERTS-1 (later known as Landsat I), the world's first earth-observing satellite.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, Big Data and Visualization, Geographic Information Science
Posted by: Carissa Pastuch
In 1899, British geologist Henry G. Lyons (1864–1944) began a systematic reassessment of the cadastral surveys conducted in Egypt under Ottoman Turkish rule. His updated survey was built upon 90 years of work—starting in 1813 when Muʿallim Ghali, a finance minister appointed by Muhammad ʿAli Basha (1769–1849), reorganized the finances of Egypt to optimize taxation. …
Posted in: 20th century cartography, Middle East and North African History, Uncategorized
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
Women have made significant contributions to the field of cartography throughout history. In celebration of Women’s History Month I have chosen to write about the noted 19th century cartographer, educator, and historian, Eugenia Almira Wheeler Goff. Eugenia Wheeler was born in 1844 in North Clarkson, New York. Her family moved to Winona, Minnesota when she …
Posted in: 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, Biography, Women's History
Posted by: Carissa Pastuch
Elmer Simms Campbell’s pictorial night-club map showing Harlem’s hotspots for entertainment, dining, and drinking appeared as a centerfold in the January 18, 1933, edition of the short-lived weekly Manhattan Magazine. His work was an important contribution to Harlem’s cultural renaissance—it serves as a time capsule—the itinerary and guide of a typical Friday night at the …
Posted in: 20th century cartography, African American History, American History, City Histories