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Category: Big Data and Visualization

Three maps of Japan that shows the distribution of earthquakes.

Mapping Magnitude: The Evolution of Earthquake Maps

Posted by: Sonia Kahn

Did you know that worldwide, roughly 55 earthquakes are recorded per day? Of course, the vast majority of these seismic events are minor, making it all the more impressive that we are able to detect them. The technology used to gather data on earthquakes and seismic movements has vastly improved over time, and with it …

Map of the foreign born population in the United Staes, 1880

Gannett and Hewes’ Visualizations of the 1880 Census

Posted by: Meagan Snow

The end of the 19th century saw a rise in the proliferation of data visualizations alongside traditional cartography and thematic mapping. A terrific example of this type of work is Scribner’s Statistical Atlas of the United States, which “shows by graphic methods [the states’] present condition and their political, social, and industrial development.” The atlas …

Georeferencing: Moving Analog Maps into Modern-Day GIS

Posted by: Meagan Snow

Have you ever wondered how historic maps can be used with today’s modern mapping technologies? One of the ways in which analog maps can be used with GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is through a process called georeferencing. Georeferencing is the process of adding digital spatial reference information to an otherwise non-spatial image. Adding spatial reference …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

GIS Day on November 18th: Mapping the Pandemic

Posted by: Julie Stoner

You are invited to join the Library of Congress in celebrating GIS Day on Wednesday, November 18th from 1-4pm EST, with an afternoon of engaging talks and discussions on the theme of “Mapping the Pandemic Cases, Traces, and Mutations.” This presentation will premiere with closed captions on both the Library’s YouTube site and on the Library …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

Rising to the First: An Interview with Dr. Paulette Hasier

Posted by: John Hessler

This is a special Women’s History Month guest post by Giselle Aviles, the 2019 Archaeological Research Associate in the Geography and Map Division. Giselle interviews Dr. Paulette Hasier, the first woman to serve as Chief of the Geography and Map Division since it was founded late in the nineteenth century. On one of my breaks from …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

[Computing Space VIII] Games Cartographers Play: Alphago, Neural Networks and Tobler’s First Law

Posted by: John Hessler

Today’s post is the eighth in a year-long series called,”Computing Space,” which highlights new mapping technologies and new areas for cartographic innovation, along with stories of the lives and work of many of the mostly unknown cartographers, geographers, mathematicians, computer scientists, designers and architects who both now, and in the past, have had a hand …