Atlas

This map is in honor of Mrs. Windridden, who requested a map relating to Yellowstone National Park. Sorry for the delay! Although I have never been to Yellowstone, I have learned quite a bit about it through National Geographic* and my environmental science class. As a result, I often associate Yellowstone with gray wolves, whose range is depicted by the map! The yellowish area represents the species’ historic range, which is where wolves were found before humans nearly made them extinct. The red splotches show the wolves’ current range. Yellowstone is the red area in the northwestern corner of Wyoming (and parts of Montana and Idaho). There are two main points I would like to make about this map. The first is how wonderful it is that Yellowstone is included in the current range of the gray wolf. The species was first placed on the Endangered Species list in 1973 and was reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 and 1996. Since then, the Yellowstone population has grown substantially, and now almost all gray wolf populations have been removed from the list! The second point is more somber. The huge disparity between the current range - which consists of a few pockets of wolves - and the historic range speaks to the severely negative impact of humans on the bounty of nature. As our human population grows ever faster, we must be even more vigilant if we hope to protect the biodiversity that makes places like Yellowstone so special.

*For more information about gray wolves and Yellowstone, including another cool map, click on the following link: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/03/wolf-wars/chadwick-text.

Hello Tumblrverse! I haven’t posted on this blog in almost 1.5 months. (windridden, please tell Mrs. Windridden that I haven’t forgotten about her map request.) In order to get back into the swing of things, I’ve decided to post a photograph, something I’ve never done before. This is no ordinary photograph, however. It’s a photograph of me, peoplecartographer! More specifically, it depicts my attempt at drawing a mental map of the United States. (In case you can’t tell, the map is upside down. Maine is at the very bottom and I’m in the process of drawing North Carolina.) This exercise was very beneficial in that I discovered the strengths and weaknesses in my knowledge of U.S. geography in addition to gaining further appreciation for the practice of cartography. Although I didn’t use fancy instruments or precise data, I thoroughly enjoyed putting my own interpretation of the world down on paper. This is one of the many reasons why cartography is such a valuable science and art form. So if you have any free time, I would highly recommend pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil and making your own mental map! You won’t regret it.

I know my last post was a mystery map, but I found this obscure map and just had to see if anyone could identify it! Do you know what this map represents? Also, can you figure out what the colored segments represent?

Answer: April Fools! If you can’t identify this map, you should go back to elementary school! If you are in elementary school, the map is of the United States and the colored segments are states.

windridden asked: Hey! My mom would like for you to post a map about/with/including Yellowstone. A possibility? P.S. Anything about wildlife patterns would be extra cool. But whatever you can find:)

That sounds cool! I’ll see what I can do!

windridden asked: So my mom just looked through your tumb and she's impressed. #brownkidzamiright

That’s so nice! Thanks Mrs. Windridden!

While trying to choose a mystery map, I realized that every map on this blog focuses on an area of land rather than a body of water! Even the other mystery maps, in which I have discussed being (or not being) surrounded by water, have centered only on land. The irony of this situation is that water covers about 70% of the Earth’s surface! Of course, I have not chosen maps of water because I am primarily concerned with human activity, which is almost entirely found on land. Still, it is important to be aware of the many bodies of water that exist in the world. Without cheating, can you identify this body of water? For bonus points, where is it located?

Answer: As nocturnallyyours guessed, this map depicts Lake Victoria! It is found at the intersection of three East African countries: Uganda to the north, Kenya to the east, and Tanzania to the south. Victoria is Africa’s largest lake by area and the world’s second largest freshwater lake by area, after Lake Superior. It is the main reservoir for the Nile River, which flows to the north. One final tidbit is that the lake was named after Queen Victoria, making it a part of her very impressive legacy. Thanks for guessing!

This map is in honor of windridden and nocturnallyyours, who both expressed interest in an art-related map. Although the subject of this map is not art, it is truly a work of art. Before I launch into a discussion of the beauty of cartography, some background is in order. This map, called “India Orientalis,” was created in roughly 1630 by the Dutch cartographer Jan Janssonius. Janssonius was a partner of Henricus Hondius II, whose father, Jodocus Hondius, was responsible for republishing and popularizing the work of Gerardus Mercator. Mercator, who is known for his map projection, was the first person to refer to a collection of maps as an atlas. Without him, the title of this blog would likely be very different! It is extremely important to consider the history of cartography, because it results in a better appreciation for the genius of the profession’s pioneers and for the wonders of modern technology. Craftsmen such as Mercator and Ortelius produced maps that are very aesthetically pleasing, and can, in my opinion, be classified as art.* This map, for instance, is beautiful for a multitude of reasons. Its coloring is rich and varied; its lettering is strong, balanced, and neat; its layout is well planned; and its attention to detail is impressive. Occasionally I wish that maps today were made to look like this, but I also believe that modern maps are still a form of art. Just as Mondrian’s paintings barely resemble those of Rembrandt, so too computer-generated maps look very different from those in Mercator’s Atlas.** Yet they all have artistic value! The beauty of maps is one of their most appealing qualities to me, and I hope that cartographers will create incredible works of art even as technology continues to advance.

*For another artistic map, click the following link: http://peoplecartographer.tumblr.com/post/36038464244/this-map-is-in-honor-of-nocturnallyyours-who.

**To compare this map to a computer-generated version of the region, click the following link: http://peoplecartographer.tumblr.com/post/26052471305/this-map-depicts-the-distribution-of-the-major.

nocturnallyyours asked: Helloooo peoplecartographer! I would like to second windridden's request for an art-related map. I think that would be lovely and interesting. Thank you muchly!

Coming right up!

windridden asked: yo carto, i was scrolling on my dash and i was reading this post about maps and i didn't even realize it was yours and it was crazyyyyy because i was like this is a cool person OH WAIT IT'SYOU, also, so i was thinking, it would be cool if you did some art-related map. like showing how art is so regional you know. i saw this map of africa once that had the patterns and common designs of each country filling them in. something like that would be nice. i'd reblog for sure.

That’s so exciting! Thanks very much. And that’s a really good suggestion. I’ll definitely post an art-related map!

As many of you know, the Oscars are just a day away! These very creative maps represent a playful attempt to predict the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture. The winner of each state was determined using Google Keyword Trends, and votes were assigned to the winner based on the number of movie screens in each state. This method of voting is based on the Electoral College used to elect the president!* States in blue represent a win for Lincoln, those in gold indicate a win for Argo, and those in gray represent a tie. The left-hand map uses data from the past 90 days, while the right-hand map uses data from the past 30 days. The most interesting feature of the maps is the marked difference between them. The left-hand map shows Lincoln winning the Oscar comfortably, with a tally of 361 votes to 173 for Argo. However, the more recent data suggests a reversal, with 287 votes for Argo and 227 for Lincoln. This change indicates that Argo has become more popular recently, while Lincoln has had more long-term appeal. The patterns of popularity are also very intriguing. Lincoln has consistently had the upper hand in parts of the Southeast, Middle Atlantic, Texas, Utah, Oregon, Michigan, and Ohio, while Argo has been most successful in the Northeast, West Coast, and parts of the middle of the country. Other than these strongholds for the two “candidates,” Argo has taken control of much of the country in the past 30 days. Many states in the Midwest, West, and South that were once blue are now gold. On the other hand, No states that were gold in the left-hand map reversed their decision in the right-hand map, indicating that Lincoln has been unable to make any forward progress recently. Another notable feature is that the number of states in which there is a tie has more than quintupled, from 2 states to 11. This suggests that the race has become much closer in the last month. Although these maps are very interesting, I am not sure that they are very useful. The popularity of each movie does not seem to relate to the political inclination of each state; both Lincoln and Argo are popular in traditionally red and blue states.* Thus, it is difficult to explain the patterns exhibited by the maps. In addition, the method used to create the maps likely will prevent them from making an accurate prediction. The Academy Awards are decided by the votes of the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This means that the popularity of each film with the general public does not necessarily have an impact on its chances of winning the Oscar. In spite of this flaw, the maps are very original, thoughtful, and intriguing. Besides, half of the fun of awards shows is predicting who will win! (I will update this post tomorrow with the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture. Wouldn’t it be ironic if neither Lincoln nor Argo won?)

*See http://peoplecartographer.tumblr.com/post/35377370704/this-map-conveys-the-results-of-the-recent#notes for a map of the 2012 Electoral College results!

Update: Argo won Best Picture! (No surprise there.) Ang Lee won Best Director for Life of Pi, Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor in a Leading Role for Lincoln, and Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress in a Leading Role for Silver Linings Playbook. The Oscars were really well done this year!