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Travel Maps

Maps are one of the most useful items you can have on a trip.  From road maps, to city and country maps, park maps, hiking trail maps and museum maps, they are an invaluable aid to getting where you're going and getting oriented in a new place. Although we can now get maps delivered to our cellphones and PDAs and laptops and can sit at home or in the office and display maps for almost any part of the world.  Coupled with GPS devices that tell you where you are, they have saved lives, eliminated getting lost and helped to save time and conserve gas. But don't think that paper maps have seen their day. 

They are still useful and can be even more convenient and handy to use than an electronic map on a portable display. They don't require an electronic device or batteries and they are more compact and easier to handle than most portable devices. You can easily put them in a pocket or purse because they are paper thin. And, by magic they can be unfolded to an easily viewed full-color size. Even the iPhone can't do that!  Yes, there is still a place for paper maps.  Of course you can download maps and print them out which many people do. 

Almost all the online travel guides have maps of countries and cities.

Try out the Alexandria Digital Library - Gazetteer.

We provide links to popular map sites, both paper and electronic, and to GPS map sites.  
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Some Good Free Map Sites
Comparing the Mapping Services TechCrunch does a good job of evaluating some of the major map services.
Alexa - Most Popular Maps The best list of map sites we have found. You can also put them in alphabetical order or search for a specific map site. This is a beautiful website.
Ask Maps This is Ask's entry into the map/satellite image market.
DMOZ Open Directory - Maps The DMOZ Open Directory listing map websites.
Encarta - Atlas You start with the globe and can zoom into any place in the world. These are beautiful maps.
Google Maps This is Google's entry into the map/satellite image market.
Google Maps Mania This is a blog that keeps you up to date on how Google maps are finding their way into other products and services.
Google Mobile Phone Maps Display Google maps on your cell or smart phone, or PDA including the Palm and Blackberry.
Hot Maps Beautiful interactive maps of cities of the world.
MapQuest This is the most popular source for driving directions and city maps.
Maps Live This is Microsoft's entry into the map/satellite image market.
Maplandia This is a searchable world gazetteer map site based on Google Maps and has the comprehensive online satellite imagery available.
Multimap This is similar to other map/satellite image websites.
National Geographic Map Machine They have no equal!  Excellent maps.
TerraServer Microsoft's powerful mapping service to get a satellite view of just about any place in the world.
Trail Maps and Ski Trail Maps This will take you to our Hiking page or Snow Sports page.  Both have trail map links.
UT PCL Map Collection This is the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) map collection at the University of Texas.
WorldAtlas.com This is an excellent website for maps of the countries of the world.
Yahoo Maps This is Yahoo's entry into the map/satellite image market.
 
Free Maps Online

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PCL Map-Related Web Sites
This is one of the best site we've found for a comprehensive list of map-related web sites. This includes sites and companies that sell maps or who have on-line maps of cities and places in the world.  Their Country and City Map Web Site sections have an A-Z Search Engine. This site is maintained as part of the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) Map Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.
  
John R. Borchert Map Library.
This on-line map library is maintained at the University of Minnesota, USA. It is another excellent overall map source.  Here are two sections of interest: Online and Interactive Maps takes you to a good list of map sites.
 
 

More Free Map Resources on the Web. 
 Here are some good U.S. and world map sites.
 
  • 11 Best Image Map Websites.  A list of 11 websites with interesting images and maps of the world and universe.
     
  • CGRER Maps and References. A very comprehensive source of map information maintained by the University of Iowa Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER).
     
  • DeLorme.  Click here to go to their EarthaMaps™ section where you can get a street-level map of any U.S. location.
     
  • DMOZ Open Directory - Maps.  An extensive list of library websites with map collections.
     
  • Encarta-World Atlas  Enter a place in the world in the search window.  Then zoom in for details.
     
  • Embassy World Maps They have a great list of map links for countries and cities.
     
  • Europa Technologies Excellent computer-generated maps of the world. See their Map gallery.
     
  • Expedia Maps They have an Address, Place and Business Finder and driving directions for North America.
     
  • Lonely Planet. You start with the world, select a region, then a place.
     
  • MapQuest  Good map source for travelers. Includes driving directions and planning a trip.
     
  • Michelin Maps.  This is the official website for the world-famous Michelin maps.
     
  • MultiMap.com  Good map source for anywhere in the world with zoom capability.
     
  • Omni Resources-Map Division.   Click here to go to the world's largest online map catalog.
     
  • Peter Loud.  Some excellent free maps primarily for Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia, Cuba, Yemen, Somalia, The Bahamas, Afghanistan, and Iraq.  He also sells Digital Maps of the World products based on the Operational Navigation Charts & DCW from the U.S. Department of Defense, probably the most detailed maps in the world. (These are not for travelers and tourists as they are very expensive.) 
     
  • National Geographic Map Machine The name says it all!
     
  • USGS National Mapping Information This is the U.S. Geological Survey homepage with very detailed mapping of the United States and other parts of the world.
     
  • WorldAtlas.Com Includes every nook and cranny of this spaceship whether a continent, country, dependency, island, province, state or territory.
      
  • World Sites Atlas Map Collection.  A nice clean interface to countries, regions, states and provinces of the world.  These are political and geographical maps.
 

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 Buying Maps Online

PCL Map Dealers  Here is an extensive list of map dealers and stores.
International Map Trade Association.  This is their search page. Most Internet map stores belong to IMTA.
 
Web Map Stores
 
 GPS Units and Map Products Online
  
 The L.A. Times has some good articles about car GPS Navigation systems and advice for using them when on the road.
 
 
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