UCSC Map Room - Reference Resources

G N I S : Geographic Names Information System: A gazetteer of the United States from the USGS.
GeoNet: NIMA's database of foreign geographic names.
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
Canadian Geographical Names: "Query by name" can be used as an index to topo sets.

California Maps & Geographic Information

from California State University, Chico, Meriam Library

from UC Berkeley

Geographic Information

Background Notes from the U.S. Department of State: Profiles of countries including maps, history, economy, government, and political conditions
CIA World Factbook: Maps, brief descriptions, and statistical information
Country Studies Federal Research Division, Library of Congress: Series describes and analyzes the political, economic, social, national security systems and institutions of foreign countries.
Geography Guide: FAQ, online atlases, quizzes, and chat from About.com.
Geography Topics from lii.org: Geographic links from the Librarians' Index to the Internet.
Odden's Bookmarks: Comprehensive map-related web site with over 20,000 links.

Understanding and Using Maps

Cartography: All about maps from About.com.
DD to DMS: Convert from decimal degrees to degrees/minutes/seconds.
DMS to DD: And back: degrees/minutes/seconds to decimal degrees.
Glossary of mapping, charting, and geodetic terms: from National Imagery and Mapping Agency.
Making Sense of Maps: Excellent introduction to maps and guide to using maps as historical evidence.
Learn Geography and Maps: "What are maps? Why use maps? Making a good map." From the EPA.
Topographic Map Symbols: From the USGS.
Citing Maps and Cartographic Resources

Guide to Citing Maps and Atlases: from the Lloyd Reeds Map Collection at McMaster University
Docscite: Fill in the blanks, click "submit", and out pops your citation in APA or MLA format!

Finding Maps

Britain's Ordnance Survey: Search their gazetteers and print maps.

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet -Maps, Gazetteers & Geographical Information: Links for finding historical maps, property ownership and historical place names.
DMOZ Open Directory Project: Maps section
Eagle Geocoding from ETAK: Enter a street address for anywhere in the U.S. and retrieve a map showing its location along with its long/lat coordinates, postal address, and census designation.
Geography and Map Division Library of Congress Reference
InfoMine: Maps: An excellent tool for finding good map & geography web sites.
Publications of the US Geological Survey (USGS): Searchable database of bibliographic information on USGS publications dating back to the Survey's inception in 1785.
TopoZone: Calls itself "the Web's first interactive topo map of the entire United States".
Yahoo! Maps for finding street maps.

Contact the Map Room (maproom@ucsc.edu). Last updated December 2007.