Recently in Travel Category

Railway Map 1908

The map is posted on flickr, and is a favorite for all the details.  Names of many little towns along the railroad, advertisements which are like a snapshot in time and the unique lettering all used to convey the information needed to travel along the rail.  This looks to have been published to encourage tourism.   The advertisers include steams companies, commission agents, hotels, railway, banks, sites to see and big game to hunt; then for the visitors with a purpose, your local detective agency to find what you are looking for.

Oh ya....... in South Africa.  I can go on and on about ..... how cool it is to view a map of the Railroads in S. Africa over a hundred years ago! 

Another map of the Railway shows your basic no nonsense here is the line and here are the stops.  No ad's enticing you to visit, no "must see" here, just the basics.  Yet the way the map is presented the colored lines, the exotic names of the places tempt me all the same.  

It's Paris in 1900. Oh to be there at Midnight!

Valerie (Our Local Mapmaker) has recently started posting older maps in the collection to flicker.  For all to share and see what is available.... And dream of what might be available.

For all my nostalgia, there are plenty of subway maps available online, for current routes and stops. Just a little searching will reap many rewards.

Here are a few I found:

New York Subway 

Chicago L Map 

London Tube & other Mass Transit Maps

Tokyo Subway Map

My Plan ...... would be to study up on these before I ever visit.  Heaven knows I study our local CATA maps often enough and I live here..... Maybe I'm a little particular..... my husband would only disagree with the use of "a little". So I'm a bit more particular. \

Anyway, if you want to spend time living in the past, we have plenty of historical maps of the railroads, subways, and transit maps to gaze at and dream of a different world. Or if your planning your next excursion, We can help!

 

Additional Resources:

Ovenden, Mark. Transit Maps of the World: The World's First Collection of Every Urban Train Map on Earth. New York: Penguin Group, 2007.

Call no: Maps G1046.P33O9 2007

 

Dow, Andrew. Telling the Passenger Where to Get Off: George Dow and the Evolution of the Railway Diagrammatic Map. Harrow: Thomson Press, 2005.

Call no.: Maps GA795.D69 2005

And many more maps of subways, railroads, and mass transit are available, Just ASK!

Preparing for your Semester Study Abroad or a Summer Vacation

Come and visit to see what resources we have available. 

All through our collection, there is information available about the history, political situation, language and customs for almost every country.  The tourist maps usually have very practical information about travel, tipping/currency, holidays, subways, and more.

If you are taking a long weekend trip 

to New York City, Philadelphia, or Washington DC, we have great list of points of interest!

Use our Study Abroad Research Guide to further your preparation.

 

When people express something about their personal faith, it usually involves a path.... So my curiosity wondered to what maps we have about faith and/or religions.  Not necessarily the map of how to live your life, but maps of different religions that strive to answer questions about life.  These will not lead you to Heaven.... Nirvana..... or what you decide to call the time after death.  But they can give you details of others and their path through life. 

Maps in our Library:

Some maps show the population concentration of different religions throughout the world and the diversity in specific locations.

Such as this one of Lebanon: here the colors represent the different religions of the local populations.   Sunni - Yellow; Christian - Blue; Druze - red; Shia - Green.  The size of the circle designates the population size.

 

Other maps show how a religion moved across a geographic location.  And still another shows the outreach in lands where that religion is not indigenous.  This maps shows the population spread of  Baha'l throughout the world.  Only a portion is pictured here.

 

City maps sometimes show a list of places to worship included with list of their local cultural spots.  Others display the architecture beauty of the Catholic Cathedrals through mapping their location with illustrations of buildings. This map is about America, I personally enjoy the mixture of architecture, history and artistry displayed in it.  Cathedrals are beautifully illustrated across the country  along with the paths Bishops have taken.

Online Resources

History of Religion

Pilgrims Map of Kashi (Varanasi) - Sacred location to the Hindu and Janis faiths

Rituals and Stages of the Hajj,  - one of the pillars of the Muslim Faith

Map of the Crusade Routes - series of religious wars blessed by the Catholic Pope with hope of restoring religious access to sacred sites in Jerusalem.

There are many paths people take through life,

yet how many are map-able?

Bibliography

[Map of the Baha'I faith]. [cartographic material]. New York: C.S. Hammond & Co., [1946?].

Call Number: G3201.E4 1946.C2

 

Welcome to Hazleton, Conyngham, and Drums, Pennsylvania : [map] : America starts here : where we live with faith ... and plan a prosperous future. [Milton, PA.]: Profiles of Pennsylvania, [1992?].

Call Number:  G3824.H4 1992.P7

 

Europe; Europe in transition [map]. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2005. 

Call Number:  G5700 2005.N3

 

Christian mission stations in Africa, 1920's. New York:  American Geographical Society, 1967.

Call Number:  G8201.E424 1929.A4 1967

 

The Catholic Church in Africa. [cartographic material]. Washington D.C.: African Research and Information Center, 1965.

Call Number:  G8201.E4 1965.A3

 

Lebanon, population and religious affiliation. [cartographic material]. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 1985.

Call Number: G7471.E4 1985.U5

 

Catholic America: a pictorial map portraying the contribution of Catholics in the development of the United States of America 1492 to 1946. [map]. Boston, MA: Chase-O'Connell, 1946.

Call Number:  G5701.E4 1946.C5

http://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/view/5860218?buttons=y

 

Cathedrals and abbies map of the British Isles. [cartographic material].  Edinburgh: John Bartholomew & Son Ltd, [1973?].

Call Number: G5741.E423 1973.B3

 

Monastic Ireland. [cartographic material]. Dublin: Ordnance Survey Office, 1960.

Call Number: G5781.E423 1960.O6

 

California Missions. [map]. Saint Julien les Villas, France [actual]; Santa Barbara, CA: distributed by Map Link, 2000.

Call Number: G4361.E424 2000. A3

 

Italy: ecclesiastical provinces of the roman catholic church. [map]. [Washington, D.C.]: Reproduction Branch, OSS, [1944].

Call Number:  G6711.E423 1944.U5

 

Slowakische kirchengemeinden in Pennsylvanien. [map]. 1937.

Call Number: G3821.E4 1937.K5

 

How would a map impact your holiday season?

Amid all the whirlwind that surrounds the holiday season. I've been pondering the impression made on maps.....  

• Does Santa use a map? 

On Christmas Eve, So many news stations report on Santa's flight across the local area.  NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) located in Colorado Springs, CO has a website to track Santa.

We have a map of the Santa Claus across the World.

• Where can I find the best holiday sales deals?

If you challenged the storm of shoppers on Black Friday, I would guess you had a plan, which probably included specific locations (stores) in a specific order (time of opening).  Those would be some fun maps to see.  Likewise planning out where you want to get to as soon as your feet stepped inside.  Wal-mart provided a Black Friday map where different bargains would be located in their stores.  Thanks to social media we all can be facebook friends and download the map.

• What is the Rose Bowl parade route? 

The Rose Bowl Parade followed a route, which is mapped out for the novice parade attendee. 

• Another activity surrounding the holiday season....... Where are all the College Football Bowl Games?

Our library cartographer, Valerie, created a map that shows all the College Bowl Games for 2011 and most are in the Sunshine!    So I could track the progress and movement of teams through the month.  She showed time movement by dates designated by different colors.  It will be up on my frig til January 15th.

• Where is it Christmas all year? 

Well, there are several cities across the United States named Christmas or a variation of  -  Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Michigan, Tennessee, & Florida.   Only a few claim to have the North Pole, Colorado and Alaska.  I have visited to both and there is no doubt about they look like the fabled North Pole when covered in all that snow.  Sometimes it's fun to send holiday cards or gifts from a holiday inspired town. 
There is an Atlas that maps names of cities across the US by different topics.

Here's hoping you find all you seek this Holiday Season, and If we can help you find a map to get you there, just ask!

Bibliography

Jouris, David. All over the Map: an Extraordinary Atlas of the United States ; Featuring Towns That Actually Exist! Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed, 1994. Print.

Call Number G1200.J6 1994

Sebestyen, Valerie. 2011-2012 College Football Bowl Games. Map. University Park, PA: Penn State Maps Library, 2011

Call Number not assigned yet

(for a closer look check this out)   2011 Bowl games.pdf  

The Santa map: a cultural geography of the world's most beloved man, Map. Minneapolis: Hedberg Maps, Inc, 2001.

Call Number G3201. A8 2001.A4

ZeeMaps is a fun map app on the web.  I first used it about six months ago to map out potential apartments for my daughter to investigate before her transfer to Baton Rouge, LA.  Since she is about to undertake another six-month, engineering move, I pulled up ZeeMaps again to plot one potential work locale, and found it much easier to use this time.  Now you  can hover over each bubble to expand the information for each entry.

 

Based on Google maps, ZeeMaps allows you to pinpoint the location you are interested in and place identifying bubbles on the map using the street address of each apartment.  You can also place location bubbles for your work address, potential grocery stores, pharmacies and churches, all color-coded for easy identification.  Having all these locations mapped out can give you a snapshot of how you might travel through your daily existence in a new location.

 

For power users, ZeeMaps can map Excel spreadsheet locations.  Put your addresses with other critical data in a spreadsheet and import it to ZeeMaps.  ZeeMaps will automatically mark a Google map with your location and content.  You can create wikimaps (to allow others to comment and mark), crime maps, and housing maps. ZeeMaps  offers an international geo-coding web service as a trial usage.  The service returns a set of latitude and longitude coordinates for any given city, state and country combination.

First weekend in October, the leaves are changing in most brilliant colors.  I'm from Cheyenne, Wyoming.  In Southeastern Wyoming, trees are limited and even less are leafy.  When I think of  fall, It is surrounded by football games and going back to school.  The memories I have of fall foliage are much more limited.  They include the ten or so dried leaves my friend and I would take turns crunching on the way home from school.  I could not image enough leaves to jump in.

After moving to Pennsylvania, I can truly appreciate the chore of raking leaves and jumping in a pile of leaves.  So how does this apply to maps?  Our library has maps that could guide you on a fall foliage tour in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Vermont and there are additional resources online.

Here are three examples:

Pennsylvania Autumn: Driving Guide to Fall Foliage Roads to Glory - Call # G3821.E635 1989.P4

Included are 110 different attractions along three different driving routes, which are divided up between when the colors are the most bold.  "The Northern (orange) Zone generally peaks during the first two weeks of October.  The Central (yellow) Zone peaks during the middle two weeks of October.  The Southern (red) Zone peaks during the last two weeks of October."  More Information on these and other fall foliage tours are available at VisitPA

Map of Ashtabula County including Covered Bridges and Fall Foliage - Call # G4083.A7E635 2001.M3

It has three different tours: Tour A - 11 Covered Bridges, 69 miles, Tour B - 5 Covered Bridges 66 miles and a Fall Foliage Tour which can be added onto the Tour A.  It is presented by the Ashtabula County Covered Bridge Festival

Windham County, Vermont Map - G3753.W4E63 1963.B7

It shows Foliage Tours and Back Road Tours.  The information is over 40 years old so the area might have changed some. 

Follow the Leaves through the fall in New England.  Thanks to Yankee Publishing Inc. They provide an updated map where you can see where the trees are changing in New England.  People who live in this area can do a foliage report to show what their trees look like: Green, Turning, Moderate, Peak, Fading, and Gone! 

Also include a map of the road closures throughout Vermont and New Hampshire.  Many were impacted by Hurricane Irene in August.

So if you are from the area or from another part of the country, fall leaves are a beautiful sight to behold.  May these resources help you find a relaxing way to enjoy the fall foliage.

Happy Fall!

There is more to a map..... than just directions.

There is extra information that is available on maps.  It goes beyond getting from one place to another.  They can help you understand history or local customs. 

Want help learning another language?  The maps library has many maps that are in the local language of the area.

The languages vary from Austria maps with basic German words.

Maps of Iran with Persian list of Birds of Prey

 Arabic

words gracefully decorate a Map of Iraq with animal and vegetation names. 

If you are studying another language, find a map where it is spoken. On these maps, there is a treasure trove of information.  Some have short and sweet list of rules.  Some mix the native language with the artistic qualities of the map.

When you explore the maps of an area of interest it shows more in depth knowledge than the simple from point A to point B on a map.

It's almost like your traveling there.....

Touring the World

As the weather is warming, I dust off my bicycle. It got me to think about some stories that my 6^th grade teacher, Mr. Arnold, told the class.   He spent the summers while he was in college touring Europe on a Bicycle.  I was so fascinated at this concept of riding around the countries.  I have never ventured beyond my well beaten paths in local neighborhoods.  Then I started to wonder if cyclists would ride around the states.  And to my delighted surprise, I have discovered many bicycle maps in our own library, then found more resources online.

 

If you have any plans to vacation around the United States this summer.  There are several tours specifically designed for human-powered two-wheeled excursions. Be prepared for beautiful sites and wonderful adventures.

 

Some of the References Available

 

TransAmerica Trail    - G3701.E63 2006.A4

Northern Tier              - G3701.E63

Atlantic Coast              - G3709.31.E63 s250.A3

 

New Hampshire        

- G3741.E63 2008.N4

(Great North Woods Region)

Vermont

- G3751.E63 1979.F6

Finger Lakes NY        

- G3802.F5E63 1980.H4

 

Lehigh Valley PA        - G3822.L44E63

Centre County PA       - G3824.S8P22 2006.C4 (pictured right)

 

Sussex County DE       - G3833.S8E63 2008.S8

Southern Tier              - G3861.E63 2007.A3 section.1 (pictured below)

Great Rivers South      - G4042.M5E63 2006.A3 section.1

Northern Lakes           - G4061.E63 2006.A3

Iowa                            - G4151.E63 2000.I5

North Dakota              - G4171.E63 1982.N6

Pacific Coast                - G4231.E63 s250.A3

Western Express         - G4301.E63 s250.A3

Colorado                     - G4311.E63 2004.C6

Search Keywords: bike, bicycle, tour, trails, cycle, "Parks and Recreation"

Search Authors:

Adventure Cycling Association

Steve Spindler Cartography

BikeLinks 36

RBA Broup

Foltz (S.A.) Map Co

 

Books

Cycling the Great Divide

GV1045.5.C69M33 2007 - Maps

Adventure Cycling in Europe: A Practical Guide to low cost bicycling touring in 27 countries

GV1046.E85R34 - Paterno 3^rd Floor

 

Bicycle Touring in Europe

D909.H394 - Stacks BA

 

Sustainable transport: Planning for Walking and Cycling in Urban Environments

TE279.5.S87 2003eb (online content)

 

ONLINE SOURCES

Local Bicycle Regulations and Information

 

Borough of State College Bike Ordinances

Penn State University Park Bicycle Information

Centre Region Bicycle Coalition

None of the tours have been tried and tested by me but they seem to be a good place to start when planning your bike tour.

 

Adventure Cycling Association

Researched and developed cycling routes in the United States.  Available and followable through a network of Cyclists.

Guides authored by the ACA have a consistent layout and presentation. 

Each Area covered includes an Elevation Profile,

Field Notes, Riding Conditions, Climate and Weather Information, Camping Spots, and Emergency Information, with approximately 15 small maps scale 1" to 4 miles to help you

navigate through every inch of the route.

(image from Southern Tier map)

You can find current events scheduled in a region or state within the U.S. Each includes website contact and website information as available.

 

Trento Bike Pages

People who have traveled different bicycle tours have submitted reports about the trip to help the next bicyclist on your travels.  It contains 1676 reports organized by country, by author, by date, and tips. Check to see if your local routes are documented and let them help you plan your next adventure.

Bicycle Touring Guide

This guide claims to be a culmination of over 30 years riding experience.  Includes map lists and guides that are useful resources: including North America, Britain/Ireland and Europe. 

Bicycle Colorado

This Colorado site offers Online Maps, information about Cycling Events, access to Programs in Colorado, Cycling Tips specific for Spring and Fall, A free Information packet, and a host of resources when you are riding in CO. (image from Colorado Map listed above)

 

Oregon DOT

Oregon Department of Transportation publishes bike routes along the coast.  It can be accessed through their website.  It is in PDF form so you can download it or print off specific pages for reference when planning an outing. More resources are available through the state website www.oregon.gov search bike routes.

Try other States DOT and search for Bike maps and Rules of the Road.

 

New Zealand Bike Tour Map

New Zealand, there is a place to dream of biking around, with link to Government regulations so you know the rules of the road.

Bicycle Germany

This site includes some tours, laws, and tips for cycling across the country.

Cycling in ASIA

I struggled finding bicycle maps to follow in Asia, however any internet search will provide you with an assortment of touring companies and blogs about personal experience cycling through Asia.

Try other Countries' government websites and search for Bike maps, regulations and guidelines.

 

The earthquakes in Japan, sparked me to wonder about the fault lines around the earth and what maps would be available to visualize the way this world is put together. Here is what I have found. 

For the up to date information on the earthquakes in Japan: Try Japan Earthquake & Tsunami - Japan Incident Map 

As noted on our  Facebook page: Here are several maps showing not just latitude and longitude changes caused by the earthquake, but also the elevation drop at Mizusawa, Japan.

Penn State

Penn State Earthquake Seismology created an animation that shows the epicenters of the earthquakes that recently struck Japan.  It covers from just after midnight on March 9 to March 11, 2011.

United States Geological Survey (USGS)

Earthquake Hazard Program - Latest Earthquakes around the globe.  This website notes that significant Earthquakes in the past month include China, Papua New Guinea, and Arkansas.  I had no idea that Arkansas had a 4.7 magnitude earthquake last month.   The maps include regions in the US or expand to the world. Here are more maps they have available.

World Seismicity Map

In the News

MSNBC posted a newly created map (below) that shows the intensity  where earthquakes have happened of a magnitude of 7.5 or greater.

"Growing numbers of people live in highly vulnerable areas. The recent earthquakes in Japan and also in Christchurch are a tragic reminder of the fragile relationship between human livelihoods and natural hazards," said Benjamin Hennig, creator of the map and a postgraduate researcher in the Department of Geography at England's University of Sheffield.