Current Events

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More Olympics Maps
Heat maps of the Olympic medals, using Google Spreadsheets’s map widget: this one generates a map from a live results feed; Google Maps Mania creates a few using static medal numbers for the top 15, but divides the results by… »
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Categories: Current Events, Hacks & Mashups
Map Hawk
Map Hawk, a side project by Directions Media’s Joe Francica, is a blog that “will cover the use of maps, mapping technology and location-based information in the media”; topics so far include the U.S. elections, the recent Russia-Georgia crisis, and… »
Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 9:52 AM
Categories: Blogs, Current Events
A Small Country Far Away of Which We Know Little
Google is denying reports that detailed maps for Georgia and the other countries of the Caucasus on Google Maps disappeared as a result of the conflict between Georgia and Russia. The data was never there in the first place; they… »
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Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Categories: Current Events, Online Maps
Mapping the 2008 Olympics
You may be aware that, in addition to The Map Room, I have another project that I work on during the Olympics: DFL, which chronicles last-place finishes. I’m at it again — this is my third kick at the Olympic… »
Posted on Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Categories: Beijing, Current Events, Google Earth, Satellite & Aerial
BBC Olympics Map
I have a professional interest, you might say, in the Olympics. The BBC’s Olympics map maps the 2008 Games’s venues in Beijing (and, in a couple of instances, elsewhere in China). The map was built using Virtual Earth and… »
Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 6:57 PM
Categories: Beijing, Current Events
A Map in the Sand
A photo of a map drawn in the sand, taken by Stanley Greene, has won second prize in the General News category in the 2008 World Press Photo contest. The poignant map depicts an attack on a village in Darfur… »
Posted on Monday, July 14, 2008 at 7:40 AM
Categories: Current Events
Cyclone Nargis in Google Earth
Links to Cyclone Nargis-related data viewable in Google Earth are available at Google Earth Blog, Google LatLong and humanitarian.info. Via Ogle Earth. Previously: Cyclone Nargis; More on Cyclone Nargis and Burma…. »
Posted on Monday, May 12, 2008 at 7:39 AM
Categories: Current Events, Google Earth
More on Cyclone Nargis and Burma
More on the devastation wrought on Burma (Myanmar) by Cyclone Nargis: UNOSAT has maps of the affected regions (as PDF files); the maps show the extent of flooding and the villages that have been completely submerged or flooded. Via Glenn…. »
Posted on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Categories: Current Events, Google Earth, Satellite & Aerial
Cyclone Nargis
Satellite images from before and after Cyclone Nargis struck the Burmese (Myanmarese?) coast…. »
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 8:13 PM
Categories: Current Events, Satellite & Aerial
Foreclosure Heat Maps
Greg writes to mention that the housing-search site HotPads also has a foreclosure heat maps layer. From the site: “HotPads Foreclosure Heat Maps portray the markets hit hardest by the recent housing crisis and the increased foreclosure rates. These foreclosure… »
Posted on Friday, April 11, 2008 at 8:28 AM
Categories: Current Events
Absolut Nonsense
You’ve probably heard about this by now. An Absolut Vodka ad in Mexico has stirred up a furor in the United States. The ad, which depicts a pre-1836 map of Mexico that includes territories since lost to Texas independence… »
Posted on Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Categories: Current Events
The World According to Newspapers
For a school dissertation (PDF), Nicolas Kayser-Bril has generated cartograms that “show the world through the eyes of editors-in-chief in 2007” — countries that received more coverage appear larger in these cartograms: see the original (in French) and the… »
Posted on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Categories: Current Events
Mapping the Subprime Mortgage Crisis
A sobering collection of choropleth maps from the U.S. Federal Reserve that illustrate the subprime mortgage crisis. From the press release: The maps, which are maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will display regional variation in the… »
Posted on Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 8:23 AM
Categories: Current Events
Virginia Tech
For your reference, the Washington Post’s map of the shootings at Virginia Tech. Via MetaFilter. See also Virginia Tech’s campus maps. Update, 4/17 at 9:30 AM: The Baltimore Sun’s map is a Google Maps mashup. Via Very Spatial. Update #2,… »
Posted on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 5:23 PM
Categories: Current Events
Jimmy Carter Accused of Map Plagiarism
Maps are taking a curious central position in the controversy over former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. A former executive director of the Carter Center resigned over the book, charging that it contained inaccuracies and… »
Posted on Sunday, December 10, 2006 at 1:02 PM
Categories: Copyright, Current Events
Fisk, Colonialism and Mapmaking
Robert Fisk’s column in last Saturday’s Independent, complaining about what he saw as France’s self-serving interest in maintaining Lebanese independence, includes the following passage about colonialism and mapmaking: Amid such geopolitical uncertainties, it is easy for westerners to see these… »
Posted on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 8:21 AM
Categories: Current Events
Press Freedom in Google Earth
Declan Butler has made a Google Earth layer from Reporters Without Borders’s Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index. I’m surprised they don’t put out a cartogram themselves. Via La Cartoteca (which just celebrated its first anniversary)…. »
Posted on Monday, October 30, 2006 at 8:44 PM
Categories: Current Events, Google Earth
Billboard Map Shows CIA Rendition Flights
A map showing selected CIA aircraft routes and rendition flights over the past five years is now on a billboard in Los Angeles. John Emerson, who designed it, sent along the link to his post explaining the project…. »
Posted on Monday, October 2, 2006 at 8:41 PM
Categories: Current Events
Tufte on Airport Runway Maps
Edward Tufte has been asked “to take a look at airport runway maps and how runway incursions might be reduced by better maps”; the discussion on his bulletin board makes for interesting reading, particularly in light of the recent… »
Posted on Wednesday, August 30, 2006 at 7:26 AM
Categories: Aviation, Current Events
Mumbai Bomb Blasts
A few web pages place the locations of yesterday’s bomb blasts in Mumbai, India (which you may know as Bombay) on Google Maps: there is this one (via Matt) and “>this one (via Ogle Earth); the latter is a KML… »
Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 8:28 AM
Categories: Current Events, Hacks & Mashups
Indonesian Earthquake Update
Cartography links to more maps and imagery of the Indonesian earthquake, including satellite images here and here, as well as situation maps from ReliefWeb. See previous entries: Indonesian Earthquake; Indonesian Earthquake in Google Earth…. »
Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 at 8:54 AM
Categories: Current Events, Satellite & Aerial
Indonesian Earthquake in Google Earth
Via Kathryn Cramer, Google Earth overlays for last weekend’s earthquake in Indonesia. See previous entry: Indonesian Earthquake…. »
Posted on Friday, June 2, 2006 at 6:56 PM
Categories: Current Events, Google Earth
Indonesian Earthquake
Via Cartography and Catholicgauze, maps and satellite photos produced by UNOSAT of the earthquake-stricken areas of Indonesia, both before and after the quake…. »
Posted on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 at 8:26 PM
Categories: Current Events, Satellite & Aerial
Deadly Maps
Deadly Maps collects every map from a book published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats (Amazon.com listing). From the site: “The first five maps reflect the worldwide proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and… »
Posted on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 at 5:42 PM
Categories: Books, Current Events
Mapping the Winter Olympics
I’m not the most consistent of bloggers even at the best of times, but, depending on how things go, over the next two weeks posts to The Map Room might be a bit sporadic due to the demands of one… »
Posted on Sunday, February 12, 2006 at 9:48 PM
Categories: Cities, Current Events, Hacks & Mashups
Link Roundup for January 29
I’ve been off my feed a bit this past week, so I’ve got some catching up to do. I’ll start with a few random links from here and there about this and that. From the Google Blog: “Not only have… »
Posted on Sunday, January 29, 2006 at 6:05 PM
Categories: Current Events, GPS, Online Maps, Satellite & Aerial, Software
East African Earthquake
Kathryn Cramer points to a USGS “ShakeMap” of the magnitude-6.8 earthquake that struck the Lake Tanganyika region today, and has provided a Google Earth overlay of it as well. This was my first exposure to the USGS ShakeMaps site, which… »
Posted on Monday, December 5, 2005 at 10:40 PM
Categories: Current Events
Mapping the French Riots
Cartography looks at the maps generated by news organizations covering the riots in France (which began in the suburbs of Paris and have since spread), and finds them generally wanting. Frankly, as someone who’s spent time in Paris and am… »
Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2005 at 9:54 PM
Categories: Current Events
One of Our Maps Is Missing
The legally binding 1978 map of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has gone missing, the New York Times reports (free registration required). The map, wall-sized and 1:250,000 scale, was last seen in 2002 and apparently disappeared some time in early… »
Posted on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 10:18 AM
Categories: Current Events, Topo Maps & Trails
Pakistani Earthquake Satellite Imagery
The always excellent Kathryn Cramer points to satellite imagery of the earthquake-stricken areas of Pakistan: one-metre-resolution photos from Space Imaging, an image from NASA’s Earth Observatory showing the quake epicentres and fault line, and a page of images from the… »
Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 10:12 PM
Categories: Current Events, Satellite & Aerial
Mapping the Pakistani Earthquake
Speaking of Kathryn Cramer, she’s also put together a useful Google Maps mashup of earthquake data that allows us to see, quite precisely, where the quakes and aftershocks have hit in northern Pakistan. She notes: One interesting result I obtain… »
Posted on Monday, October 10, 2005 at 2:11 PM
Categories: Current Events, Hacks & Mashups
California Wildfire Maps
Ryan Miller writes, “I was looking to find a map showing where the Los Angeles wildfire was, and this map viewer was very helpful. It’s easy to use, and it has a few convenient layers to use.” The server is… »
Posted on Friday, September 30, 2005 at 8:03 PM
Categories: Current Events
September 11 Digital Archive
To mark the fourth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the September 11 Digital Archive has used the Google Maps API to create an interactive map of New York with photos (blue markers) and stories (red markers) from that day. Via… »
Posted on Sunday, September 11, 2005 at 3:47 PM
Categories: Current Events, Hacks & Mashups, New York
Terrorist Map Revealed as Parking Map
Truck driver Ahmad El Maati was suspected of ties to Al Qaeda, and detained and allegedly tortured in Syria and Egypt, in part because of the presence of a map of government installations in his truck when he crossed the… »
Posted on Wednesday, September 7, 2005 at 8:48 AM
Categories: Current Events
Satellite Images of European Natural Disasters
In other natural disaster news, Vector One has linked to ESA satellite imagery of the Portuguese wildfires and floods in Austria, Switzerland and Germany…. »
Posted on Monday, August 29, 2005 at 10:26 PM
Categories: Current Events, Satellite & Aerial, Weather & Climate
Library of Congress: Places in the News
Peacay notices that the Library of Congress’s Geography and Map Division has a Places in the News page; it currently has a map of the Gaza Strip (see previous entry) and a hurricane tracking chart. Presumably updated as events change;… »
Posted on Friday, August 26, 2005 at 9:09 AM
Categories: Current Events
Gaza Strip Withdrawal Maps
The removal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip has occasioned some fine cartography from newspapers. The New York Times had an excellent graphic in its Sunday, Aug. 14 edition, which I can’t find online. The Globe and Mail’s map… »
Posted on Monday, August 22, 2005 at 10:37 AM
Categories: Current Events
Mapping Worlds
Mapping Worlds is a series of maps that highlight development issues. Some maps distort countries’ sizes based on their contributions, or lack thereof; others highlight global development issues such as Third World debt, AIDS infection rates, and refugee displacements. Via… »
Posted on Thursday, July 14, 2005 at 9:16 PM
Categories: Current Events
Vatican Satellite Images
DigitalGlobe’s Vatican Gallery, including a satellite shot of St. Peter’s square on April 5 (1.5 MB JPEG, 2168×2164 resolution), showing mourners in line to view the Pope’s body. Via Jason…. »
Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 11:25 AM
Categories: Current Events, Rome, Satellite & Aerial
Global MapAid
Global MapAid is a project that is trying to provide useful maps for humanitarian aid workers. The problem is, when things go blooey, whether due to natural disaster or war or famine, aid workers on the ground need accurate maps…. »
Posted on Monday, January 17, 2005 at 11:54 AM
Categories: Current Events
Ukraine: Language and Voting
Mark (of Language Log) compares the Ukrainian electoral results with a linguistic map, to deal with the question of whether the electoral divide matches the linguistic (Ukrainian vs. Russian) one. Via Languagehat. (See previous entry: Ukrainian Presidential Election.)… »
Posted on Friday, December 3, 2004 at 7:32 PM
Categories: Current Events
Ukrainian Presidential Election
These maps of Ukraine’s presidential election results (originals here and here) illustrate the problem: suspiciously higher voter turnouts (compared to the first round of voting) and regionally polarized results (though, as Le Sabot Post-Moderne points out, that’s including the questionable… »
Posted on Saturday, November 27, 2004 at 3:06 PM
Categories: Current Events, Electoral Maps
Electoral Maps
Organizational note: the recent posts about the U.S. election results have been moved, along with related older posts, from the News & Politics category to the new Electoral Maps category…. »
Posted on Monday, November 22, 2004 at 2:45 PM
Categories: Current Events, Electoral Maps, Site News
Six Degrees Voting Map
SixDegreesofVoting.com has an animated map that shows the last 100 signups and their connections to one another — this is a Kevin-Bacon-style project that aims at getting people to encourage their friends to vote. (And they told two friends, and… »
Posted on Thursday, October 7, 2004 at 12:59 PM
Categories: Current Events
SatBlog
SatBlog is a blog about satellite imagery; since its restart last August it’s been focusing mainly on the Middle East (especially Iraq) and on all those bloody hurricanes. A lot of news stories can be illuminated by satellite photography —… »
Posted on Monday, October 4, 2004 at 3:17 PM
Categories: Current Events, Satellite & Aerial
Voting Equipment Map
An Economist article on the controversy about electronic voting equipment in the United States has an interesting (albeit small) map showing what equipment is being used where across the country, from paper ballots and lever machines to punchards and touchscreens…. »
Posted on Sunday, October 3, 2004 at 12:07 PM
Categories: Current Events
Hurricanes and Electoral Results: Coincidence?
Enjoy this map, which compares 2004 hurricane paths to 2000 presidential election results by county in Florida. But don’t take it too seriously, okay? Via Daragh. Update: Snopes debunks, though it hardly seems necessary: The map displayed above is a… »
Posted on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 at 1:14 PM
Categories: Current Events
Ryongchong Explosion
Satellite images of Ryongchong, North Korea, before and after the explosion (via MetaFilter)…. »
Posted on Friday, April 30, 2004 at 8:39 AM
Categories: Current Events, Satellite & Aerial
Beyond Red and Blue
U.S. political discourse talks about “red” (Republican) and “blue” (Democrat) states. In “Beyond Red and Blue”, Robert David Sullivan rejects this model as reductionist, instead preferring to split the country into 10 non-contiguous, but politically distinct, regions. (I remember reading… »
Posted on Monday, January 19, 2004 at 8:20 AM
Categories: Current Events
Bam After the Earthquake
This is a little dated now for breaking news; I was saving it during the downtime. But still relevant: one-metre-resolution satellite images of Bam, Iran, after the earthquake. Via Here Be Dragons…. »
Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 at 8:53 PM
Categories: Current Events, Satellite & Aerial

Note: Entries from 2003 were not categorized and will not appear in the category archives. Please consult the monthly archives.