The fifth biennial Ruderman Conference on Cartography, which will be held 8-10 October 2025 at Stanford’s David Rumsey Map Center, focuses on the cartography of “anything but the earth’s surface,” viz., astronomy, geology, oceanography. Schedule, speakers and abstracts on the website; tickets (free) here.
The Guardian Looks at Recent Map Mishaps
With the organizers of the Great North Run apologizing for printing t-shirts and medals with a map of Sunderland rather than Newcastle, the Guardian takes the opportunity to look at recent instances of map mistakes, from dangerous routings to a too-short marathon route to a phantom supermarket in Wales.
More on Suspected Russian GPS Interference in the Baltic
Lots of coverage at Polish news network TVP World on suspected Russian GPS jamming in the Baltic region. A report submitted by the Baltic states to ICAO found that 123,000 flights were disrupted by GPS jamming in the first four months of 2025; 27.4 percent of flights were disrupted in April. Sweden’s transport agency says it’s getting near-daily reports of GPS jamming from pilots: “Since late 2023, reported GNSS disruptions to the Swedish Transport Agency have surged from 55 in 2023 to 495 in 2024, with a preliminary count of 733 incidents in 2025 as of August 28.” GPS disruptions in the region have been traced to a facility in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
USGS Announces New National Geologic Map
The USGS announced a new, more detailed national geologic map last week.
The new USGS map, called The Cooperative National Geologic Map, was created using more than 100 preexisting geologic maps from various sources and is the first nationwide map to provide users with access to multiple layers of geologic data for one location. This feature allows users to access the multiple data sources included in the map to look at or beneath the surface to understand the ancient history of the nation recorded in rocks.
Of note: the USGS cites automated processes to speed up the integration of data from its various sources (e.g., state geologic surveys), resulting in a new map after only three years of development.
The Big Map of Kent’s South End
Jennifer Mapes created a large corkboard map to illustrate the history of Kent, Ohio’s South End, a neighbourhood inhabited by railroad workers, immigrants, and African Americans moving north during the Great Migration.
I purposefully created this project as something that could be done cheaply, as a form of “analog” GIS, where students are asked to think spatially and consider how regional and national history played out in their own community. I am particularly interested in showing South End kids how the people who lived in their current homes contributed to Kent’s past.
The map is 60″×60″ and includes 350 3D printed transparent houses representing 25 different house styles in Kent’s South End. I’ve wired the map to light up based on answers to questions about the history [of] each house’s resident based on census records.
The map is currently on display at the Kent Free Library.
The Map Behind the Preah Vihear Border Conflict
On the Geographical magazine website, Tim Marshall explains how a 1907 topographical map fuels a current-day border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand. And without any imagery of the map at all (right). It’s about the lands around the Preah Vihear temple; the temple itself was assigned to Cambodia in a 1953 ruling. (And not to be confused with Preah Vihear the province or Preah Vihear the provincial capital, which is some distance from. A reference map would have helped, honestly.)
Suspected Russian GPS Interference Affects European Commission President’s Plane
Russia is suspected of engaging in GPS jamming that disrupted the navigation systems of a plane carrying European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on a flight to Plovdiv, Bulgaria: BBC News, The Guardian, Reuters. It’s the latest incident in which Russia has been accused of jamming or spoofing GPS signals in nearby states.
Previously: The Russians Are Spoofing! The Russians Are Spoofing!; Russia Accused of Jamming Civilian Flights’ GPS; CBC News on Russian GPS Jamming.
A Video About the Map Center
A short video about the Map Center, the Rhode Island-based map store that, you will recall, Andrew Middleton took over two years ago. The video came about, Andrew says, when a customer came back and insisted on filming it. (“Is this the highest form of flattery? Most people just leave a review!”) What I appreciate most about it is being able to see what’s on his shelves and walls, especially since I can’t visit it in person right now.
Previously: Paper Maps: New Business, Lost Loves; A Map of Map Institutions; TPR on the Map Center.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the 29 July 2025 M 8.8 Kamchatka Earthquake
The USGS has posted a “geonarrative” (i.e., a StoryMap) that delves into great detail about the seismology of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that took place on 29 July 2025 off the Kamchatka Peninsula, providing history, context and so many detailed maps about the event. [Ryan Hollister]
Early Canadian Automobile Maps
Library and Archives Canada has posted a four-part series on early automobile maps to their Facebook page (they don’t have a blog, just social media accounts), featuring examples from their collection: Nova Scotia, Montreal, Banff National Park, Vancouver.
The Unofficial Street View Economy
Back in September 2024, Phil Edwards explored the hidden, unofficial economy Google Street View, where third parties spend money and resources uploading 360-degree imagery to promote a region or tourist attraction or local business or whatever, in this 22½-minute YouTube video.
Using Emoji to Depict Train Delays
It’s a single animated map in a larger, infographic-rich Bloomberg CityLab article about how NJ Transit is the least reliable New York City area commuter rail service, but you can’t help but pay attention to a map that uses emoji to indicate how late a train is. Surprisingly effective, though I doubt transit agencies would be brave enough to adopt it for themselves. The Intercity Rail Map uses colours (green, yellow, red, black) to indicate lateness, but the icons indicate train number so you couldn’t swap them out for emoji, more’s the pity. [Maps Mania]
‘The Correct Map Does Not Exist’
Miguel García Álvarez weighs in on the Correct the Map campaign to replace the Mercator projection with Equal Earth:
I think the Equal Earth projection is an excellent compromise. But as a cartography enthusiast, it pains me deeply every time someone talks about the “true” map, the “correct” map, or that the Mercator projection is “wrong.”
I will never stop loving this scene from the West Wing of the White House, but please don’t say that any map is right or wrong simply because of the projection it uses. We should just focus on saying that some projections are more or less suitable for different purposes, but we have to avoid sensationalism.
(This is the English version; it was first posted in Spanish.)
Previously: In Case You Thought the War Against the Mercator Projection Was Over Long Ago.
The Word for World: The Maps of Ursula K. Le Guin
The Word for World is both an upcoming exhibition and an upcoming book exploring the maps of Ursula K. Le Guin—i.e., the maps she herself made for worlds like Earthsea.
When Ursula K. Le Guin started writing a new story, she would begin by drawing a map. The Word for World presents a selection of these images by the celebrated author, many of which have never been published before, to consider how her imaginary worlds enable us to re-envision our own.
Le Guin’s maps offer journeys of consciousness beyond conventional cartography, from the Rorschach-like archipelagos of Earthsea to the talismanic maps of Always Coming Home. Rather than remaining within known terrain, they open up paradigms of knowledge, exemplified by the map’s edges and how a map is read, made and re-made, together. The Word for World brings her maps together with poems, stories, interviews, recipes and essays by contributors from a variety of perspectives to enquire into the relationship between worlds and how they are represented and imagined.
The exhibition runs from 10 October to 6 December at the Architectural Association Gallery in London. The book comes out from Spiral House in October. Preorder: Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop. Thanks to Zvi for the tip.
Previously: Limited Edition Earthsea Map Print Now Available.
Misinformation, Conspiracy Theories, and the Oregon Wildfire Map
“In the end, what’s most remarkable about the campaign against Oregon’s wildfire map isn’t that misinformation found an audience. It’s that it worked.” ProPublica looks at how misinformation and conspiracy theories led to the downfall of Oregon’s wildfire hazard map.