LibGuides: Maps, Atlases, and Cartographic Resources: Cartographic Resources

Map Resources

US Map & Cartographic Resources

The Library of Congress has custody of the largest and most comprehensive cartographic collection in the world with collections numbering over 5.5 million maps, 80,000 atlases, 6,000 reference works, over 500 globes and globe gores, 3,000 raised relief models, and a large number of cartographic materials in other formats, including over 19,000 cds/dvds. The online map collections represents only a small fraction that have been converted to digital form.

EarthExplorer
EarthExplorer provides online search, browse display, metadata export, and data download for earth science data from the archives of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). EarthExplorer provides an enhanced user interface using state-of-the art JavaScript libraries, Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), and the advanced Oracle spatial engine.
Geological Survey, U.S. (U.S. Department of the Interior)
Geological Survey, U.S. (U.S. Department of the Interior) : oversees research and work pertaining to the geology of the country. They publish a myriad of maps including topographic, thematic, geological, climactic, and biological just to name a few.
National Map
National Map is offered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and offers several mapping products.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce)
: oversees a lot of functions having to do with the climate and weather like the National Weather Service . NOAA's Central Library has current and historical daily weather maps going as far back as 1871. The Office of Coast Survey has a collection of historical maps and charts going as far back as the 1700s.
Natural Earth
Natural Earth is a public domain map dataset with information available at the 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110 million scales. The dataset features tightly integrated vector and raster data which enable you to make a variety of visually pleasing, well-crafted maps with cartography or GIS software. Natural Earth was built through a collaboration of many volunteers and is supported by the NACIS (North American Cartographic Information Society), and is free for use in any type of project (see our Terms of Use page for more information).
Natural Resources Conservation Service (U.S Department of Agriculture)
Publishers of the soil surveys that are created for just about every county around the country.

Washington State Maps and Geospatial Data Online

The best place to find Washington State geospatial data is to start with the Portal offered by WA State Office of the Chief Information Office (CIO). Through this portal you may download and create maps or find data related to all different kinds of topics.

The University of Washington Libraries' Maps Collection & Cartographic Services maintains a WA State Geospatial Data Archive (WAGDA) where you may find datasets, open and restricted.

WSU Libraries have an excellent LibGuide pointing to a plethora of resources. No need to recreate such an excellent resource!

Perry Castañeda Map Collection

The University of Texas map library is a pioneer in map digitization. Starting with a physical map collection of over 250,000, their map library has digitized more that 50,000 of them, and created a unique online presence for these maps. The following are just some links to broad swaths of this outstanding collection:

Open Street Map
open source GIS mapping tool