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For every Internet commenter who enters online arguments about the USA with facts they got from their butt, there's a map that presents hard data bare and allows the viewers to make their own interpretations.

From light pollution and tree coverage to out-of-service railways and streets and highways, maps may not immediately look as exciting as a viral cat video -- which might explain why we often overlook them when -- but that doesn't mean that are boring. To prove that, we put together a selection of maps that explain the United States better then most textbooks and if broadening your worldview isn't thrilling, I don't know what is.

#1

Most Commonly Spoken Language In The Us After English And Spanish

Most Commonly Spoken Language In The Us After English And Spanish

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There’s often overlapping features between maps. For example, a topographic map could be utilized to show the distribution of a local orchid, making it both a topographic and thematic map. It could also be used to show well-known features of specific interest to travelers making this topographic, general reference, and thematic maps all in one.

The most widely used maps are “Political maps”. They are the ones that are usually mounted on the walls of classrooms throughout the world. They show the geographic boundaries between governmental units such as countries, states, and counties. They show roads, cities, and major water features such as oceans, rivers, and lakes.

#2

The United States Of America: Alaskan Perspective

The United States Of America: Alaskan Perspective

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Political maps are really good at helping people to understand the geography of the world. They are usually the first type of map that students are introduced to in school, too. They are often called “reference maps” because people refer to them again and again when they have questions.

According to Geology.com, thousands of different political reference maps have been prepared to explain the United States. There are maps of the entire nation, maps for each of the 50 states, and even maps of the 3142 counties (parishes in Louisiana, and boroughs in Alaska) that make up the states. Most counties, boroughs, and parishes are further subdivided into even smaller political units. An incredible number of political maps have been prepared just to display the geography of the United States alone.

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#3

How I, A Brit, See The United States (Sorry If It Offends Anyone)

How I, A Brit, See The United States (Sorry If It Offends Anyone)

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Patrick McGranaghan, who is a land surveyor in Colorado, USA, and the creator of one of the biggest online cartography communities, r/MapPorn, did an analysis on its most popular posts on Twitter. McGranaghan collected the 10 best-performing posts from the previous 18 months -- about 200 maps in total -- and went through each of them individually, tagging them based on the content, style, and subject matter. He then sorted the tags to see which ones were the most common.

#4

States With A Smaller Population Than Los Angeles County

States With A Smaller Population Than Los Angeles County

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Something
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why our voting system is insane. (It was designed for a different view of government, where the states govern the people and the federal government is the government of the states, but now that it doesn't operate at all like that, it doesn't make any sense.)

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"The most popular subject was history," McGranaghan told Bored Panda. "In this category, the most popular maps were about World War II." Maps about other wars were also well liked, as well as those about the ancient Romans and historic trade routes.

"Another popular category was natural science. Especially popular are maps about wildlife, such as those that use tracking data to show animal migration patterns. Other topics included geology and astronomic maps."

Interestingly, quite a few viral maps focused on language. These include etymology, dialect and various pronunciation maps.

#5

US Watersheds

US Watersheds

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BeazleBug
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For those that don't know, a watershed is a geologic area from which all water drains to the ocean. The pink area is the Mississippi river basin which includes the Missouri, Ohio, Platte. Allegheny, Red and Arkansas rivers (among many, many others)

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"Another topic that I grouped together are 'political re-alignments'. These are maps that deal with boundaries. Subjects like separatist movements, re-drawing borders, and user-created idealizations. Many of these are satirical and funny," McGranaghan explained.

McGranaghan, however, wouldn't say that all of these maps are scientific. "I think the data is a bit noisy, but it's interesting nonetheless. Users sometimes want a magic formula to make their maps go viral and I don't think there is one. The tastes of the masses are fickle and change over time."

#6

Red And Orange Areas Have Equal Populations

Red And Orange Areas Have Equal Populations

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Nathan Jones
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is not at all surprising, since nearly half the population in this country lives within 30 miles of the coast.

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When it comes to maps that best describe a country, McGranaghan thinks that it depends on the goal of the mapmaker. "All maps are generalizations, some good, some bad. They are not true representations and a good 'reader' should know that. I think good data visualization will take disparate datasets and find meaningful connections that weren't known before. It sounds simple but it is not so straightforward. A good mapmaker should be familiar with many matrices of knowledge and should be able to sift through them and make new connections."

McGranaghan created r/MapPorn in May 2011 while living in Taiwan, and it currently has over 995K members. He thinks the reason why the community is becoming so big is the same one why people like maps so much: they are easily digestible. So go ahead folks, continue scrolling and enjoy the rest of the post. Bon appétit!

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#8

The Most Efficient Route Between Every Springfield In The United States

The Most Efficient Route Between Every Springfield In The United States

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#10

How Much Snow Does It Usually Take To Cancel Schools?

How Much Snow Does It Usually Take To Cancel Schools?

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GirlFriday
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nice. I always get a kick out of the places that close school for an inch of snow. You don't even need to wear a coat for 1" of snow.

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#11

Most Common Surname In The United States By State

Most Common Surname In The United States By State

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#12

Every State's Least Favorite State

Every State's Least Favorite State

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#13

Its Very Interesting

Its Very Interesting

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#14

More People Live Inside The Red Area Than The Grey Area

More People Live Inside The Red Area Than The Grey Area

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Kevin Donegan
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

... and this is the downfall of the American election system called the electoral college.

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#15

Drug Overdose Deaths In The United States Per 100,000 Persons For 1999 And 2014

Drug Overdose Deaths In The United States Per 100,000 Persons For 1999 And 2014

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Thomas Register
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

More like enraging. The deaths from opioids is a direct result of Big Pharma marketing

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Kevin Donegan
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is interesting ... if you overlay this map with the map reflecting population, the rural areas are disproportionately impacted by drug use.

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mph seti
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Remember the supposed 'crack' epidemic? The 'war on drugs'? Yeah...Turns out prescription pain killers are really the worst.

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Bob Belcher
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Worst part is, most of these are prescription drugs. We are the world's biggest giune pigs and we pay the highest drug prices just to be killed by the companies that make so many commercials claiming to care for us. At least 1 commercial per commercial break is for some drug and day time TV is even worse.

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Sterrinatu
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank the pharmaceutical companies for feeding us all those "non addictive" pain pills.

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Stannous Flouride
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hurray for the "War on Drugs"! (btw- I'm sure rates of incarceration would echo this map very closely)

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Les🐝an
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"War on disproportionately BIPOC ignoring the fact that they use drugs at the same rate and sell drugs t a lesser rate.

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Brandon Swann
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd factor in technology being the reason for the incline. The internet wasn't at your fingertips back in 1999 like it is today (or was in 2014). Faster means to access dealers.

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Jon S.
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm guessing its mostly legal drugs, like opiate pain medication

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Logan Byrd
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

west virginia and mostly everything west of thr rockies is drug overdose, except for one spot in california.

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Suzanne Haigh
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is not surprising the lack of Government run Health Service, lack of support and poor working conditions

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AndyR
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Really interesting when you compare it to the population distribution maps.

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Lisa Letson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow NYS relatively clean. Wonder what drugs this is based on?

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okpkpkp
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah, yes. In the mountains and coast north of me. But they were there in 99, as well. And look at New Mexico in 99. Must be a Navajo Reservation but it sure spread in 15 years.

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Laura Perkinson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And to me the real sad thing is, they KNOW it is addicting, yet they do it anyway.

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Robert Ruedisueli
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A handful of bad actors in the pharmaceutical companies are to blame for getting a huge chunk of the population addicted to opiates.

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Jason Miller
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's all population control... at the end of all this was a devious plan.

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Jeny Kennedy
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We need to legalize opiates and regulate them appropriately. Now hear me out...I think we need to have centers where medical professionals provide PRESCRIPTION heroin/pills for onsite use and over see said usage. Additionally, we should allow limited access to small amounts of low dose Vicodin/Percocet/Codeine to be purchased from specialized pharmacies without a prescription and charge/tax them appropriately. We then reduce the budget for and refocus the DEA and local police drug task forces so that their focus is on large volume dealers and importers. We take the money we make from sales and the funds saved from reducing the DEA/task force budgets and use some of it to open additional safe injection/consumption sites for those unable to get to prescription opiates centers for whatever reason and the remaining funds will be used to expand and open additional treatment centers and social services. There...easy peezy.

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Aloy Dela Cruz
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

that's what they teach in public schools. to be medicine dependent. wow, the senator is bucketing a lot of money. true they said about americans. overmedicated and under educated. truth hurts and reality bites.

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#16

US States Scaled Proportionally To Population Density

US States Scaled Proportionally To Population Density

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#17

The Loudest And Quietest Spots In The Continental US

The Loudest And Quietest Spots In The Continental US

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Brandy Grote
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

my house is in the border of very loud and very quiet. I can hear trains, a freeway, coyote howls, and owls hooting.

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#18

Out Of Service Railways

Out Of Service Railways

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nanashi
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

for a large country like America, why is there no push for investing on high speed trains to cross the states?

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#19

The U.S. Mapped By Residents’ Desire To Move To A Different State

The U.S. Mapped By Residents’ Desire To Move To A Different State

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#20

Use Of The Word "Dang" Across The Continental US

Use Of The Word "Dang" Across The Continental US

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#21

How America Utilizes Its Land

How America Utilizes Its Land

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#22

Percentage Of People Born Outside The U.S. In Each State

Percentage Of People Born Outside The U.S. In Each State

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#23

Regions Of The U.S. That Don't Officially Celebrate Christopher Columbus Day

Regions Of The U.S. That Don't Officially Celebrate Christopher Columbus Day

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#25

Map Of Lowest Recorded Temperature In Each Us State (Fahrenheit)

Map Of Lowest Recorded Temperature In Each Us State (Fahrenheit)

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Meechelle Reha
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is Hilarious to me, my ex-husband was raised in Alaska from 7 year's old until 22 year's old & heard a ton of weather stories 😅 😄 😂 😆 🙃 🤣 😅 😄 I've been there 4 time's but alway's in summer though!

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#26

Light Pollution In The United States

Light Pollution In The United States

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#27

Air Traffic Control Zones In The USA

Air Traffic Control Zones In The USA

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#28

U.S. Education Spending Map

U.S. Education Spending Map

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Explains why so many US citizens show a heartbreaking ignorance and why a guy like Trump could become president.

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#32

Portion Of Each State That Is Federal Land

Portion Of Each State That Is Federal Land

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#33

All U.S. Counties With In-N-Out Burger As Of May 2020

All U.S. Counties With In-N-Out Burger As Of May 2020

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Troux
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thanks for posting this. I keep hearing this name and have never seen one.

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#35

Date Of Creation Of All 3,142 U.S. Counties

Date Of Creation Of All 3,142 U.S. Counties

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#36

US Governors By Eye Color

US Governors By Eye Color

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#37

Voters Who Didn't Vote For Hillary Or Trump

Voters Who Didn't Vote For Hillary Or Trump

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#39

Results Of The 1984 United States Presidential Election By County. The Most Lopsided Election In History, The Only State Reagan Failed To Win Was His Opponent’s, Minnesota

Results Of The 1984 United States Presidential Election By County. The Most Lopsided Election In History, The Only State Reagan Failed To Win Was His Opponent’s, Minnesota

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Kevin Donegan
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In reverse, this must be the outcome of the 2020 election. Trump is setting up the "corrupt election" playbook so that when he loses, he can claim the election was fraudulent. We need to do the same thing Reagan did and OVERWHELMINGLY vote the morbidly obese pathological lying vindictive narcissistic imbecile with the emotional maturity of a toddler (AKA tRump) out of office.

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#40

US Counties With Gdp Over $100b

US Counties With Gdp Over $100b

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Dave P
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

um where are the five counties that make up NYC, all five have GDP's over 100B on their own

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