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While most of us use Google Maps and GPS on a daily basis, it’s pretty rare to find real fans of cartography, the study and practice of making and using maps. If you were ever into geography or history as a kid, the chances are you’re not much of a map person.

But today, we’re going to turn this around. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively. And below we collected some of the most unusual, intriguing and informative examples of maps that will put our reality in a whole new realm.

Thanks to this awesome corner of Reddit (whose name we cannot mention thanks to the notorious internet police), there’s a LOT to uncover! Get ready to boost that inner adventurer of yours since we’re about to go places you’ve never even known existed. Psst! More awesome maps can be found in our previous posts here, here and here.

#2

Made An Ink Map Of The Grand Canyon!

Made An Ink Map Of The Grand Canyon!

_Triangulum Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is so pleasing to the eye, easy to understand the land formations and elevations, nice!

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#3

Countries That Have Had Female Heads Of State Or Government In The Last Century

Countries That Have Had Female Heads Of State Or Government In The Last Century

marrow_monkey Report

Previously, Bored Panda spoke with the founder of the subreddit named Patrick, who shared some very interesting insights into the wondrous world of maps. According to him, there are many different reasons one chooses to make a map. “Sometimes for navigation, sometimes for showing statistical phenomena, and sometimes for fantasy. While artistic skill helps, it is not absolutely necessary. The important thing is to make it easy for users to glean useful information. Most maps should have a thesis or a story it is going to tell and this needs to be told through the map.”

#4

15th October 2019 - 1st November 2021: Indian Households With A Tap Water Connection (Data: Jal Jeevan Mission)

15th October 2019 - 1st November 2021: Indian Households With A Tap Water Connection (Data: Jal Jeevan Mission)

FrozenJalapeno Report

#5

This Map Of All Of The Sunken Japanese Ships Of Wwii Is Mind Blowing!

This Map Of All Of The Sunken Japanese Ships Of Wwii Is Mind Blowing!

Disastrous_Ratio7510 Report

Today, the subreddit of maps is home to 1.7 million devoted members, making it a Reddit powerhouse. But just like any other online community on the platform, changes are inevitable. Patrick told us that the subreddit is doing well, but “Reddit overall over the last few years has shifted towards mobile-friendly content. Reddit used to be only for desktop users. In the early days, the content was mostly large files that were wallpaper-sized. They were great for zooming in and exploring in detail." Those days are now gone.

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The moderator also said that nowadays, "Reddit is overwhelmed" with users who only use it on their smartphones and other mobile devices. "For better or worse, that is how it is and that's the trend for the future. The subreddit contains a lot of bite-size Instagram-style statistical maps. The community upvotes this content and if that's what they want, that's the direction the sub will take," Patrick told us some time ago.

#7

The New Longest Possible Train Journey In The World

The New Longest Possible Train Journey In The World

htGoSEVe Report

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#9

Odd Places In The UK

Odd Places In The UK

behrkon Report

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elrettig avatar
Lucky
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my country there is a town named "Hühnergeschrei" which means "Crying of hens"!

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#10

Atheists Are Prohibited From Holding Public Office In 8 Us States

Atheists Are Prohibited From Holding Public Office In 8 Us States

clayagds99 Report

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laurencaswell4 avatar
Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Are you KIDDING me? Is this why I get weird reactions online sometimes when I mention how I was atheist and now agnostic (agnosticism is basically a fancy was of saying 'we have no way of knowing'). I cannot imagine how atheism is a threat, but only from my perspective. If someone knows about this or lives in these areas I would love to hear what you have to share

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#11

Canada, But Its Just Roads

Canada, But Its Just Roads

burgerking_foot Report

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

It’s always surprising how little of Canada is populated and how the roads don’t go that far up north.

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#12

A Map Visualizing The Armenian Genocide - Started 106 Years Ago

A Map Visualizing The Armenian Genocide - Started 106 Years Ago

roiaumedejherusalem Report

#13

Countries With The Most Islands

Countries With The Most Islands

magontklas Report

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simon_37 avatar
Treessimontrees
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This says the source is World Atlas - but the numbers on World Atlas are very different for several of these - https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-countries-have-the-most-islands.html

simon_37 avatar
leighc_ avatar
MyOpinionHasBeenServed
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Does that count all the island on the lakes and rivers? Cos I would say there would be countless.

calyfansugarglider avatar
Calyfan Yelood
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

since finland has a bajillion lakes and its ranked so highly, I'm guessing it includes those ones

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davenyc88 avatar
Dave P
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the USA has 18,617 Islands, we should be number 5 on the list but are missing.

kicki avatar
Panda Kicki
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think we usually forget how lovely and unique our swedish arkipelago is. Many of the island is really tiny, but still can hold a house that gets soaked in water during storms .

thomasesthomas avatar
Thomas E S Thomas
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All those pacific ones apparently don't count for the United States.

boredpanda_48 avatar
lexi_nicci avatar
Lexi Nicci
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In front of Helsinki, Finland's capital is an island called Leatherpants.

jim_indah avatar
James O'Hara
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sweden only has 1,000 inhabited, Indonesia has over 6,000 inhabited.

opohusseh avatar
GG
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Apparently, newer sources put Norway to second place: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_islands

zeljkoklaric78_1 avatar
Bernd Herbert
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Have a look on Google Maps at this nationalpark: Saaristomeren kansallispuisto

oriahk avatar
Kris Kocis
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My home country - Croatia - is not that far either - we have 1244 islands

ohjojo62 avatar
Joanna Werman
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why isn't the USA represented by the three United States Virgin Islands

fredneobob90 avatar
Huddo's sister
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn't realize Sweden had so many islands until recently when I watched the show The Sandhamn Murders (Morden i Sandhamn) and I was curious. This graph certainly makes it stand out though.

warloewbrinn avatar
Warloew Brinn
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Damn Sweden. So Im wondering what qualifies as an island then. If someone throws a Pepsi Can out into the water is that now another island? Measurement bar has to be set real low

erik-granqvist-5 avatar
Erik Granqvist
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We have several places that are declared World Heritage in our many archipelagos. St. Anna skärgård, and Höga Kusten are some of the most beautiful places in the world.

dmarsh avatar
Daniel Marsh
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do you count islands? The Great Lakes (U.S.-Canada) alone have 35,000. Or does this only count ocean islands?

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#14

America’s Beautiful Weather Zones By Mattie Lubchansky

America’s Beautiful Weather Zones By Mattie Lubchansky

Yosemite_Scott Report

#17

The World If The Sea Level Decreased By 1000 Meters

The World If The Sea Level Decreased By 1000 Meters

burgerking_foot Report

#18

Is Escape A Crime?

Is Escape A Crime?

Mmaps_interlude Report

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ps421 avatar
Guy MacGregor
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because being free is considered a natural human aspiration. You cannot blame someone who wants to be free. Just a side note: The police will obviously try to catch you, but no extra time will be added to your sentence for the escape.

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#20

This Road Trip Will Be The Same Temperature Year-Round

This Road Trip Will Be The Same Temperature Year-Round

burgerking_foot Report

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

My idea of the perfect temperature. All you need is a light jacket👑👑👑

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#21

Innocent Opinions That Divide Nations

Innocent Opinions That Divide Nations

atlasova Report

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

the question about le Mont St. Michel is only a debate between Normandy and Brittany. (And it is Normandy) The real question in France: "Pain au chocolat" or "chocolatine"?

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#22

The World's Longest Non-Stop Flights

The World's Longest Non-Stop Flights

behrkon Report

#23

Most Common Means Of Transportation To Work By County. [usa] Acs Survey

Most Common Means Of Transportation To Work By County. [usa] Acs Survey

railrod7 Report

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Thomas E S Thomas
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Of course that tiny red dot of New York counts for 18-20 million people, the United States is huge. If you wanted to connect every county with transit, it would cost about $20 Trillion.

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#25

Each Star Represents A Capital City Of A Country

Each Star Represents A Capital City Of A Country

XtremeBurrito Report

#26

European Cultural Superiority

European Cultural Superiority

SpartanKing76 Report

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christian-crisetig avatar
ADHORTATOR
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Modern Greek think that everything has ben invented by their ancestors....

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#27

Government Request To Remove Content (Google) Since 2011

Government Request To Remove Content (Google) Since 2011

latecomer11 Report

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

Hmmmm Russia and Turkey .... Probably content about LGBTQ removed and of course freedom of speech.

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#28

Olympus Mons Compared To France

Olympus Mons Compared To France

burgerking_foot Report

#29

Europe And North America At The Same Latitude

Europe And North America At The Same Latitude

burgerking_foot Report

#30

“Lgbtq+ Free” Zones In Poland

“Lgbtq+ Free” Zones In Poland

roiaumedejherusalem Report

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queeronabike avatar
Andy Acceber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hint: LGBTQ folks still live there. I say this as a queer person. Also, you have LGBTQ folks in your family, school, religious spaces, neighborhoods, etc. We exist. Pushing us into the closet doesn't change that fact.

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Note: this post originally had 128 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.