40 Unusual And Fascinating Maps That Might Teach You Something New About Our World (New Pics)
With so much information being thrown at us on a daily basis, it’s easy to lose focus and drift into apathy. Who cares about so many things at once, anyway?
No wonder more and more people are drawn to this old-time form of systematized information accompanied by great visualization. We’re talking maps. And not just dusty maps from your attic, but the most fascinating pieces that present things we know (and the ones we don’t!) in a refreshing light.
This subreddit has already earned its name as the ultimate destination for fans of cartography, so below we prepared a new batch of the most intriguing examples. After you’re done, be sure to check out more features of maps we did before here, here, and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
There Is A Lake In Finland, That Looks Like Finland
In case you're wondering, because I looked it up immediately when I had learned about it: It's manmade, was made in 1991, is 116 meters long, and a 1:10,000 scale of Finland! The construction engineer was Esko Sääskilahti. It was going to be the Centerpoint of a tourist village, but that part was never completed. The lake took a week to excavate. Hope you enjoyed learning some more! :-)
A World Map Drawn By Ottoman Sailor Ali Macar Reis In 1567 (Considered The Most Accurate In The Time Period)
Concentration Of Castles In Europe
My Dad's World Map Pencil Case From 1961
Map Of All The Counties Of The Contiguous United States Carved From Over 3 Thousand Wooden Blocks
Probably 'counties', not countries. Edit 5 hours later to add: hmm, they changed the title from 'countries' to 'counties' so this comment now confusing, "huh?".
Topography Of Europe
Obesity Rates In The USA vs. Europe
In The Film Rat Race (2001), The First Cow Seth Green Hits Whilst Hanging From A Hot Air Balloon, Has A Map Of The World As Its Spots
Countries Where "Conversion Therapy" Is Still Legal
Americans Were Asked To Point To Iran On A Map
Has Russia Been At War With European Countries?
World's Population
I Rode My Bicycle 11,877 Miles Across Europe
Which Country Has The Most Attractive People According To Europe
The State Of Democracy
Position Of The North Magnetic Pole Since 1590
Map Of Greek Island Chains
A Map Of Every American City
Languages Spoken In China
Most Polluted Cities In The World On November 5, 2022
What Pedestrians Look Like Across Europe
Why is everybody walking away from Poland? Did Poland say anything controversial again?
How Do You Say The Number 92
Most Popular Sport In Each Country
Estimated Average Age Of Young People Leaving Their Parental Household, 2019
People Who Think Forcing A Partner To Have Sex Should Not Be Illegal. Survey Around The EU
School Uniform Policy By Country
I love how Finland is like "Perkele, absolutely no school uniforms in our place!"
How Much Trouble Lions Are Really In
this is somewhat misleading... the blue is game reserves. There would be near-zero lions left without game reserves.
Forests In Germany, 50 A.d. vs. Today
That map is pretty misleading though. Don´t think that you´ll find no forests in the ungreen areas.
Exactly. I grew ip near a huge forest. It‘s in the most northern part of Germany. The yellow area on the top.
Load More Replies...Absolutely sad. Makes me think of our rain forests and lumber consumption.
We are telling other countries not to take down their forests,however we did the same thing hundreds of years ago. I say 'reforest Europe again ✊🏻!!'
Load More Replies...One third of 88.4 million acres compared to one third of 2.43 billion acres. The remaining US forested land is almost 5 times larger than all of Germany. Also, the US lost essentially 10 percent of it's total forest to human activity (logging and such) before conservation efforts in the late 19th/early 20th century kicked in and the losses basically ended. The historical forest coverage in the US was slightly more than 43 percent (large portions of the central US have always been open plains, or inland seas). That said, this comparison is a little unfair. The majority of Germany's forest losses occured during the middle ages, centuries ago. Conservation and reforestation efforts in the more modern times have been hugely successful; at least as, if not more successful as those in the US.
Load More Replies...I think compared to AD 50 pretty much any country would look like this. 2000 years ago, there were what, about 1 million people in the entire world?
Most estimates are in the 150M to 300M range. Egypt, Rome and the other ancient societies had huge populations. They did not build the pyramids with a dozen strong men...
Load More Replies...Historically the U.K. was about 15% forests, then decimated down to 5% during the World Wars. The U.K. then decided to act pretty swiftly and we're now back up to 10% and seem to be forever planting trees. Such a shame the ancient woodland was ever lost, but it's never too late to try and reverse a trend. Unless of course you're the Brazilian Government and don't really care.
It's not 1950 vs today. It's 50 vs today. This comparison map is IMO silly.
Load More Replies...So, um, the scratchy parts on the maps in 50ad all meant forest?
UN Vote To End US Embargo Against Cuba
Where The Death Penalty Survives Around The World
In my country (South Africa) we have terrible crime rates. Some say bringing the death penalty back would reduce it but Europe is a good example that that would not be the case.
Terrorist Attacks In Europe That Killed At Least One Person 1970-2015
World’s Most Surveilled Cities
Countries That Have Been Bombed By The US
Countries That Have Us Military Bases
America
Traditional Naming Customs Around The World
Where The World Wants To Move To
Life Expectancy At Subnational Level
A Map Of Every Chinese City
Most Common Baby Names In London, 2021
I was reading the names In black and thought what the hell are they naming their children
Map Of The US If It Had The Same Territorial/Population Concessions Demanded Of It As Ukraine: 15% Of Their Land Area And 25% Of Their Population
The Countries In Blue Have A Smaller Population Than Uttar Pradesh (In Red, A State In India)
I am from India and it is severely huge... many from UP migrate because guess what, the fertile land cannot support everyone on farming and limited industries..
The Super Original And Not At All Boring Names Of The Portuguese Regions
Maybe I'm bad at reading maps, but shouldn't "The West" be called "The South"?
Map Of The UN General Assembly Vote Results On The Territorial Integrity Of Ukraine From Russia
Look at all the countries bordering Russia who voted "please don't do us next"
Un Vote Calling For Investigation Into Women's Rights And Human Rights Situation In Iran
This is relatively easy to explain. BRICS (Brazil, China, India, South Africa) doesn't like america policing the world, and so, it in general opposes american motions just to annoy the americans. Obviously, the islamic-majority countries also think the rest of the world should let them persist with islamic law. So they're also red/yellow. Hence, Green is just a symbol of whoever is politically allied to america.
Tap Water Supply In Households Of India. (15 Aug 2019 - 13 Oct 2022). A Result Of The Ongoing Jal Jeevan Mission (Literally Water{=}life Mission)
How Much Land Does Ukraine Still Controls In Russian Occupied Oblasts?
1918 American Map Of Hunger In Europe
European Countries Where Jews Were Allowed To Exist In 1500
"Allowed to exist" sounds rather harsh... perhaps "allowed to reside". Unless , of course, Jewish people were only "tolerated"... (I'm not up on the Pre 21th century history of the Jewish People, although I know they have been victimised/persecuted throughout history).
World Population Has Hit 8 Billion
Map That Shows If You Were To Drill Straight Through The Earth Where You Would Pop Out On The Other Side
Most Visited Tourist Attraction/Place In Every European Country
I’m guessing this is paid tourist attractions only. For example. I genuinely bet more tourists visit the Jardin des Tuileries & Place de la Concorde in Paris than they do Tour Eiffel.
Chinese High-Speed Railway Map 2008 vs. 2020
Geolocation Of Anti-Muslim Tweets Around The World
Cultural Regions Of The United States
LowCal: San Diego County. And the Central Valley is the VALLEY; the Sierras are their own thing.
Poverty In South America
Estimated Map Of Odysseus's 10 Year Journey During The Events Of The Odyssey (Warning: Spoilers)
And I thought my holidays where exciting. Moral of the story; don't get on a boat with Odysseus.
Homicide Rate In Europe
No data for the Czech Republic. They must be too busy drinking beer.
Number Of Universities In The Top 1000 In The Ranking 2023
There's no point in the UK having loads of top universities if it's too f***ing expensive and complicated for anyone to get into them!
Percentage Of iPhone Users In Europe
in other news, poorer countries can't afford overpriced phones. imagine that. /s ... Germany is surprising though. Maybe they just don't like americans for some reason.
Did You Know There Is A Part Of Italy Completely Surrounded By Switzerland?
Total Surface Area Annexed By Russia In Ukraine Is Bigger Than 27 European Countries
The Comprehensive Status Of Nuclear Power In The World
Greater Tokyo vs. Greater London
Share Of People Who Trust Journalists In Their Country
well at least the russians have some idea that their press is lying to them.
So I Got An Atlas From My Great Grand-Father
An Anglicised Germany
Number Of Prisoners Per 100000 People In Europe
The Beginning Of National Anthems
The Most Common Restaurant Cuisine In Each US State
Royal Family Connections Prior To The French Revolution (1789)
Countries With The Most Syrian Refugees
Map Of Number Of People Born In The Given Country Currently Living Abroad, As A Percentage Of The Total Population, As Of 2015
Smoking Rate In Europe Compared To The Us
I just don't get why people start smoking these days, it's insanity
Percentage Of Ukrainians Voting Yes In The Country's 1991 Referendum On Independence
It spreads from a majority through vast majority up to "f u ruskij" so please do - f off!
This Map Shows 3,554 Shipwrecks Around Ireland
Close to shore presumably local fishing, further out I’d assume a lot of WW2 freighters, U-boats & other military ships.
Sheep Distribution In Europe (European Food Safety Authority)
Florida Has Officially Become A Red State, Governor Elections 2018 vs. 2022
Hand Drawn World Map
Fertility Rates In Europe
This varies year to year. Fertility rate is the best guide to how well the population explosion is being overcome For a very long time, that in Spain was the lowest in Europe. I'm delighted that it's mapped in finer detail than just country by country. 2.1 is close to stable population (ignoring immigration). Anything less is population decline.
Drawing Europe From Memory On A Sequence Pillow, A Little Stretched Towards The North East But Not Bad
Tap Water Consumption In Europe
Travel Times From London In 1914
How Different European Countries Pronounce The X In Mexico
Countries The United States Has Officially Declared War Against
The Gutting Of Central Boston
North American Population Density 2020
I grew up in Wyoming and I can attest there are more cattle than people.
Size Comparison Of The World's Smallest Countries
The Giver Of Each Country's Largest Ever Soccer Defeat
Map Of U.S. Zip Code Zones
wow, really big code ranges for such a big country... I'd have expected per-state.
Land Doesn't Vote, People Do
Do those colours represent Democrats and Republicans? Which vote? Which year? What am I missing? Is it my head?
Use Of Cyrillic Alphabet Throughout The World
Travel Advice From Gouvernment Of Canada
Map Of The 13 British Overseas Territories
Antarctic territories are NOT recognized by the UN or by any other country. Not the Australian, not the French, not the Argentinian, not the British. Any country can consider any part of Antarctica as domestic but it has no value.
Adult Obesity Rates In The US - 2021
Nato vs. Russia In 1960 vs. 1988 vs. 2022: The Longest Rivalry In Modern Politics?
The Lost Jewish Communities Of The Arab World
well unsurprisingly if communities are driven out of one place... they move to another and exact violent revenge on those living there. "we didnt start the fire, it's always been burning since the world's been turning."
P**nstars Per Million Inhabitants In Europe
German Plans Published In 1938 - How It Is Possibile That Nobody Saw WWII Come?
Areas Of Russian-Occupied Ukraine That Putin Plans To Annex
All stolen territory needs to be returned to Ukraine PRONTO... Putin's regime really isn't doing the Russians any favours on the world stage.
Argentina's Official Map
Countries That Recognise Kosovo
Serbia doesn't recognize Kosovo for obvious reasons, at it declared independence and they don't want it to go, as it is the spiritual heart of Serbia, as in 1389 the famous battle of Kosovo where the Ottomans sealed their defeat is very important to many people. And then NATO steps in when Yugoslavia, at the time and still isn't WASNT EVEN A PART OF NATO.
Brazilian Presidential Elections 2nd Oct 2022, After 97.7% Of The Ballots Counted (In Only 4 1/2 Hours). Red: Lula, Blue: Bolsonaro. Source: Tse/G1
I Saw Your Interesting Map With Italian Companies And Would Like To Add A Map With The Largest German Companies
US House Of Representatives Vote On The 1964 Civil Rights Act
see here, so in the 1960s, the SOUTH was "democrat" meaning slave-owners.
Red And Blue States But It's The 90s
U.S. Counties That Have More LGBT People Per Capita Than The National Average
CIA Depiction Of Morocco (Before And After 2021)
2022 Congressional Map Results
Legalisation Of Cannabis Around The World
I was scrolling too fast and read that as "Legalisation Of Cannibalism" and I was like: what the heck...
Most Popular Anime In Each Country
Georgian Territories Currently Occupied By Russian Forces
for our american friends, this is Georgia the country in europe/eurasia, Sakartvelo.
Armenia - Azerbaijan Crisis, And The Very Complicated Situation In The Caucasus After The War In 2020
Population Distribution
530 Palestinian Villages Destroyed And Depopulated In 1948
The Ethnic Cleansing Started Before The War
Soviet Advances In The Eastern Front From October Of 1942 (Greatest Axis Advance) To May Of 1945 (German Surrender) Every Month
Purchased Territories Of The United States
Italian Map Of Europe. Can You Tell The Year It Was Made?
Current State Government Trifectas
After the 2022 election Maryland, massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota have blue trifecta. Nevada and Arizona have divided governments.
"Mary vs. Merry vs. Marry" Pronunciation Differences
mary = meeeehhhry. merry = mehry. marry = maery. all three different.
Islam In Canada, 2021 vs. 2011
islam is actually the fasting growing religion in the world...so this makes sense...
Here Is A Map Of The Best Result By Country
Population Change Since 1840 Or The Unique Case Of Ireland
USA Recognition In The 18th Century
Given the War of 1812, can we really say England recognized it in the 1780s?