Online Maps

Here is our selection of the best sites with online maps of all kinds, including links to our own splendid cartographic efforts.

Bugbog Maps - accurate relief maps showing the vegetation, contours, most important cities and major sights of a growing number of countries.

MapQuest [www.mapquest.com/] for extreme close-ups MapQuest gets the prize for maximum zoomability around the planet, however it can run out of reasonable detail, often in the more exotic locations. If you're looking at somewhere that has a lot of tarmac there is also a very good chance that you can zip or post code your way around between addresses and get printable directions.

Maps [www.maps.com/] - every country in the world in political or natural view, aerial satellite images, plus interactive topographical maps and maps of US cities.

Topozone [www.topozone.com/] - for customised topographic maps of anywhere in the USA to order for printing, this is the place to go.

Multimap [www.multimap.com/] - very good for the United Kingdom and also Europe, with directions available.

CIA World Factbook [www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/] - the online maps covering the world at continent size level are really too small to be useful but if you have a good printer you can download the PDF versions to print off at the size you want - which is why we have included this link.

Worldsat International [www.worldsat.ca/] - commercial provider of maps but with a selection of stunning samples that will make you rethink what a map can look like. Their three dimensional works of scientifically accurate map art may have you grabbing for your wallet just to put your favorite places on the wall.

Oddens Bookmarks [oddens.geog.uu.nl/index.html] - if you're still not satisfied with our selection of the best the web has to offer then you need this site which has thousands more links to cartographic resources on the web.