User Tools

Site Tools


resources:maps

This is an old revision of the document!


Resources : Maps

Various online resources concerning maps and cartography.

Feel free to add new useful map resources you come across. Just be mindful to put them in the right section of this page. AH.com-developed resources should go under the upper section, resources from external sites should go in the lower section. A brief description of the external link's offer is welcomed too.

Thank you for any contributions.


Current Map Series

Maps and patches are classified separatly, along which basemap was used:

  • MBAM Map Series A work in progress base map that will be three times as large as the QBAM.
  • VT-BAM Map Series A work in progress equirectangular base map that will be set at a resolution of 30 seconds to the pixel. It will eventually also include Robinson, Mollweide, and Winkel-Trippel maps at this same resolution.

See also Lord Sander's Map Repository for more Worlda maps, and the Blank Map Directory.


Disused OTL Map Series

Map series that have fallen out of use on alternatehistory.com, either due to a lack of updates, incorrect maps, older base maps, or newer editions.


Other Map Resources

On external sites

Lord Sander's Map Repository

Atlas-historique.net in French

Cartographic Images images of about 1000 maps from 6000 BC to 1880 AD. Fairly extensive link section to other map sites.

Historical and Political Maps of the Modern Age

Euratlas - historical maps of Europe from 1 AD to 2000 AD, in English, French or German, and with some contemporary source maps also

Ancient Earth globe - A virtual globe, in which you can view the Earth in various eras of geological history.

Animated map of ice cover, lakes and sea levels during the last 35 000 years - Courtesy of the University of Tromsø.

WHKMLA Historical Atlas (German focus)

Server for digital historical maps at the INSTITUTE OF EUROPEAN HISTORY - MAINZ (parts in German)

William R. Shepherd 1923 Atlas

Matthew White's Maps of the 20th Century

Nation Master - A massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations

A historical atlas of the Ukraine - Ukraine from Antiquity until WWII. Found by Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy. Scroll down until the Cyrillic text stops.

The Tacitus Historical Atlas (of Europe) - With a focus on the Romans, Franks, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns, and Scandinavians, also found by Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy.

An atlas of East-Central European history covering the years 1763-1993 - Also found by Pervez. It's in Hungarian, so you'll need a translator. The antepenultimate chapter (1945-1989) can be found here (on the site it is mislinked).

The Old Map Company, they're trying to flog you copies of their maps but they do offer a good preview of the detailed maps of early 17th century England by John Speed.

The Gulf/2000 Project at Columbia University

MapFrappe.com - Allows one to create their own borders and drag the new country across the globe for size comparisons.

Downloadable military history atlases and maps - Available in .pdf and .gif format.

The Historic Cities Map Database

A rich database of historical maps of the world

Historical maps of Nebraska Digitized collection of atlases published between 1850 and 1901.

A historical atlas with good population statistics

All kinds of downloadable historical maps

WWII Military Situation Maps - This site contains maps showing troop positions beginning on June 6, 1944 to July 26, 1945. Starting with the D-Day Invasion, the maps give daily details on the military campaigns in Western Europe. Some of the sheets are accompanied by a declassified G-3 Report giving detailed information on troop positions. Also includes an interactive essay about the Battle of the Bulge.

UK Treaty Maps Database - From the archives of The Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

A really nice set of historical atlases - Currently kind of lacking in content (only covers Europe, Russia and China in the 20th century), but there's still enough of it in there to keep you occupied for a long time.

The David Rumsey Map Collection - To quote the site's founder : “The historical map collection has over 28,000 maps and images online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North American and South American maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia, and Africa are also represented.”

A historical atlas published in 1820 which gives a series of maps and overviews of different countries, statistics on their populations in 1820 and so on. Even timelines of history. Should be very useful for anyone doing a TL set in this period.

ETC's collection of historic maps - Historical maps database of the University of South Florida.

The Cool Maps Blog

Worldmapper - A collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest.

3-D Starmaps - An attempt to assist science fiction fans and authors of science fiction novels who lack the knowledge to construct maps.

DiscusMedia's 1900 European Maps Collection - Collection of over 800 images of maps displaying the Old World as it looked like about 100 years ago. City maps, area maps.

FEEFHS Map Room - 50 detailed maps of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, the Balkans, and the Baltics from the 1882 Blackie and Sons atlas, all available at the site of the Federation of East European Family History Societies. The same site also includes a nice Genealogy Resource Directory.

Historical Maps of Finnish and Finno-Ugric People (1935) - Maps showing the history of the Finnish-related people of Russia. Includes maps of city locations, name changes, and much commentary.

Panoramic Maps Collection - The Panoramic Maps, 1847 - 1921, collection contains about 1,700 idealized schematic views of towns and cities; a wealth of detail in setting, streets, and buildings.

ERsys.com - Demographic, lifestyle, and economic data covering over 1300 US cities portrayed as thematic maps, informative reports, detailed tables and colorful charts.

Rare Map Collection - The Hargrett Rare Books and Manuscripts Library at the University of Georgia maintains a collection of about 800 historical maps spanning nearly 500 years, from the sixteenth century through the early twentieth century.

50states.com - Blank Outline Maps - Printable blank outline map of each US State. Excellent homework helper.

Voyager Antique Maps - Dealer offering antique maps from the 16th to 18th centuries, specializing in maps of Asia.

Steve Bartrick Antique Prints and Maps - Features maps and prints. Located in the UK.

Maps By You - Customize U.S. maps of selected states for outdoor activities, with lakes, rivers, campgrounds, and places of interest.

Old-Maps.co.uk - Works more or less like Google Maps - only old maps of the regions in question (1870 to 1930 mostly) are used.

Old Ordnance Survey Maps - Scans of a selection of the Popular Edition (1920s and 30s), 1 inch to the mile, England and Wales, Ordnance Survey maps displayed using the Google Maps interface.

Old Maps - Maps of towns in England, Scotland and Wales as they were in the 1950s.

Francis Frith Collection - Photographs of 7,000 towns and villages taken between 1860 and 1970. Available as prints and in book collections. Thumbnail views, watermarked enlargements and ordering details.

Map of pre-Roman peoples and languages of Iberia

A nice map of the Mississipi Culture and related nations in pre-Columbian eastern North America

A map showcasing probable routes of Hernando de Soto's expedition in North America

A nice map of the USA and bits of British North America from 1814

Downloadable collection of historical maps from National Geographic

Historical map works

Big Map Blog

Geopolitical maps of the 20th century - At the UK National Archives website.

Map of European Russia (1943 vintage) - 1: 2,500,000. Complete placenames and nicely visible railroads.

The British Dominions Year Book 1918 Maps - Includes a collection of maps showing the late WWI territorial claims of European nations and maps of secret war plans of the WWI powers.

Global Gazetteer Version 2.2 : Directory of Cities and Towns in the World - A potentially useful research tool. This site combines various bit and pieces of info about many cities and towns (a few quite small) of pretty much every country in the world. It gives you a Google Map, locations of nearby towns, closest airports and even cloud cover and percipitation details.

Traveling Luck World Index - Another global geographic gazetteer. It, too, combines a lot of different pieces of info into one page.

Free Soviet Military Topographic Maps Of Europe And Asia

Large and detailed Map of the World from 1794

Historical Maps of the Habsburg Empire - A highly detailed database site.

Making more than a century of major earthquakes

A Data-Packed Map of American Immigration in 1903 - Additional infor here.

A Japanese Website with Blank Maps


See Also

Tools for creating illustrated AH content - A collection of tutorials, resources and recommended software for creating artworks.

Flag Resources - A collection of useful resources for creating flags and other vexillological insignia.

Heraldry Resources - A collection of useful resources for creating coats of arms and other heraldic insignia.

Alternate History Media - An overview of various artwork threads on AH.com, for comparison and potential inspiration.


resources/maps.1535728206.txt.gz · Last modified: 2019/03/29 15:16 (external edit)

Donate Powered by PHP Valid HTML5 Valid CSS Driven by DokuWiki