Books and Links - Resources

The Coast Mappers by Taylor Morrison

Follow the journey of George Davidson and fellow scientists in the mid 1800s as they mapped America’s Pacific Coast. Morrison describes California during the Gold Rush, the difficulty of traveling to remote locations, and the many encounters with the Makah and Nootka Indians.  This is an absorbing look at map-making before aerial photography and Global Positioning satellites and the dedicated men who risked their lives to chart the unknown.

Mapping the Seas by Walter Oleksy

People created maps of the seas and oceans to help them with trade, exploration, and travel. Through the centuries, maps of the seas have become more accurate as new tools have been developed. Today, mapmakers use radar, global positioning systems, and satellites to make maps.  This book explores the different types of sea charts and how they have changed over the years.

Mapping the World by Sylvia A. Johnson

This book traces the history of cartography from an early Babylonian image scratched into a clay tablet to maps developed with satellite and computer technology. Many full-color map reproductions help to illustrate the history.

The Story of Maps and Navigation (Signs of the Times) by Anita Ganeri

This informative book examines the basic elements of maps (scale, grid lines, contour) and how we use them. It has a short history of cartography and shows special maps (sea charts, star maps, military maps, weather maps) compasses, and lighthouses, modern navigation tools, and an overview of great journeys in world history.

Small Worlds: Maps and Map Making by Karen Romano Young

Young takes the reader on a tour of the many different kinds of maps that help people to navigate neighborhoods, cities, states, the globe, and even outer space. This book gives a history of mapmaking, and shows all the difficulties that early geographers had when trying to create a graphic representation of the world.

On the Web:

http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/
NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey homepage

http://www.secretsatsea.org/main.html
An interactive game that includes many aspects of the ocean, including mapping

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/topics/navops/hydrosurvey/welcome.html
NOAA’s hydrographic survey page

http://historicals.ncd.noaa.gov/historicals/histmap.asp
Take a look at historical maps and charts

http://aapa-ports.org
American Association of Port Authorities