Navigating and Mapping Cultural Landscapes

View toward the Jacob Jackson home site, part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park

NPS

• Map Resources

From the city streets of Boston to remote areas of Alaska, visitors use maps, signs, and trails to navigate and explore. Park managers also use maps and drawing to describe the development of landscapes over time and show the transformation (and persistence) of cultural and natural features.

National Park Service maps can connect the layers of a landscape. Whether planning the details of a visit, getting to know a distant place, or planning for preservation, a map helps to locate a visitor center, scenic overlook, site of historic events, closest bus stop, or elements of a planting plan.

Navigation is also central to the history of some cultural landscapes. The features of these places are evidence of how individuals and groups have traversed land and water, given directions, and understood the environment. 

These articles consider a few examples of navigation, maps, and wayfinding in cultural landscapes. 

Map Resources

National Park Service

• Cultural Resources GIS
• NPS Geographic Information Systems - Geography and Mapping Technologies
• Cultural Landscapes of the National Park Service (web map)

External Collections

• Mapping the National Parks (Library of Congress Collection)
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collection (Library of Congress)
• David Rumsey Map Collection
• National Archives Cartographic and Architectural Records
• Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records
• USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer
• USGS National Map
• USGS EarthExplorer
• USGS Store - find maps by location or purpose, scientific reports, educational materials
• MyTopo - custom topographic and satellite maps, USGS quads, land ownership maps

Exhibits

• From Colonialism to Tourism: Maps in American Culture (Digital Public Library of America)

Explore Your Surroundings

Find a Park Cultural Landscape