How to Find World Maps

The world is always changing and world maps are constantly redrawn. Countries you studied as a child use different boundaries and even different names now. Whether for school, business or travel, you need an up-to-date and accurate map. Follow these steps to find current maps of the world.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Check out a world almanac. Produced each year, world almanacs provide geographical information and maps. Find a current almanac at a bookstore, an online retailer or your public library's reference section. Look for the world almanac for kids version as well.

2. Remember atlases? Atlases are another tool for viewing world maps. You can find atlases as standalone volumes or part of other reference materials such as encyclopedias.

3. Borrow your child's geography book. At some point in their education--often middle school--children study world geography. In addition to providing access to plenty of maps, geography books teach details about places in the world.

4. Look online. The University of Texas posts world maps online, as does the Central Intelligence Agency. At UT, world maps include physical, political and time zone world maps. The CIA's World Factbook is available online and features recent country information and maps.

5. Subscribe to National Geographic Magazine. This giant among consumer magazines has provided amazing photographs of the world for years. Each issue also contains a very detailed map. The National Geographic Society publishes magazines for children and travelers as well.

Tips & Warnings

• Make certain to view the most recent maps. Look for a copyright year to make certain.
• Check out different projections, or ways of indicating the earth's surface on a two-dimensional map. If you're used to the old Mercator projection formerly used in classroom maps, you'll be surprised to see that the continents aren't roughly equal in size in a truly proportional projection. Some projections even reorient the view so the southern hemisphere is on top. Get a globe for still another view of the world.

Resources

• Search UT's online map collection.
• Get world map intelligence from the experts at the CIA.