Online Maps

From LoveToKnow Online

When you think online maps, you may think of one specific type. In reality, you can look up almost any type of map you need, whether you're wondering how one country is positioned in relation to another, where a city is inside of a state, and so on. They're ideal for travel if you have Internet access because you won't have to buy map after map on a long road trip, plus you can find everything you need, from coffee to hotels, with the built-in search options.

Types of Online Maps

When your're wondering where something is or the best route to take, online maps are a quick way to find out what you want to know. Curious about the bordering countries of a certain place in Europe? No problem. Want to plan your route through a state, stopping in various different cities on your way? Again, you can do that. You can even take it a step or two further and print written directions or check traffic in real time. Types of online maps include:

  • Driving maps
  • World, state, and city maps (physical and political)
  • Traffic maps

Driving Maps

Not everyone has a GPS and they need some old-fashioned guidance via a map or a list of directions to get from Point A to Point B. If you have a cell phone with Internet access and you're lost, you can easily pull up an online map to get you on your way again.

  • Map Quest is a good site for finding businesses, friends' houses, and more. If you know the address, type it in and you'll get a map that you can zoom in or out. If it still doesn't help you get to where you're going, you can get step-by-step directions, too. You can also choose whether you want to take the highway, so if highway driving in an unfamiliar area makes you nervous or you're going to be driving during rush hour, you can avoid it. In addition, you can put in extra stops, so if you want to eventually get from Point A to Point B but stop for coffee along the way, you can do so without getting lost.
  • Rand McNally allows you to put in an address, map it, and then zoom in and out to view it in relation to other places, streets, and so on that you may be familiar with already.

State and World Maps
  • University of Texas at Austin splits up its listings based on maps of current or general interest, historical maps, and more. They are intended as more of an educational tool than a practical guideline for predicting travel time or even deciding how best to get from one place to another.
  • Education Place's maps are intended for use in classrooms. You can print them out and copy them to use in school settings. They are outline maps of continents, countries, and states. There tends to be very little detail on the maps, so you can instruct your students to fill them in.
  • Altapedia has political and physical maps for all of the countries in the world. For additional information, you can find information about each one under the Countries A to Z tab.

Traffic Maps

If you already know where you're going, but you're worried about traffic jams due to accidents, construction, and so on, you can look up your route ahead of time and get warnings about potential delays. You can either plan ahead and leave early or you can find alternate routes before you leave.

If you live in the United States, you can go the the Department of Transportation website, select the National Traffic and Road Closure Information page, then click on your state. In some instances, you'll be able to get traffic maps that show construction, accidents, slow downs, and more.

Google Maps offers traffic maps as well as navigational maps. In addition, you can get a satellite view, which may not be helpful in most situations but is good for an overview, and a view of the terrain.

One of the terrific things about Google Maps' traffic report is that you can use the tool to predict traffic at a time you'll be passing through. If you'll be driving through Atlanta at 5:00 p.m., but you're looking at the screen at noon, you can change the time and it will predict the traffic based on normal traffic patterns. This will allow you to make an educated decision about which route to take. You can even choose a different day, so if you're planning ahead for Tuesday's travel on Monday, you can do so with fairly accurate results (barring any accidents on the highway, of course). You can plan your travel to and from your vacation destination this way.

The Bottom Line

Online maps can answer your geographical questions or help you navigate your way through a city, state, or country. Whatever you need to know about where you're going, online maps can help.

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