The Olson Library houses a small map collection that focuses on Michigan, Wisconsin, and the Great Lakes region. As a depository, map shipments are frequent and run from topographic maps to nautical charts to CIA maps of all countries of the world to maps from the State of Michigan. Most maps are filed in the Map Collection, which is located at the back corner of the library near room 235B, while some maps are interfiled on the shelves among the issuing government agencies. During the current renovation, however, everything is offsite. Look carefully in the library catalog for the location and feel free to browse the collection. Maps and Atlases do not circulate.
Map resources from various State of Michigan agencies and departments and other non-government links (this list is incomplete--it'll always be added to):
Plat Map information can be found from REGRID (even without a subscription). We do have physical plat books for most of the counties in the Upper Peninsula in the map collection. Plat map information from municipalities is hit and miss.
North Country Trail (not just Michigan)
Scroll down for the two Michigan sections (Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula).
Lighthouses (not just Michigan). From the University of Buffalo. There are a number of lighthouses of the Great Lakes resources online. I like the links to Lighthouse Friends off that one.
Great Lakes Ship Tracking. From Boatnerd. Track marine operations in the Great Lakes. Zooming in shows nautical charts, which is a neat touch. You can also go to Marinetraffic.com--zoom in for this one for boats to appear.
MI-TRALE. Trail apps (and links) for the Western Upper Peninsula.
Sanborn Maps of Michigan cities (from the Library of Congress)
Michigan GIS Open Data
Search across 10 categories including demographics, hydrography, fish & wildlife, and public health. Also links back to other agencies listed here on the page (State of Michigan GIS, DNR Maps & Data, EGLE Maps & Data, MDOT GIS Open Data, and data.MICHIGAN.gov). If you've simply used google and searched for Michigan GIS data, you might have landed there previously. Just check that you've landed in Michigan.
How do you pronounce Michigan place names (and other names associated with Michigan)? Here is a continually updated developed by the Michigan Bureau of Services for Blind Persons Braille and Talking Book Library.
Cyndi's List: Maps of Michigan
A list of online maps, gazetteers and geographical information (both current and historical) from this genealogy website. There is more to Michigan on it as well as the remaining 49 states.
World Atlas.com (Michigan's slice)
Facts and many maps of Michigan (outline, highway, relief). With links to other states, the nation, and the world.
Soil Maps of Michigan (and of the whole U.S.)
The Web Soil Survey from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service allows you to select specific locations within the U.S. and obtain a map of the soil types as well as other soil attributes. Looking for an old print soil survey? Here they are at the Internet Archive.
NOAA Chart Locator and their new NOAA Custom Chart (replaces paper charts). Zoom in and select the charts for the areas you want. How about Coast Pilot no. 6, for the Great Lakes? Historic nautical charts online are found on the Historical Maps tab (above, on this webpage). But among the links there is the NOAA Historical Map and Chart Project link. GPS Nautical Charts have a version of these charts for the world. Great Lakes charts can be drilled down via the USA or Canada links.
Historic County Boundaries of Michigan from the Newberry Library. Interactive display of the county boundaries and their changes in Michigan and nearly all the U.S. as well.
Other historical maps of Michigan can be found at the MSU Online Map Collection, the University of Alabama, and the USGS Map Locator & Downloader). Alabama has a nice list of digitized out of print 1:62,500 topographic maps as does the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection.
The National Geologic Map Database. Search for a map by title or author or map number; search for themes--geology or geophysics or marine or resources or hazards or other (geochronology, paleontology, or geochemistry), state or territory and county, scale, etc. Try their Map View!
In the east corner of the library (Harden Hall, 2nd floor) is the map collection--or was. We're undergoing a remodel and the maps are unavailable until December 2025. Michigan and Wisconsin topo maps, Great Lakes nautical charts, CIA maps, maps of North America and the world....
Topographic maps make up the bulk of our collection (7.5 minute maps of Michigan and Wisconsin). We have a variety of dates within that scale as well as with the older 15 minute maps. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Store is one of several places to view maps online (and purchase). Their website is not limited to just topographic maps, as you will see at that link.
TopoView is another online viewer from the USGS. This resource highlights the maps in the Historic Topographic Map Collection (maps published prior to 2009). Scales include 1:24K through 1:250K.
Peakbagger
Although a website for climbers and hikers, the USGS topographic maps are presented seamless. Link takes you to our local Hogback Mountain. These are not current topo maps.
Libre Map Project: USGS 1:24K Topo Maps.
Downloadable topo maps--not seamless.
Geographic Names Information System
From the USGS. Searchable database for about 2 million place names (the official repository of domestic place names) in the United States and its territories. You will be able to link to a variety of maps of your search. Also links to place names in Antarctica and the Geonet Names Server (for foreign place names).
Blank maps. Print them off and fill them in yourself.
International Cartographic Association
Current maps of events in the world, updated monthly.
Perry Casteñeda Library Map Collection
One of the oldest Internet map websites. As of 2021 it is no longer actively updated so some external links may not work.
Library of Congress Geospatial Applications
Explore the incredible stories of Library of Congress collections through immersive narratives, multimedia, and interactive maps.
United Nations Geospatial
Maps of countries, regions and missions are available in .pdf format as well as geospatial data.
National Geologic Map Database
Over 100,000 geologic maps from the 1800s to today are available. These include maps by the USGS, the State Geological Surveys, and hundreds of other organizations.
CIA World Factbook
World, regional, and country maps in .jpg or .pdf. Also from the CIA, their declassified maps.
National Geographic's Mapmaker Interactive
Global Gazetteer
Locate regions, place names and exact locations of most any populated place the world over.
Worldmapper
A visually intriguing website that displays statistical data in the form of cartograms.
Gallery of Map Projections
Several hundred examples of map projections as well as a small bibliography.
Radical Cartography
An interesting website with a variety of strange maps and graphs (mall plans, income, suicides, and world cropland since 1700 to name a few).
Maps from FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data, from the St. Louis Federal Reserve).
Economic data for US counties, metro areas, states.
Aeronautical Charts From SkyVector.
OpenSeaMap.
A worldwide nautical chart (don't use it for navigation) in which you can select different layers to view (such as water depth, navigation aids, marine traffic). The Great Lakes are not covered very well.
MarineTraffic.com.
Follow worldwide shipping (includes Great Lakes and inland waterways). Link opens over Lake Superior.
Persuasive Cartography. A collection of “persuasive” cartography: more than 1200 maps intended primarily to influence opinions or beliefs--to send a message--rather than to communicate geographic information.
OpenGeoSci. OpenGeoSci is a free, public map based interface that allows users to search for maps, cross sections, charts, tables, figures, and data from GeoScienceWorld publications.
Global Maps from NASA's Earth Observatory.
A global view of what’s happening on our planet. Maps include carbon monoxide, chlorophyll, cloud fraction, fire, land surface temperature, net radiation, sea surface temperature, snow cover, rainfall, and vegetation.
World Time Clock and World Time Zone Map.
Two of the better time zone map websites out there. The former shows the terminator.
Sites dedicated to a variety of maps: DIY Cartography, Strange Maps, and Cartographers Guild.
David Rumsey
Over 133,000 images (and growing--every time I check the number climbs!) have been scanned from Mr. Rumsey's private collection of rare 18th and 19th century maps. A fully searchable database of high quality images allows you to find states/provinces, countries, authors, and keywords. Also available are map collections: Africa, Japan, Scotland, rare maps from the University of South Florida collection and geologic maps from Stanford University.
Library of Congress
Jump directly to the maps portion of The American Memory Project. You can choose from seven categories, including Transportation and Communication as well as Discovery and Exploration. There is also the Geography and Map Reading Room.
Old Maps Online.
The OldMapsOnline Portal is an easy-to-use gateway to historical maps in libraries around the world. It allows the user to search for online digital historical maps across numerous different collections via a geographical search. Search by typing a place-name or by clicking in the map window, and narrow by date. The search results provide a direct link to the map image on the website of the host institution.
Images of Early Maps on the Web
About 2500 links to maps the world over. Categorized initially by continent, country or theme, then by an alphabetical list. The website itself is a good resource on maps and cartography.
Ancient World Mapping Center
Images and articles of the Roman civilization in the Mediterranean region.
World Historical Gazetteer
Place names—their origins, change over time, and reflections of identity—can provide a fascinating and revealing lens through which to explore history. Used with the interactive tools of digital history, the study of place names brings new, deeper, and broader connections to our understanding of patterns of historical change.
Historical Maps Online
The University of Illinois Library and the University of Illinois Press have created this online collection of maps charting the last 400 years of historical development in Illinois and the Northwest Territory.
Also from Illinois is the University of Chicago's online map collection. Besides maps of Chicago, there are ethnographic maps of the 19th century, maps of Paris, midwest cities, and urban rail transit maps.
Historical Map Archive
From the University of Alabama. Nearly 30,000 maps are available of all the states, North America, and the world. In .jpg and MrSid format. The USGS has historical topos available here.
Historical maps and map websites from the Perry Casteñeda Library Map Collection (may be some dead links there).
NOAA Historical Map and Chart Project
This collection contains over 21,000 maps and charts for, mostly, the United States. Dates range from the year 1747 to 2001. View them online or downloaded as a .jpg or MrSid file.
Great Lakes Maps.
Over 100 historic maps of the Great Lakes--from the entire region to the U.S. Lake Survey of 1852-1882. Additional digitized charts can be found at the American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), General Land Office (GLO).
Access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States, including image access to more than five million Federal land title records issued between 1820 and the present. In many cases you can see survey plats and field notes from original material.
The World Digital Library has over 1500 maps available for viewing.
The National Collection of Aerial Photography
Includes military imagery from WWII (Allied Central Interpretation Unit, German Air Force (Luftwaffe), Ministry of Defence: Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre, Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing). Scotlland, where this web resource originates, has a variety of sources.
EarthExplorer
Among many other data sets here (land cover, elevation) are aerial/satellite photos.
NASA's Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AρρEEARS).
In August 2024, NASA removed photos from EarthExplorer. Use AppEEARS and/or NASA's EarthData Search.
Historic Aerials
Search for a location and a selection of aerial photos (their years of availability) can be selected. There is a cost.
Google Earth
Download aerial photos (of varying quality) of the entire planet at once and the ability to look at them in 3-D. As they say themselves, "Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips." Something similar, without the globe and terrain feature, is Zoom Earth.
The Superior Watershed Partnership has a shoreline viewer of the U.P., from Chippewa County west to Gogebic County.
RS&GIS Aerial Imagery Archive at Michigan State University
Aerial datasets acquired by counties, the State of Michigan, and federal agencies dating from the 1920's to the 2000's. This is the largest repository of remitely sensed imagery in Michigan. Create an account to access this system.
These are all quite similar, essentially improving the Census Bureau's TIGERweb. In fact, they all seem to use the same base map information with minor changes. You'll probably have your favorite. Some are free, some are not, some require you to register. Mapquest, Badger Mapping (requires login), Google Maps, Maps.me, Bing Maps, Here.com, OpenStreetMap, and even Waze has a neat map to surf around on.