Maps Of The Week

Last calendar week Mapbox revealed their novel extrusion properties for information layers inwards Mapbox GL JS. These novel extrusion properties allow you lot to practise 3d buildings (extruding buildings past times their number of floors) or other 3d information visualizations on a map using your ain information layers.

Robert White has already used Mapbox's novel 3d buildings selection to practise this impressive Vancouver Zoning Map. Robert's map non entirely has 3d buildings only likewise uses data styling to color those buildings together with other map features to exhibit Vancouver's distinct metropolis zones.

Using the map you lot tin explore how & where Vancouver uses zoning inside the city. You tin likewise come across how this zoning has an trial on the edifice heights inwards Vancouver's neighborhoods.


Andy Woodruff has invented a variety of hydrodynamics physics engine for interactive maps. It allows him to practise an animated map which visualizes H2O drainage period of time for whatsoever place on Earth.

In the Rain on the Terrain Andy tries to response the query of where H2O would period of time if you lot poured it over the terrain at whatsoever place on the planet. His solution is essentially to role elevation information to detect the lowest side past times side place for whatsoever given location. Drop roughly H2O at this place together with it volition detect the path of to the lowest degree resistance together with movement to the side past times side place amongst the lowest elevation.

Repeat this procedure together with you lot tin plot a long path of the to the lowest degree resistance, moving downhill. If you lot together with thus animate a polyline along this path you lot tin practise a map of flowing rivers. Andy's map allows you lot to visualize the animated period of time map of drainage for whatsoever place on basis (based on his uncomplicated algorithm). The map likewise includes roughly quick links to zoom the map to a number of locations amongst interesting terrain.


Recently National Geographic has started using Leaflet.js to furnish interactive versions of the beautiful supplemental posters issued amongst each months National Geographic magazine. The September poster, exploring life inwards the Pacific Ocean off British Columbia, is available to persuasion inwards the British Columbia Supplement.

The Oct impress edition of the National Geographic includes a double sided poster close Colonizing Mars. The fine art side of the poster depicts a possible human colony on the blood-red planet. It explains roughly of the technical difficulties which would survive faced inwards establishing a Mars colony together with shows what such a colony mightiness await like.

The map side of the poster is a novel map of Mars based on imagery together with information from NASA's most recent missions to the planet. If you lot are interested inwards maps of Mars you lot mightiness likewise savour National Geographic's article on the history of mapping the planet, What Mars Maps Got Right (and Wrong) Through Time.