TL;DR – We map the route that Indiana Jones took on his adventures in the first trilogy of films.
Mapping Indy –
Whenever I upload one of my maps, I ask if there is anything else people would like to map? Often I get some excellent suggestions. After I uploaded my Independence Day Map, I probably got the best suggestion [and well timed one] so far because with the new Indiana Jones coming out later this month, it was the perfect time to jump back in and revisit the old films. Also, unlike many films today, the Indiana Jones films know how to use a map.
Flying through the East Coast of America. Image Credit: Brian MacNamara.
TL;DR – We chart Ellie and Joel’s Journey and the world of The Last of Us Season 1
Mapping The Last of Us –
I have fundamentally enjoyed the first season of The Last of Us and its romp across a ruined America. Knowing that we would start in Boston and end up in [spoilers] Salt Lake City, I wanted to chart their route across the continent.
To do that, I needed to update the North American map, given it needed to be the main focus, and for the first time, all the necessary state markers were to be shown. I was glad that all the episodes lined up with the geography.
I have noted every location visited in the show, as well as any that were mentioned in the dialogue. We did get to see a Fireflies map Kin. However, it is not clear what the locations on the map equate to. Are they radio towers, safe houses, or cells in QZs? We don’t know, so I have flagged them with an icon unless more information becomes apparent. If I missed a reference in the show, please let me know because I want this to be the most complete map possible.
TL;DR – We continue our goal to map the Marvel Cinematic Universe by mapping everything up to the end of Phase 4
Mapping Infinity –
Well, I didn’t expect to be back here so soon. When we did our map update at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, I am not sure anyone knew just how quickly Phase 4 would be wrapped up. But with my odd need to be completionist with this Map and with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania out next week starting Phase 5, now was the time.
Back in 2022, there was this odd film that popped into the world, Bullet Train, which took place on a Shinkansen travelling from Tokyo to Osaka. For some, it was their film of the year, but I ended up being much more mixed on the movie. However, there was one thing I was thinking about when I sat down to watch the film – is it geographically accurate? This is what we will look at today.
I have taken the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka before, so I thought this was something I could tick off in the cinema, but some of the station locations are shown very briefly or only in part. It took seeing it on digital release to nail this map down.
Earlier today, we watched a genuinely delightful Kaiju film from Norway about a Troll being woken from its slumber and making its way down to the capital. We enjoyed the film, and you can read our full review HERE.
One of the things the film did so well was giving you an understanding of the geography involved with the travels, and after watching, I wondered – did that work in real life? You may think that is an odd question, but as a map in the future will show, that is not always the case.
However, everything lines up here (even topographically if interested). With that in mind, I thought I would have a little fun and map it out for you. Of course, whenever I make a map of Scandinavia, I always forget about the fjords before I start, which is probably for the best because they would probably scare me off. Also, there are some spoilers for Troll, so view it at your own risk.
TL;DR – We map out every one of the starships in the California Class as they appear on a map of California.
Mapping The California Class –
When naming starships in Star Trek, well, it can be a very haphazard scenario. Sure there were many named after famous military vessels from history, like the USS Lexington and USS Hood. Some are references to crew members on the show, like the USS Bonchune. Other still are named after famous people from history, like USS Archimedes or USS Zheng He. Or the odd fact that the USS Enterprise is named after the Enterprise, which was named after the Space Shuttle Enterprise, which was itself named after the USS Enterprise.
Usually, the names are a scattershot collection of whatever writer is taking a swing at the universe and don’t fit into a strong theme. Well, with two exceptions. The first is Deep Space Nine’s Roundabouts, like the famous USS Rio Grande, all named after rivers on Earth, and the subject of today’s map, the California Class, named after cities from California.
TL;DR – Links to every geographical feature mentioned in Humankind so you can explore them if interested
Database –
Back we I was working on my Civilization VI map, I started to document all the locations I was using as a basis for the maps, and on the whole, I got some great feedback for that Cartographic Educational Database. With hat in mind, when I was starting my Humankind map, I did the smart thing and put all this data together at the same time, rather than going back over it at a later date doubling up my work. It also is part of my sharing that fun that I got as I learned more about the world we live in.
Below you will find links to Cultures and their Cities, Independent People, Cultural Wonders, Natural Wonders, and Landmarks.
Most of these links will be to the relevant Wikipedia page, just because that is probably the most practical option for most people, but there are some links to other sites where it was the best fit. Also, while I have tried to find easily accessible links to every feature, some of them don’t have that access. There is the odd one here and there, as well as the whole Bantu city list, which you can see below. Before we start, I have to thank the Humankind Wiki for collating all the cities for me so I did not have to dive into the code.
You can see the Full Humankind Map HERE. So let’s dive into the geographical world of Humankind.
TL;DR – We map all of the eras of Humankind all in one map … okay many maps.
Mapping Humankind
One of the joys I get is mapping out universes, while I have charted out movie universes like the MCU and Grand Designs. However, one of my favourite things has been charting how 4X video games explore the world and its history. Today we are looking at the next entry in this series, charting all of Humankind from Amplitude Studios and Sega.
I had started making this map several times before running into roadblocks, like how do you make a map that shows Russia/Soviet Union or England/Great Britain? The way I previously fixed this issue with my Civilization map didn’t work here, and I started to wonder if I was Wile E. Coyote hitting my head against every ACME invention. However, one day it all clicked together, so I started down this road.
I worked it out by having a separate map for each era, all the cities, cultures, independent peoples, and wonders. Then we smashed it all together at the end in a wild kaleidoscope of overlapping entries. While putting this all together, I was still concerned it would not work. However, it kind of does. Before we start, I have to thank the Humankind Wiki for collating all the cities for me so I did not have to dive into the code. With that in mind, let us dive into the world of Humankind, which includes all the information from the base game and the Cultures of Africa Pack and Cultures of Latin America Pack DLCs. You can also see links to all the information in the map in our Humankind Cartographic Educational Database.
While all attempts have been made to ensure that everything is accurately placed, putting this together meant working from multiple sources, map projections, and sometimes not firm locations. As such, no matter how much you try, there might be slight discrepancies. With that in mind, let us dive into the maps.
TL;DR – We continue our goal to map the Marvel Cinematic Universe by mapping Phase 4 up to Spider-Man: No Way Home
Mapping Infinity –
Back in 2018, when the Black Panther can out, I took the first attempt to chart the MCU. That first Map was quite basic compared to the work I would do with cartography going forward, but it is a nice step on my cartography journey. We updated the Map in 2019 when Endgame came out, and already New York was getting dense, but we have yet to look at Phase Four. Well, that is something we fix today.
From the Map, the first thing that should be clear is that we have only charted the locations visited on Earth (Earth-199999 or Midgard, or Terra or Planet C-53, to be specific). So, my apologies to Xandar and Old Asgard in advance that we will not be looking at the greater galactic universe. But it does mean that every film is represented in this Map, though Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 only make one entry.
TL;DR – Every single feature of Civilization Franchise (at time of posting) in one Map
Civilization: Full Map
I have been making pop culture Maps for quite a while now, but it all started when I thought it would be fun to map Civilization VI back in 2017. Since then, how I create maps has shifted and changed and dramatically improved, as has the Map I use. With the Vietnam/Portugal map being the probable last update from Civilization 6, there was a sense of completion, but also a feeling that there was one thing left I needed to do. So, I ad a random thought one day “Could I fit all of Civilization into one map?” After many months of work, I can say that “yes, yes you can” well barely, looking at you, Mesopotamia.
With that in mind, today we have a 30th Anniversary present, or Christmas present, or a combination of both. We have every feature of Civilization, Civilization II, Civilization III, Civilization IV, Civilization V & Civilization VI. This includes civilizations, cities, world wonders, natural wonders, city-states, and geographical features.
As always, a couple of notes before we start, first the Civilization boundaries on the Map are based more on clarity than anything else, so in most cases, they conform to their modern counterparts. We have also worked using the commonly implemented political borders, not necessarily what nations claim, and this means making some judgement calls which you will see below. Also, while all attempts have been made to ensure that everything is accurately placed, putting this together meant working from multiple sources, map projections, and sometimes not firm locations. As such, no matter how much you try, there might be some slight discrepancies here and there. We will be mostly going over the new additions and changes to the Map in this update. If you want to learn more about some of the location choices that we made, you can find more detail in our First Full Civilization Big Map and out Gathering Storm Update Map.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 