When we launched Maps.com, our goal was to share some of the world’s most remarkable maps with you. The community response has been overwhelming, and we are so grateful to everyone who has joined us on this journey. With a year in the books, let’s look back at what we’ve shared and the visualizations you’ve loved most.
Since launching, we’ve written 115 articles about maps from creators around the world. In that time, we’ve featured 17 submitted maps from creators ranging from the Washington Post and the Financial Times to individual cartographers. We’ve also published 26 original maps on subjects ranging from lunar craters to pinball machines.
As of last week, we’ve added a new category to Maps.com called Behind the Map, which will highlight creators and the process of mapmaking. Overall, readers have really gravitated to maps about people and the planet, with People & Patterns and Living Planet ranking as our most popular categories.
In terms of topics, interactives, explainers, and originals have been the most popular. Animated maps and historical maps round out the top five.
As for the maps, here are your favorite articles from the past year:
- Four Surprising Maps about RVs and Campgrounds
- The Geography of Heating US Homes
- Where Do Christmas Trees Grow in the US?
- Where Are Schools in the US Underfunded?
- Animating Earth’s Aerosols
We’re not just sharing maps on Maps.com, either. Our YouTube channel continues to grow as subscribers view our animated content and shorts. These have been the most popular videos over the past year:
- Which countries win the most Olympic medals?
- Where are fires occurring most frequently?
- Per capita, which countries win the most Olympic medals?
- Where are all the sunken ships from World War II?
- Where does lightning strike most often?
Additionally, you can find and share maps from Maps.com on X, Facebook, and Instagram. And if you’ve got a great map to share, we’d love to feature it. Highlighting your maps is one of the main reasons why we built this site in the first place.
From all of us at Maps.com, thank you so much for joining our cartographic community over the past year. We’ve got some exciting ideas planned for 2025 and can’t wait to share what’s next.
