At their core, maps facilitate understanding and exploration. With maps, we can discover new places and navigate them. But maps can also offer new perspectives and ways of understanding more familiar spaces, too. What could we learn about a place if we were able to view it through the context of elements our eyes can’t typically see? And just how many ways can we visualize a place?
This interactive map from Esri explores the Grand Canyon in 13 different ways. When you imagine the Grand Canyon, you probably think of sweeping red and brown cliffs towering above the Colorado River. But this map reveals features and insights about the Grand Canyon that you may have never considered.
Each view emphasizes a different feature or dimension of the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas. Some are focused on the terrain and topography of the cliff faces and slopes. Others seek to highlight the ecological characteristics of landforms, ecosystems, and forest types to categorize the landscape around the Grand Canyon. You’ll also find maps detailing the hundreds of surface water features (as well as the mighty Colorado River) and the geology of the area, both of which helped to create this natural wonder. On many of the maps, you can click for additional details such as streamflow volume or who owns and manages the land.Â
Some of these views, such as the National Park Service map, are unique to the Grand Canyon. But many of these datasets could apply to most places on Earth. This interactive collection highlights the canvas maps provide and challenges us to consider how we think about—and visualize—a place.Â
More to Explore
- Discover additional Grand Canyon maps from the National Park Service.
- Learn more about the history of maps from the National Park Service.
