There’s a wonderful online community on Reddit that’s dedicated to beautiful, intriguing, and artistic maps that will wow you and make you see the world from a whole other perspective. As someone who loves drawing maps in my spare time, I’m in heaven.
And even though our generous and benevolent social media overlords [cough cough] don’t allow us to mention the full name of the subreddit because of one particular word that it uses, make sure you visit the group, check out their latest maps, and maybe even become members yourselves, dear Pandas!
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In the meantime, let’s enjoy some gorgeous and interesting maps, shall we? Remember to upvote your fave pics as you continue scrolling. In need of an extra mega map fix? You’ll find Bored Panda’s previous posts about the ‘Map [Whoops Can’t Mention That Word Here Anymore]’ community right here, as well as here.
#1 Europe Seen From Russia (Made In The 1950s)
Image credits: cpt_t37
#2 Occupied Bald Eagle Nests In Wisconsin. 1974 vs. 2019. Growth Credited To The Clean Water Act
Image credits: Norcan987
#3 I Made A Retro Pixel Map Of The USA! Tried To Include Some Of The Iconic Monuments/Locations That Resonated With Me
Image credits: reddit.com
With nearly 1.3 million members, the map-loving subreddit is a cartography powerhouse on the net (and it’s making me itch to start drawing a few maps of my own again). In June of 2020, the subreddit had just shy of a million members, so they’re continuing to grow steadily.
The group has been on Reddit since the late spring of 2011 and will be looking forward to its 10th birthday in just a few short months. What with the rise and fall of online groups every single day, reaching the decade-long mark is no easy feat and it speaks to the quality of the content they share.
#4 I Think Us Election Is Not About Republicans vs. Democrats But Urban vs. Rural
Image credits: Europehunter
#5 Olympus Mons On Mars, The Largest Volcano In Our Solar System, Compared To Arizona
Image credits: ADarkcid
#6 The Battle To Accurately Map The Us Election Result Is Over: Le Monde Wins
Image credits: haruspicat
In previous interviews with the founder of the subreddit, Patrick McGranaghan, Bored Panda learned all about the history of how the group was founded, as well as what kinds of maps you can expect to find. Patrick, a land surveyor from Colorado, actually founded the community while he was living in Taiwan in 2011.
#7 Arizona Voting Precincts And Arizona Native American Reservations
Image credits: tri_it_again
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#8 The United States Of America: Alaskan Perspective
Image credits: loliplip
#9 The Actual Map Of Ship Traffic, Not The Wack One That Was Recently Posted
Image credits: harrison822
A map geek through and through just like some of my colleagues and I, Patrick wanted to create a place where people could easily find and discuss beautiful maps. Patrick is also a member of the North American Cartographic Information Society, the Carles Close Society for the Study of Ordnance Survey Maps, the Rocky Mountain Map Society, among other groups.
#10 The 41 American States
Image credits: kernals12
#11 Wolf Distribution In Italy From 1900 To 2020
Image credits: Risingmagpie
#12 The Great Lakes And Saint Lawrence River Superimposed On A Map Of Europe
Image credits: vividmaps
According to the founder, there was a time not too long ago when the internet was much more chill about using certain words while naming online groups. “In the years since the culture on the internet has taken a much more puritan bias and some people don’t like that name,” he explained and I can’t help but agree with him—you have to really watch what you write and say nowadays. And the internet sometimes seems like it doesn’t understand subtlety, sarcasm, irony, or jokes anymore.
#13 The United States Of Sitcoms
Image credits: dienaked
#14 Satellite Map Of Vatican City
Image credits: AJgloe
#15 The True Size Of New Guinea
Image credits: BerryBlue_BlueBerry
Patrick explained to Bored Panda that there’s a bit of everything for everyone in the group: from historical and funny maps to imaginary and linguistic maps and more. “One of my favorite interactions is when a map is posted of an obscure place and someone in the comments says they live there or has a story about that place,” he said.
#16 Excellent Visualisation Of The Distortions Of Different Projections
Image credits: HetRadicaleBoven
#17 This Is My Wedding Gift To My Wife. We Get Married Next Sunday. I Used A Woodburning Kit To Burn A Map Of All The States We Have Visited As A Couple. We Both Love To Travel And Backpack Do I Want To To Keep Adding To It As We Get Older
Image credits: Doofinx
#18 Euler Diagram-Map Of The British Isles
Image credits: InkyScrolls
“Maps are a way to visualize the world in a way that is easy to grasp. They are an aid in learning about new lands and faraway places. They help us find our way when we are lost,” Patrick pointed out, adding that during the pandemic they can be great ways for us to travel while staying at home.
#19 Counties In The Us With A Spanish Speaking Majority
Image credits: VirusMaster3073
#20 Paper Sizes World Map
Image credits: Adaffor
#21 Light Blue Is A Map As We Know It And Dark Blue Is The Actual Size Of Each Country
Image credits: aisbosseth
One of the categories on the subreddit is dedicated to political realignments that redraw borders and all I can say is that I’m a major fan. They’re imaginative, creative, funny, and make us look at history in an entirely different way. Playing ‘what if…’ games is a lot of fun.
#22 What The Netherlamds Would Naturally Look Like If They Hadn’t Built Any Dikes To Prevent Flooding
Image credits: DerpyRainbow506
#23 Map Of The 2191 Meter Deep Krubera Cave. The Deepest Known Cave System In The World
Image credits: VictoriaLisz
#24 Where Most Canadians Live (Red)
Image credits: duckman23423
Why do people love maps? Because they’re aesthetic. Because they’re like picture books for adults. Because they reveal a novel way of looking at life that we’re not used to. And because squiggly lines are fun to draw. Or at least these are all the reasons why I love cartography (yours might be different).
#25 The Shire – English Counties Ending In ‘Shire’
Image credits: trail_bagger
#26 USA In Drawn In 3 Lines. Boundaries Marked With Gaps (The Best I Could)
Image credits: tfoust10
#27 Places Named Victoria
Image credits: ButtholeQuiver
Personally, I don’t mind that the map precedes the territory, no matter what Jean Baudrillard says. Why? Because, like unusual and intriguing books, they have ways of sparking new ideas and expanding our minds. Who needs the actual territory when we have such gorgeous maps to look at from the safety of our homes?
#28 Irish Railway System In 1920 vs. 2020
Image credits: saif-with-curls
#29 Countries Who Call It ‘Football’ vs. Who Call It ‘Soccer’
Image credits: qwerty74901
#30 Propaganda Made By The Allies During Ww1 Of What Will Happen To The Us If The Central Powers Won
Image credits: RedShadow199
Which map was your favorite one and why? What’s the most aesthetic or interesting map you’ve ever seen in real life? Do you have any maps at home? Are you a major geek like me and love drawing maps for your Dungeons & Dragons groups (I hope I’m not alone!)? Share your thoughts and, hopefully, your love for maps in the comment section below.
#31 In 1972, Richard Nixon Defeated South Dakota Senator George Mcgovern By 23 Percentage Points. He Won Every State Except Massachusetts And Got 520 Electoral Votes, A Record Only Beaten 12 Years Later By Ronald Reagan
Image credits: kernals12
#32 Every Roman Settlement (That Ever Existed, With Borders From 117ad)
Image credits: ImUsingDaForce
#33 If You Flew In A Straight Line From Mcallen, Texas To Bangkok, Thailand, You Would Only Spend About 50 Miles Over Water
Image credits: semsr
#34 All States Scooby Doo Has Visited Onscreen In The Cartoons, Movies, And Comics
Image credits: G8g8g8
#35 The Topography Of Italy
Image credits: boytutoy
#36 How The 1860 Us Election Went
Image credits: cheeseface35
#37 Most Googled Countries In Europe (Except Their Own)
Image credits: GergoliShellos
#38 Each States Biggest Export Trading Partner
Image credits: SGB04
#39 World Map Excluding Countries With Under 100m People
Image credits: Jellybeans0128
#40 Indo-European Language Family Tree
Image credits: Dovlatus
#41 1927 Movie Studio Map Of Filming Locations Representing The Globe
Image credits: onsinsandneedles
#42 The Topography Of Japan
Image credits: Adaffor
#43 It Would Be Longer To Drive From Malmö To Abisko, Both In Sweden, Than To Drive From Malmö To Rome Through Five Countries
Image credits: Isaskar
#44 Is The McDonald’s Ice Cream Machine Currently Broken? Chicago Area. Mcbroken.com
Image credits: ape_pants
#45 Europe 1444 Without Any Writing
Image credits: AlexisAncrath
#46 Light Pollution Map Of Europe
Image credits: xNLX1978x
#47 A Map I Made Of Every Image That Came Up First When I Searched Each Country’s Name
Image credits: BrowncoatOfArms
#48 Largest Religion In India By District
Image credits: saif-with-curls
#49 Pitcairn Island – One Of The Least Populated And Most Remote Territories In The World
Image credits: andrewdc
#50 Kaunas, Lithuania // Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Image credits: NordyNed
#51 Relative Value Of $100
Image credits: rinthian_lab
#52 Habitability Map Of Australia From 1946
Image credits: erik316wttn
#53 Map Of Quotation Marks In European Languages
Image credits: vladgrinch
#54 The USA Split Into Sections That Have The Same Population As California
Image credits: BirchTainer
#55 It Visible Difference Between Turkey And Syria Territory
Image credits: cCc_USER_cCc
#56 A Map Of Finland’s Bear Population, Made Up Of Bears
Image credits: Asmodeane
#57 Where Flamingos Are Found Naturally In The World
Image credits: cheeseface35
#58 United Kingdom
Image credits: orialairo
#59 Denmark Proper Fits Inside Michigan’s Mitten
Image credits: glowdirt
#60 Shaded Relief Of The Mediterranean Seafloor
Image credits: boytutoy
#61 The Real Map Of France
Image credits: RafaelAmeyalli
#62 Map Of Spain Made Of The Typical Foods Of Each Region
Image credits: JoeWDavies
#63 Relief Map Of Baltic And Scandinavia
Image credits: Adaffor
#64 Oh Hi Scotland
Image credits: tentavia69
#65 Map Of Major Japanese Brands
Image credits: Adaffor
#66 Moose Distribution In Europe
Image credits: Risingmagpie
#67 No Body Lives Here. Found This Gem Reading The News Today
Image credits: Adaffor
#68 Light Pollution Map Of Great Britain
Image credits: InkyScrolls
#69 Similarities Between Scotland-Hokkaido And Wales-Shikoku
Image credits: BerryBlue_BlueBerry
#70 My Huge Drawing Of A Fictional Metro Area, Scanned In So You Can See All The Details!
Image credits: Hascerflef
#71 Elevation Map Of The USA Interstate Highways
Image credits: SHADOWJACK2112
#72 My Mother Is An Elementary School Principal, And She Gave Me This Huge, Ultra Detailed Classroom Map Of Norway
Image credits: larskvestad
#73 Dairy Herd Type In France
Image credits: rxlacroix
#74 Holland vs. The Netherlands
Image credits: reddit.com
#75 Germany’s Religious Divide
Image credits: reddit.com
#76 To Combat The Threat Of Desertification Of The Sahel (The Region Immediately To The South Of The Sahara), The African Union Is Leading An Initiative To Plant The Great Green Wall, A 7,775 Km (4,830 Mi) Belt Of Trees Crossing The Entire Breadth Of North Africa
Image credits: reddit.com
#77 Ottoman Map Of The Americas, 1908
Image credits: reddit.com
#78 Comparison Between The Last Time A Democrat Was Elected To A Senate Seat In Georgia (2000) And Last Night’s Democratic Victory
Image credits: reddit.com
#79 Aral Sea Evolution
Image credits: reddit.com
#80 The South Australian Border With Victoria And New South Wales Isn’t A Perfectly Straight Line
Image credits: reddit.com
#81 I Attempted To Draw Europe With 1 Hexagon Representing 1 Million People
Image credits: reddit.com
#82 My One Line Drawing Of California And Counties
Image credits: reddit.com
#83 Us States By Human Development Index
Image credits: reddit.com
#84 The World Of Infrastructure
Image credits: reddit.com
#85 Full Virtual Reconstruction Of Imperial Rome
Image credits: reddit.com
#86 You Can Just Squeeze UK In Canada’s Hudson Bay
Image credits: reddit.com
#87 A Map Of The Us Starting With As Few Edges As Possible
Image credits: reddit.com
#88 The West Coast Of North America – Roughly 215 Million Years Ago
Image credits: reddit.com
#89 Suicide Rates In Europe
Image credits: reddit.com
#90 Satisfying Ring Road – Feira De Santana, Brazil
Image credits: reddit.com
#91 All Roads Lead To Rome. This Map Is Visualises The Famous Roads Built By The Roman Empire. I Have Removed The Land To Highlight How Far This Empire Spread Its Infrastructure
Image credits: reddit.com
#92 Every Presidential Election In American History (1788-2020)
Image credits: reddit.com
#93 Regional Names For Nestle Water In The United States
Image credits: reddit.com
#94 Disastrous Shrinking Of Lake Chad, North Africa, From 1963 To 2007 Due To Climate Change And Increasing Desertification
Image credits: reddit.com
#95 Satirical Map Of Austria
Image credits: axVio2s
#96 Just Walked In The Room And Found My 6 Year Old Drawing Countries By Hand
Image credits: 89LeBaron
#97 This 1907 British Travel Advertisement Compares Cornwall To Italy
Image credits: rosy_fingereddawn
#98 The Swedish Empire At It’s Height
Image credits: european_american
#99 Is It A Well Known Fact That Google Maps On The Web Shows Real-Time Cloud Cover When Zoomed Out?
Image credits: AlexYYYYYY
#100 The State Of The Paris Agreement
Image credits: RaiseRuntimeError
#101 Tropical Rainforest vs. Desert! This Map Shows The Global Distribution Of Tropical Rainforests And Deserts (I Have Excluded Polar Deserts!) – Would Be Interesting To See How Different This Is In 10 Years Time
Image credits: symmy546
#102 Extent Of Deforestation In Borneo (1950-2020)
Image credits: vladgrinch
#103 Africa But Only The Green Part Of Flags
Image credits: Rockboy_1009
#104 Newspaper My Great Grandfather Saved From The End Of Wwii (I Have More Photos But This Subreddit Doesn’t Allow A Gallery)
Image credits: kndrio
#105 A Geometrical Flag Map Of Europe And Western Asia
Image credits: KanjiWolf
#106 Map Of Paris In The 15th Century Mape In Aoe2 (Reconstruction)
Image credits: VeniVidiCreavi
#107 Cannabis Consumption By Young People In Europe
Image credits: Salvatore__21
#108 The Oldest Universities In Continuous Operation
Image credits: bodafir
#109 A Map Of The World But It’s Just The Time Zones
Image credits: boldvinaxc
#110 Urban Megaregions Of The United States [oc]
Image credits: delugetheory
#111 Thought I‘D Share My Interpretation Of Dividing Germany
Image credits: tagamotchi
#112 Map Of The World, But It Is Only The Land Borders
Image credits: Pablo_BW
#113 Here Are 6 Ways To Divide Brazil
Image credits: Mervynhaspeaked
#114 Map That Shows The Land Mine Contamination In Bosnia And Herzegovina, In Which Roughly 2.4% Of The Entire Country’s Land Is Covered In Land Mines From The Yugoslav Wars
Image credits: Pablo_BW
#115 Let’s Figure Out Germany With A Close Look
Image credits: hard2resist
#116 Embroidery That Looks Like Rural England
Image credits: Petrarch1603
#117 An Over 2500 Mile Long Ley Line Of Michaels
Image credits: MotionEyes
#118 Gamer Has Made A Fully Playable Map Of Europe In Minecraft, 1:230 Scale, Using Nasa And Esa Satellite Data
Image credits: oska77rs
#119 A Map Of Middle-Earth… Build With LEGO !
Image credits: Coraille_Horn
#120 A Satirical Map Of Europe 2018
Image credits: bodafir
#121 French Territorial Evolution (985 – 1947)
Image credits: vladgrinch
#122 Average Elevation Above Sea Level Of European Countries [oc]
Image credits: casburism
#123 This Is Awesome
Image credits: Physical-Order
#124 The Street Layout In My City
Image credits: lazynoobminer
#125 Hand-Drawn Map Of The World In 1935
Image credits: Kuri_Tiit
#126 Translation Of The Idiom ‘Kill Two Birds With One Stone’ In European Languages
Image credits: languageseu
#127 Reforestation In France, Spain, Italy And Portugal 1900-2010
Image credits: reallyepicman
#128 River Basins Of South & East Asia
Image credits: AJgloe
#129 All Provinces Of Modern Europe Ever Ruled From A Capital Within Modern Day Germany
Image credits: fmwb
#130 The Longest Land Border Of France Is With Brazil
Image credits: vladgrinch
#131 Europe If Borders Were Set According To Road Distance To The Nearest Capital City
Image credits: mafmirkostt
#132 What Would Happen If The Mouth Of The Congo River Were Dammed
Image credits: kernals12
#133 Map I Made Out Of Pressed Flowers!
Image credits: _grumpycat1
#134 Interconnected Power Grids
Image credits: reddit.com
#135 It’s All To Me!
Image credits: reddit.com
#136 Nations Of Europe In Irish, With Gaelic Type
Image credits: reddit.com
#137 Language Map Of China (2000×1700)
Image credits: reddit.com
#138 I Was Bored, So I Made The United States Of Christmas Cookies
Image credits: hawkypunk
#139 2 Waves Of Covid In France
Image credits: Vaitfodeir
#140 Exaggerated Elevation Map Of California [oc]
Image credits: riverinemaps
#141 I (Tried To) Make A Topographic Pie Of The United States
Image credits: Comrade__Conrad
#142 Roundels By Country
Image credits: Assyrian_Nation
#143 Updated 2020 Stereotype Map Of Mexico
Image credits: GraudRoy
#144 Country Names In Turkish (Ending With -Istan Or -Ya)
Image credits: ersmes
#145 Last Time Each State Voted Red (2020 Edition)
Image credits: Axillus
#146 Average Sleep Duration
Image credits: trinitronbxb
#147 The Topography Of Vancouver Island
Image credits: boytutoy
#148 Topography Of The Land Of The Rising Sun (Nihon)
Image credits: boytutoy
#149 Languages In The Us
Image credits: RedPandaTag
#150 Map Of Slovakia’s Regions, Illustrated With Local Embroidery
Image credits: Hrdina_Imperia
#151 Prefectures Map Of Japan
Image credits: Citizen_JHS
#152 I Got College Mail From Every State And Made A Map Of The USA Out Of It!
Image credits: katebarnes2733
#153 The 17th Century Map Of The World In The Main Hall Of The Former City Hall Of Amsterdam. It Shows The Eastern And Western Hemphshire And A Celestial Map
Image credits: cpt_t37
#154 Ireland, South Korea And East Germany All Have Quite A Similar Shape
Image credits: Seal-Amundsen-11
#155 “New” In Indo-European Languages
Image credits: pm_me_some_sandpaper
#156 Europe (Detailed) – Ad 1066 – [6637×4983] [oc]
Image credits: Cyowari
#157 A Neat Little Map Guide
Image credits: PPedroSSancheZZ420
#158 Alsace, Eastern France, Topography Map
Image credits: ironproton
#159 The Topography Of Mediterranean Sea
Image credits: Preussen33
#160 Population Centers Of Each Us State From 1900-2010 (Blue Dot Is 1900, Red Dot Is 2010)
Image credits: EggEggEggEggOWO
#161 I Put An Upside-Down Map Of Europe On Top Of A Right-Side Up Map Of Europe And Traced Where They Overlapped
Image credits: AlolanZygarde23
#162 Tennessee In The 2000 And 2020 Us Presidential Elections
Image credits: ape_pants
#163 Real Size Of Countries
Image credits: reddit.com
#164 The Simpsons – Springfield
Image credits: reddit.com
#165 The Second Trump Impeachment Vote
Image credits: reddit.com
#166 Fact : The Gambian Eez Is Bigger Than The Gambia
Image credits: reddit.com
#167 South Korea Is One Of The Few Developed Countries That Still Reports Rabies Cases (Albeit Extremely Low Numbers—no Human Infection Since 2004 And No Animal Infection Since 2014). Officials Blame Unvaccinated Animals From North Korea Crossing Into The South Through The Porous Dmz
Image credits: mattok123
#168 Rdr2 Styled Map Of Istanbul
Image credits: mamadonaci
#169 Average Annual Snowfall By County
Image credits: Spooderman89
#170 The Gerrymandered States Of America: A Map In Which All States Are Gerrymandered To Allow Joe Biden To Win Every Electoral College Vote. (Note: Alaska And Hawaii Are The Same State On This Map) [oc]
Image credits: 22eyedgargoyle
#171 Where Boston Residents Own Cars vs. Where Boston Residents Get Hit By Cars
Image credits: MooseDaddy8
#172 Where The United States Is Uninhabited
Image credits: GrimSurgeon
#173 African-American Congressmen By State, 1870-1930
Image credits: trinitronbxb
#174 The Topography Of Sweden
Image credits: boytutoy
#175 The Republic Of Texas, A Real Country That Lasted 10 Years
Image credits: cheeseface35
#176 The 2021 USPS Delivery Regions
Image credits: IcallOutTheBS
#177 My Fiancée And I Got These Rings For Our Wedding Rings
Image credits: Taylor1337
#178 Europe (Detailed) – Ad 1337 – [6637×4983] [oc]
Image credits: Cyowari
#179 The Roman Empire vs. The Mongol Empire At Their Peaks
Image credits: vladgrinch
#180 Map Of Greek And Armenian Populated Areas Before And After The
Image credits: mapsgrey
#181 North American Electric Reliability Corporation Regions Map
Image credits: reddit.com
Source: boredpanda.com