cool maps

Traffic speed data in RIchmond - colors are kinda hard to differentiate? But still cool.

Across Virginia’s capital region, landowners are seeing development increase at staggering rates. The Capital Region Land Conservancy is here to protect lands through voluntary conservation easements and through the acquisition of land through donation or purchase. Our projects cover farmland, forests, historic battlefields, rivers and streams, and vulnerable ecosystems. We give great care to projects from small family farms to monumental undertakings like protecting Malvern Hill Farm. 

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Map adjacent - analysis of different cities' street orientation as compared to the cardinal directions. Fascinating. I would love to see them arrayed on a globe or at least in latitude order.

This post is adapted from this research paper that you can read/cite for more info. It analyzes and visualizes 100 cities around the world.

The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) is a map released every Thursday, showing where drought is and how bad it is across the U.S. and its territories. The map uses six classifications: normal conditions, abnormally dry (D0), showing areas that may be going into or are coming out of drought, and four levels of drought: moderate (D1), severe (D2), extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4).

They have many many excellent tools for viewing their data, which are well displayed and easily interactive.

Several different agencies take turns updating the map :)