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southwest history news

A zoom in on the Mississippi River, with the Arkansas river to the upper left. Arkansas is spelt how it's pronounced- with a W at the end.

Map of the Month: April 2024

The political boundaries of North America have gone through many changes. As part of New Spain, Central America was known as the Captaincy General of Guatemala, or the Kingdom of Guatemala. The territ...

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Screenshot of the 1918 National Parks and Monuments Online Web App showing a digitized version with information on Grand Canyon National Park shown.

New Web Application: 1918 National Parks and Monuments

A new Web App, 1918 National Parks and Monuments, is now live on ASU Geodata. This App digitizes a map of the National Park and Monument system in its infancy and overlays it across a modern map of th...

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A subsection of the National Parks and Monuments map showing a portion of the California-Nevada Border. Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Park are prominent, with red boundaries separating them from the green national forest boundaries.

Map of the Month: March 2024

The United States National Park Service (NPS) currently administers 63 National Parks and 85 National Monuments, among the astonishing 423 total areas managed by the agency. That scope wasn’t always s...

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A selection from a topographic map showing contours for elevation within the Grand Canyon

Map of the Month: September 2023

The Grand Canyon is one of the modern natural wonders of the world. It’s been mapped countless times over the years, and is the second most visited national park in the United States. However, the map...

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Johnson’s California, Territories of New Mexico and Utah, Map depicting the Southwest U.S. Territories of New Mexico, Utah, and the States of California and Colorado as they were in 1862. Zoomed over modern day Arizona.

Map of the Month: August 2023

One hundred and sixty one years ago, the American Civil War was raging all across the country. During the height of this conflict, The Territory of Arizona was officially established in February of 18...

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Magnification of the south-central mapping portion, showcasing Kingman, Arizona, home to the Bimetal Mine.

Map of the Month: April 2023

Our April Map of the Month is this 1907 map of the American Southwest titled, the ”Greatest Mineral Belt in the World”. The map depicts the breadth of gold, silver, and copper through the mineral belt...

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Historic map of American Southwest showing proposed railroad routes, southwestern topography, and wagon trail taken by surveyors in the Territory of New Mexico. Bold yellow text indicates the location, “Territory of New Mexico '', while small italicized black text represents indigenous tribes in the region like the Pah Utahs, Mohaves, Tontos, and Cosninas. Mountain ranges and high topography is represented by green areas with hatch marks reflecting elevation. The proposed railroad routes are in purple.

Map of the Month: September 2022

Our September Map of the Month is this mid-1800s map exploring the feasibility of constructing a trans-continental railroad route through Arizona. The full title is “Explorations and Surveys for a Rai...

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Magnification of the map inset showing the borders of Central American states. In the map, Honduras, Verapaz, Chiapas, Guatemala, and Nicaragua are depicted with boundaries which have drastically evolved since 1846. Boundaries are represented by a dotted or dashed line. Solid lines in the interior of the peninsula reflect major drainages. Concentric lines surrounding the peninsula reflect the elevational descent into the Gulf of Mexico.

Map of the Month: July 2022

Our July Map of the Month is this 1848 “Mexico & Guatemala” map published just before the end of the Mexican-American War by S. Augustus Mitchell. It features a detailed depiction of the various i...

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Historic map showing Oregon and eastern Missouri Territory. The bold, dashed borders reflect the 1849 boundaries between territories established by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Solid, bold lines reflect rivers and tributaries of the territories with several dozen labels of the indigenous tribes located in the region.

Map of the Month: February 2022

Our February Map of the Month is an early edition of this map of “Oregon, Upper California, and New Mexico” published in 1849. It depicts the western United States shortly after the 1848 Treaty of Gua...

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