Atlas Obscura
The definitive global compendium of the world’s most wondrous, curious, bizarre, and esoteric places, foods, and hidden histories.
The David Rumsey Map Collection is one of the world’s premier private cartographic archives, housed at Stanford University and completely digitized for public exploration. Featuring over 150,000 rare maps, atlases, globes, and maritime charts dating from 1550 to the present, it offers deep-zoom gigapixel viewers, 3D globes, and georeferenced historical overlays.
Key Cartographic Collection Features
- 150,000+ Digitized Masterpieces: Rare hand-colored world maps by Mercator, Ortelius, Blaeu, Cassini, and iconic city plans.
- Interactive 3D Globes: Wrap historical flat maps onto interactive rotating 3D virtual spheres in Google Earth and WebGL.
- Georeferencer Tool: Warps antique maps onto contemporary coordinates to trace infrastructure and geographic evolution over centuries.
- High-Resolution Public Downloads: Public domain maps can be downloaded at full gigapixel resolution for scholarly and creative use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the maps in the David Rumsey Collection free to download?
Yes. Most historical maps in the collection are in the public domain and available for non-commercial educational and personal download at full resolution.
Where is the physical David Rumsey collection located?
The physical collection was donated by David Rumsey to the Stanford University Libraries in the David Rumsey Map Center.
What is the oldest map in the collection?
The collection includes works dating back to the 16th century, including early editions of Ptolemy’s Geographia and Ortelius’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.
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Relevant Navigation
Old Maps Online
Search engine and historical geography portal indexing hundreds of thousands of digitized antique maps from world-class libraries.
LightningMaps
Community-powered real-time lightning detection map visualizing lightning strokes and thunder front expansions as they happen.
The True Size Of…
Interactive geographic comparison tool that lets you drag countries across the globe to reveal their actual size without Mercator map distortion.
USGS Earthquake Hazards Map
Official United States Geological Survey real-time seismic monitoring map displaying worldwide earthquakes, magnitudes, and fault lines.
Global Forest Watch
Real-time satellite monitoring and open data platform tracking global forest loss, deforestation alerts, and tree cover change.
WindowSwap
Serene community platform allowing you to open a new window and gaze out of someone’s window somewhere across the world.
Internet Live Stats
Dynamic real-time counters visualizing the scale of global digital activity, Google searches, tweets, videos, and internet traffic.
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