Geography teachers love maps!

…and so do many other educators, environmentalists, historians, politicians, technologists, and curious citizens the world over. Representing an organization with a proud history of producing authoritative and appealing maps, we are constantly bombarded with requests from educators about these resources, and it’s no surprise that the Mapping section of our new Education website is the most popular feature by far.

In an effort to better meet the needs of our map enthusiast friends, we will publish more blog posts about maps in 2012,  including new releases from National Geographic’s Map group, and a few from our own Education group.

In this week’s Five For Friday, we take you into the trenches of the Maps division for 2011 cartographic updates and information about new maps coming to press in 2012.

2011 Updates
National Geographic’s cartographers are constantly at work editing our iconic maps as a result of changes in political and physical geography. Below are some 2011 developments.

1. July–South Sudan: On July 9, South Sudan becomes the world’s 195th independent nation.

2. August–Libya: The conventional long form name for Libya–Great Socialist
People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya–no longer applies. Libya becomes the
country’s formal conventional name.

3. August–Challenger Deep: Sonar mapping of the Mariana Trench, conducted by the
University of New Hampshire’s Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping,
determines that the Challenger Deep–the deepest point on Earth–has a new
maximum depth of -10,994 m (-36,070 ft).

Keep reading to find out what’s on the horizon for 2012!

New in 2012

4. National Geographic’s wall maps will mark several key anniversaries in
2012, including the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and
the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.

5. The Destination Map series will expand with seven more
titles this year (e.g. Sierra Nevada, Canadian Rockies). By the end of 2012, the line of
AdventureMaps will exceed 70 titles (e.g. Cuba, France). National Geographic Maps will also
launch a new line of State Recreation Atlases (e.g. Alabama, Michigan). And finally, National Geographic will release new Trails
Illustrated topographic maps for popular outdoor recreation areas (e.g. Canada’s Banff and Jasper National Parks).

These updates were taken almost verbatim from the National Geographic Maps January newsletter. View the complete January newsletter and subscribe to the newsletter to receive regular Maps news (you’ll notice on the subscription page that you can also sign up for our Education newsletters, the Compass: Educator Edition and Compass: Family Edition–a must if you don’t already get them!)