Collections

Map Collections

The Wall Map Collection

The department administers and maintains a collection of over 700 wall maps. These maps are used for instruction by faculty and students campus-wide. The collection is well rounded with maps focusing on the physical world (geomorphology, climate, biota, geology), as well as maps that portray political, economic and historic themes. The collection is global in coverage, with maps ranging from various world, continental, regional, national and urban depictions. It is strong in many regions including: Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and California. The collection varies in age, with modern maps along side maps dating back over one hundred years.

The Flat Map Collection

The department has a small collection of flat maps, with a primary focus on California and a secondary focus on general maps of the World.

The department flat map collection is redundant to the collections housed in the campus Map Library (located on the ground floor of McCone) and is provided for easy access to faculty and students. The collection is not indexed and no searchable database is provided.

The Topographic Map Collection

The department has a large collection of topographic maps of the following western states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii.

Many successive runs of 15 minute and 7.5 minute quads are available that cover California and Nevada. In addition, we have an indexed collection of more than 200 topo quad sets (multiple copies) that highlight specific geomorphological phenomena for use as a hands-on instructional tool.

The Atlas Collection

The department has a moderate size collection of atlases, both world and regional. The collection is strongest in world atlases and regionally strongest in California atlases.

Magic Lantern Slides

The Geography Department has a collection of thousands of turn-of-the-century glass lantern slides. These four are offered as a small sample. A major effort is currently underway to scan all of the images, beginning with those of California, and make them available on the web.