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Wall StreetOn Google Maps, Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in New York City’s Financial District. But over the years, the term “Wall Street” has evolved to mean much more than that.
“Wall Street” became shorthand for all things finance after it cemented itself as the financial center of the US. The mythos of the district—and the high-level finance professionals working there (aka “Wall Streeters”)—has evolved into a cultural phenomenon, giving rise to a multitude of popular movies and books inspired by Wall Street’s energy.
While some financial institutions—such as the New York Stock Exchange—are still located on Wall Street, these days you’re more likely to find a luxury gym or apartment complex on those eight blocks than a major bank’s headquarters. Technological evolutions and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks hitting the Financial District in 2001 may have led to the Wall Street exodus.Explore Wall Street
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The European Space Agency's Euclid telescope maps dark matterAs light rays travel near massive objects in space, their paths can be distorted on their way to Earth, causing objects to appear displaced, magnified, shrunken, or sheared. By simulating these effects for various mass distributions, astronomers can match the distortion to a simulated mass and compare it with the observed visible matter to infer the presence of dark matter. ESA Space Science HubView animated battle maps from every major skirmish of the warThe American Battlefield Trust's animated maps trace every major Civil War battle with moving troop lines, narration, and historical context—bringing the strategies, turning points, and human cost of the war to life. American Battlefield Trust3 US maps illustrate transplants, donors, and organ waitlist additions—by stateNational UNOS tracking data feeds into these US maps that record all the transplants, donors, and waitlist additions in the last 12 months. California, for example, had the most transplantations in 2025—totaling about 5,200—but it also has the longest waiting list, with more than 20,000 additions in that same period. United Network for Organ SharingGeorge Washington was an expert in maps and cartographyTrained as a surveyor, Washington routinely studied, annotated, and drew maps throughout his life. He relied on cartography to navigate frontier lands, plan military campaigns across vast distances, and make strategic decisions on borders, settlement, and governance. Smithsonian MagazineClark’s maps provided the first detailed record of the American WestCovering over 8,000 miles, William Clark’s maps charted rivers, mountains, and tribal territories with remarkable accuracy. Equipped with sextants, compasses, telescopes, and more, Clark became an expert at surveying—requiring extensive celestial and topographical observations each day. National Parks ServiceThe Council on Foreign Relations maps conflicts to watch in 2026This interactive map highlights conflicts to watch in 2026, rating each by likelihood and potential impact and allowing users to explore detailed background on every potential hotspot. Council on Foreign RelationsView maps of the Milky Way across all wavelengths of lightBy combining imaging from ground- and space-based telescopes designed to capture specific wavelengths of light, phenomena across a range of energies can be observed. If limited to a single frequency range, astronomers would not be aware of some cosmological events, such as those whose visible light is blocked by dust. NASAVideo and still images are combined with sonar data to create seafloor mapsSonar works by sending thousands of sound pulses per second towards the seafloor, capturing the strength and timing of the returning echo. This data can accurately reveal depth, seafloor texture, and the presence of fish habitats to millimeter resolutions. NOAA Ocean ExplorationView maps of seafloor topography, earthquakes, and volcanic activityEarthquakes and volcanoes are most common at plate boundaries, where moving plates interact. Mapping the locations of these events creates outlines for the different tectonic plates on Earth, whose movements can be tracked via GPS satellites. National Park ServiceView depictions of world maps throughout historyThe first map to use latitude and longitude positions was created by Ptolemy in 150 CE, over 700 years after the oldest known world map, the Imago Mundi, was made with a Babylonian clay tablet. The Spanish crown created a secret master map from hundreds of sailors’ reports. Visual CapitalistCreate digital maps of Earth with custom sketches and labelsIn this interactive, users can apply layers to various base maps to display natural and human features, including geological activity, biomes, ocean currents, population densities, and light pollution. Custom legends, markers, and drawings can be used to highlight prominent features. ArcGISExplore interactive global maps of cancer prevalenceCancer is a ubiquitous disease, with populations across the globe having incidence rates that reflect various risk factors. The Cancer Atlas lets users explore a comprehensive global overview of cancer statistics, including incidence, mortality, prevalence, and survival rates across various regions and Human Development Index categories. American Cancer SocietyHow do maps get their place names in multilingual areas?In countries with multiple local dialects, cartographers struggle to standardize place names enough to create maps of the region. This process inevitably leads to conflict. Case in point, Switzerland, where in the late 1800s many dialects called the same places by different names, leading one alienated community to demand the return of its local names. Read about this and several other examples of contentious place-naming on maps here. Swiss National MuseumAn archive of the art of the Sanborn fire insurance mapsFor a century, US insurance companies used Sanborn Fire Maps to decide the premiums customers would pay for fire insurance. These maps were designed to show the building materials used in each structure in 12,000 communities across 300,000 maps. While they have become obsolete, these maps are still useful for historians and urban designers, and anyone interested in lovely, original typography. Dive into the most artful Sanborn Fire Maps with this passion project collection. Sanborn Fire MapsA collection of contemporary maps from World War IINewspapers published detailed maps of the conflict in real-time. See different portrayals of the situation, ranging from propaganda maps to speculative maps about the war's outcome. The fascinating depictions reveal how maps can show us the aspirations and intentions of different players in a global conflict. Nathan GoldwagThe Manhattan Project created secret cities that didn’t appear on mapsTo maintain secrecy, the US built three remote research facilities and entire “secret cities” to house thousands of workers and families. These communities—home to tens of thousands—were omitted from official maps until after World War II. The GuardianView US maps of monthly and annual averages of total daily solar resourcesThe state you live in and the month of the year drastically change how much solar energy you can expect to capture to power your home. These National Renewable Energy Laboratory maps show where you can generate solar resources year-round. National Renewable Energy Laboratory40 maps that explain North KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is one of the most misunderstood countries in the world. Use these maps and charts, compiled by Vox, for context and clarity on North Korea.
North Korea has a large military and an advanced nuclear... VoxRed and blue election maps are a modern media inventionThe red–blue color scheme used on election night maps emerged in the 20th century as television networks adopted color graphics to make results easier to follow. The association of red with Republicans and blue with Democrats later became standardized. VoxMaps of murder across medieval EnglandThese interactive maps show the sites of murders across York, Oxford, and London during the 14th Century. Explore the data by clicking site pins or experimenting with map filters, including crime scene type and murder weapon. Each pin includes a blurb on what researchers concluded about the attack, such as how a fight between the London fishmonger and skinner guilds during August 1340 ultimately left one man dead. Murder MapsWhy are all maps of the world wrong?This 5-minute video explains why all maps to date are verifiably wrong. While globes can provide an accurate map and scale of the various continents, flattening that sphere has historically meant something will be distorted, whether land, sea, or... YouTubeHow one man put a fictional island on centuries of real mapsThis article details how the mythical island of Frisland came to occupy maps for centuries. According to Nicolò Zeno, the very real island was discovered by his ancestors nearly 200 years earlier, something he learned about by accident when he stumbled upon a trove of letters that he promptly destroyed. Zeno's claim of validity, published as a novel in 1558, was assisted by his release of a map of Frisland. Though made in the style of the 16th century, Zeno said the map dated back to the 1390s. By 1580, Frisland had been claimed in the name of England. Atlas ObscuraThe hidden history of Sanborn mapsDuring the late 19th and early 20th century the Sanborn Map Company created hundreds of detailed maps of towns and cities across America. Originally meant to provide fire insurance companies documents to assess rates—something Sanborn held an effective monopoly on for decades—the maps now provide an invaluable look at the layout and organization of early US communities, many of which no longer exist. This rich deep dive looks at the history of Sanborn maps and how to read them. ArcGISThis flat map is still wrong, but it's the least wrong of all flat mapsWhile flat maps can never be as perfectly scaled as a globe, they're far more practical than carrying around a sphere. Researchers set out to minimize six major errors of flat maps, including boundary cuts and skewed proportions, by simply squashing... Scientific AmericanMaps of early America (1400-1800)An archive of historical maps of early America during the early Colonial Period through the Revolutionary War. University of South Florida37 maps that explain the American Civil WarThis collection of 37 maps tells the story of the American Civil War as well as any historical account. See how and where the war began and why, and where the major battles were fought. Discover how the North achieved victory and the many ways the war changed America forever. VoxSearch this digital archive of 19th-century "panoramic" maps of US and Canadian citiesThe panoramic map was a popular cartographic form used to depict U.S. and Canadian cities and towns during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. You can peruse a gallery of almost 2,000 of them in this digital archive from the Library... Library of CongressIllustrating the beginning and end of WWI through mapsIn August of 1914, Germany invaded an ostensibly neutral Belgium, kick-starting World War I. The war became one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, decimating Europe and reshaping global politics for the next century. It also brought forward sweeping and terrifying new military technologies, a product of the Industrial Revolution. Explore 40 maps explaining the Great War in detail. VoxUS wind maps: explore installed and potential wind energyNational and state maps showing the wind speed and potential wind capacity across the US. U.S. Department of EnergyScientists used mass spectrometry to determine the materials in a 1690 paintingPreviously used to map the distribution of molecules on biological tissue samples, researchers combined the technique with machine learning to uncover six layers of pigments, binders, and a thin gold leaf layer within *The Marriage of the Virgin*, from a collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The technique may help identify and track artists' material use to learn about pieces of unknown provenance. (Some readers may experience a paywall.) Chemical & Engineering NewsVisualize real-time and historical atmospheric conditions from around the worldThis tool provides live maps of wind, rain, thunderstorms, and other atmospheric phenomena overlayed on an interactive map of the Earth. Users can enter their location to explore local atmospheric dynamics and review historical weather conditions dating back to 1979. VentuskyExplore rare artifacts from the archives at Mount VernonThis series from Washington's Presidential Library showcases rare books, maps, letters, and artifacts from his collection. It illuminates how he learned, governed, traveled, and understood the world around him. George Washington's Mount VernonVisualize the global Venezuelan diasporaThis visualization maps Venezuela’s mass diaspora, showing how millions have fled abroad—primarily to Latin America, with significant flows to the US and Europe—creating one of the most significant displacement crises in the world. Brilliant MapsMapping fiction's imagined breakdowns of the US after apocalypsePost-apocalyptic fiction in the US is at least a century old, and how the future is envisioned reflects contemporary anxieties and divisions. This piece examines the various creative maps birthed from the tradition from Jack London's 1912 "The Scarlet Plague," a pandemic novel set in 2073, through Stephen King's "The Stand", dystopian "The Hunger Games," and visions of civil war. Big ThinkExplore key locations in Kurt Cobain's life with this interactive mapThe "Grungeology" project maps out key moments, influences, and impacts of Cobain's life in and around Grays Harbor County. Click through the map's many historical spots and learn how Nirvana's band leader navigated his hometown as his fame and music grew. GrungeologyThe Erie Canal runs 363 miles from Albany to BuffaloMostly using the low elevations of the Mohawk River Valley, the canal project connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic seaboard for the first time. This site has a series of old and new maps of the canal. Erie CanalView a distribution of wind turbine locations across the USAs of May 2025, the US Wind Turbine Database maps and provides technical specifications for 76,051 onshore and offshore turbines from 1,794 projects, ranging from small installations to large-scale wind farms. USGSView a map of the world’s major earthquakes from 1956-2022Such maps can help identify tectonic plate boundaries. The most significant earthquakes are characteristic of converging plates, such as those in the Circum-Pacific Belt and the Alpine-Himalayan Belt, where the Himalayas continue to grow. Visual CapitalistSelection of wind farm sites considers wildlife impacts and wind resource potentialEnvironmental impact studies, wind energy maps, anemometer data, and local, state, and federal regulations factor into wind farm projects, including offshore farms. Wind projects on public lands require additional permitting. US Department of EnergyView the most turbulent flight routes and airports around the worldUsing data from NOAA and the UK Met Office, these maps identify South America as the geographic region with the highest average turbulence. The most turbulent flights in North America are all found in the western United States. VoronoiThe 25 largest cities in the Americas by populationFrom Canada to Argentina, this map highlights which cities across the Americas are the most populous (by how many live within the city limits). The largest is São Paulo in Brazil at 12.3 million. Brilliant MapsRanchos were large land grants in California to Spanish, Mexican leading familiesThey were typically given to leading families or retired soldiers as means of settling the land with loyal people. The hundreds of ranchos have since shaped land-use policy in the area, determining plots of major cities and ranches today. History MapsSee where and how many microplastics are in the average human bodyThis diagram maps the extent to which microplastics have been found across human organ systems, tissues, and fluids. Beyond the locations shown, microplastics have also been found in the stomach, brain, and sex organs. ResearchGateVisualizing how changes to lineups would impact historical baseball gamesThis visual essay maps how data-informed lineup construction has revolutionized baseball. Amid the embrace of analytics, the game's best overall hitters were moved from the third spot to second, power bats were shifted out of the "cleanup" role, and speedsters—typically the leadoff batters—were pushed to the bottom half of the nine-player lineup. Joe Carter, the hero of the '93 World Series, likely never hits his iconic walk-off from the cleanup spot in a modern lineup. The PuddingA chat with YouTube CEO Neal MohanIn a conversation with Bloomberg, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan maps out how the company is taking what it’s learned thus far and embedding itself into the “lean-back” TV viewing experience. BloombergWatch Mediterranean power shift over millennia with this animated mapThe ancient Mediterranean holds a vast amount of history; from Egypt to Rome, the coasts of this sea are home to some of the most advanced ancient civilizations. This video displays on a map the many different civilizations that rose and fell around the fertile region, from the year 2500 BCE to 0 BCE. Frisco DojeniaExplore a comprehensive archive of US presidential election dataThis University of California, Santa Barbara archive compiles presidential election data from 1789 to the present, including popular vote totals, turnout figures, and contextual resources that explain how the electoral process and political landscape have evolved. The American Presidency ProjectMeet Hipparchus, the Greek astronomer who created the world's first star mapAstronomer Hipparchus created accurate maps of the night sky way ahead of his time, with coordinates sometimes within a single degree of modern values. Hipparchus founded a new theory of star motion, modeling the sky as a celestial sphere with coordinates similar to latitude and longitude—concepts only recently created in Hipparchus' time. Sky & TelescopeExplore an interactive timeline and map of dinosaurs across the globeThis tool maps dinosaur habitats based on fossil sites around the world. It includes short articles and additional information—including size, diet, and weight—about each dinosaur. A timeline and data table also allow users to compare dinosaur emergence and extinction dates. Jeffrey RiceSee a timeline of colonial settlement in North AmericaThis interactive timeline uses archival maps, illustrations, and documents to trace early American history—from the failed 1590 Roanoke colony and Indigenous accounts of a devastating smallpox epidemic to the political tensions that culminated in the Revolutionary War. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
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