Our Favorite Maps of the Year Cover Everything From Bayous to Bullet Trains

Here are some of the maps we came across this year that captivated us with their brains, their beauty, and in many cases, both.
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"I really love the challenge of making new things look old," said mapmaker Stephen Smith. He was inspired to make this map of US natural resources by a similar British map from around 1940 that he came across in the Boston Public Library. "Many people told me my map reminded them of their grade school wall atlas," he said.<a href="http://www.mapsmith.net" target="_blank">Stephen Smith</a>

What makes a great map? It depends, of course, on who's doing the judging. Teh internetz loves a map with dazzling colors and a simple message, preferably related to some pop-culture phenomenon. Professional mapmakers love a map that's aesthetically pleasing and based on solid principles of cartographic design.

We love maps that have a story to tell, the kind of maps where the more you look the more you see. Sometimes we fall for a map mostly because of the data behind it. Sometimes, we're not ashamed to say, we love a map just for the way it looks. Here are some of the maps we came across this year that captivated us with their brains, their beauty, and in many cases, both.

First, check out the animated map below to see a day's worth of air traffic over the UK, then toggle the arrow at top right to see the rest of the maps in fullscreen mode.

UK 24 from NATS on Vimeo.