Maps and Atlases
Citing Maps
Maps are available in a variety of formats and materials: as individual
paper sheet maps; as plates or illustrations in atlases, books or journals;
as digital image maps in CD-ROMs or on web pages; or as generated by users
through online mapping services or GIS software.
As with all scholarly work, use of maps should be cited. A map should
be referenced in two places:
- Complete bibliographic citation at the end of your work, providing
the map's author and publisher.
- Brief inline citation providing a descriptive title. This helps readers
to locate the full citation in the bibliography or reference list.
Choose from the examples* listed below to see citation styles closest
to your situation:
Single Sheet Map
Format: Author. Title [map]. Edition.
Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.
Example: U.S. Department of the Air Force. U.S. Army
Forces in WWII, 1941-1945. [map]. Scale not given. Washington,
D.C.: Department of the Air Force, 1993.
Atlas Citation
Format: Author. Title. Edition. Place
of publication: Publisher, Date.
Example: Orr, Douglas M. The North Carolina Atlas:
Portrait for a New Century. Chapel Hill, NC: University
of North Carolina Press. 2000.
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Map from an Atlas
Format: Map Author. Map title [format].
Scale. In: Atlas Author. Atlas title. Edition. Place of publication:
Publisher, Date. page.
Example: Hillsborough [map]. Scale not
given. In: Universal Map (Firm). Street Atlas of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel
Hill & Vicinity: North Carolina. Williamston, MI: Universal Map,
1995. page 26.
Map in a Topographic Series
Format: Author. Sheet title, Number [format].
Edition. Scale. Series title. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.
Example: U.S. Geological Survey. Raleigh West quadrangle,
North Carolina [map]. Photorevised 1993. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute
Series. Reston, Va: United States Department of the Interior, USGS, 1999.
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Map in a Series
Format: Author. Sheet title, Number [format].
Edition. Scale. Series title. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.
Example: U.S. Geological Survey. The North America
Tapestry of Time and Terrain [map]. Version 1. 1:8,000,000.
Geologic Investigations Series; I-2781. Reston, Va: U.S. Department of
the Interior, USGS, 2003.
Map from a Book
Format: Map Author. Map title [format].
Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date (if known). In: Book Author.
Book title. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date, page.
Example: Griffler, Keith P. Underground Railroad
[map]. Scale not given. In: Front line of freedom: African Americans
and the Forging of the Underground Railroad in the Ohio Valley. Lexington,
Ky: University Press of Kentucky, 2004, page 30
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Map from the Web
Format: Author if known. Map Title [map]. Date of map creation
if known. Scale. “Title of the Complete Document or Site”.
Date posted if known. <URL> (date accessed).
Example: North Carolina Dept. of Agriculture. Agriculture Overview
[map]. "North Carolina Department of Agriculutre and Consumer Services."
Last updated September 2003. <http://www.ncagr.com/stats/general/general1.htm>
(accessed December 20, 2004).
Map from a Periodical
Format: Map Author if known. Map Title [format]. Scale if known.
In: Article Author. "Article Title," Journal Title volume
(year): page.
Example: Smithers, Jane. Regional Cuisine of Spain [map].
Scale unknown. In: Smithers, Jane. "Fabulous Flavors,"
Excellent Eating 11 (1999): 57.
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Map Generators
Format: Author or statement of responsibility. Map Title [map].
Data date if known. Scale; Name of person who generated map; Name of software
used to generate the map or “Title of the Complete Document or Site”.
<URL> (date generated).
Example: United States Census Bureau. Median Age: 2000, Wake
County, NC by County Subdivision [map].2000. Scale undetermined; generated
by George McAllister; using “American FactFinder”. <http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en>
(22 December 2002).
CD-ROM or DVD Maps
Format: Author. Title. [format]. Edition.
Place of publication: Publisher, Date.
Example: ESRI Ltd. ArcCanada [CD-ROM].
Version 2.0. North York, Ontario: Environmental Systems Research Institute,
1999.
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Facsimile or Reproduction Maps
Format: Author. Title. [format]. Scale.
Place of Publication: Publisher, Date. As reproduced by: Publisher, Date.
Example: Popple, Henry. 18th Century North America
[facsimile]. 1 inch to 50 miles. London, England: 1733. As reproduced
by: Harry Margary, 2004.
Real Time Maps
Format: Author. Title [format]. Date
produced and time if known. Scale. "Title of document or site".
<URL> (date accessed).
Example: North Carolina Department of Transportation. Current
Wake County Traffic Conditions [map]. 03/10/04, 15:07:20.
Scale not given. "North Carolina Department of Transportation".
<http://apps.dot.state.nc.us/tims/> (10 March 2004).
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Aerial Photos
Format: Source. Title [format]. Scale.
Line/roll number. Photo number. Place of publication. Date.
Example: UCLA Department of Geography. Malibu
[air photo]. 1:30,000. Photo #17a. L.A., Calif. 1947.
GIS-Produced Map
Format: Map Title. [format]. Scale. Database
name [type of medium]. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Using GIS
software: Title [type of software].
Example: Virginia Railway Network. [computer
map]. 1:25000. National Transportation Atlas Databases. Washington, D.C.:
US Department of Transportation, 2000. Using ArcGIS [GIS software]. Version
8.3. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute, 1992-2004.
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CIA Outline Map Series
Format: Title [physical/political] [format].
Base number. Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.
Example: India [Physical] [map]. Base
802510 (R00903) 12-96. [ca. 1:16,666,666]. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence
Agency, 1996.
*The citation examples above are adapted from:
Clark, Suzanne M., Mary Lynette Larsgaard, and Cynthia M. Teague. Cartographic
Citations: A Style Guide, MAGERT Circular No. 1. Chicago:
American Library Association, 1992.
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