Map Shanty

Here are some more really interesting maps, some historical, some not...

Blood Boundaries: Plans for Redrawing the Middle East: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=3882 (Scroll down for map)
"This map is showcased and presented as the brainchild of retired Lieutenant-Colonel (U.S. Army) Ralph Peters, who believes the redesigned borders contained in the map will fundamentally solve the problems of the contemporary Middle East" - shows how maps of political/social states that don't even exist yet can influence foreign policy and public opinion

Etymological Place-Name Map http://www.radicalcartography.net/?etymomap
This one shows where, linguistically, many place-names in the Americas originate. Kind of crazy when you look at the whole Western portion of the US and remember that it was all once Native, then Spanish, and then Mexican, and then American...

Air Lines: http://www.lx97.com/maps/
A really pretty map that graphically depicts the routes of commercial air liners with literally no other graphic representations - no borders, no colors, no water/land distinctions.

Election Cycles: http://contexts.org/socimages/2008/11/30/have-we-moved-to-the-left-it-de...
These two maps, when compared, show how easy it is to be 'tricked' by maps. One suggests that the US has, electorally, moved way over to the left, as based on the results of the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections. The other shows that the US has in fact shifted largely to the right in terms of votes in the last five elections.

1934 Philadelphia Redlining Map http://contexts.org/socimages/2008/11/30/1934-philadelphia-redlining-map/
A even better example than the Sanborn maps of the linkage between mapmaking and abuses of power/corporate greed. This one depicts redlined neighborhoods in Philly - neighborhoods that denied bank loans based on the race of the residents.