# U.S. geographic orientation maps

Checked 7 September 2026.

The Pacific map uses [Natural Earth 1:110m land, version 4.1.0](https://naciscdn.org/naturalearth/110m/physical/ne_110m_land.zip), public domain. A Pacific-centered equirectangular projection preserves geographic positions but distorts area and distance. Wave marks are clipped to ocean, and movement is illustrative. Land color is a map symbol, not vegetation. Three enlarged markers locate the largest island polygon in each territory; they do not show the whole territory. These are not resized, moved island insets.

The marker locations and the capital-district location derive from [Census 2025 cartographic boundaries](https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/GENZ2025/kml/cb_2025_us_state_500k.zip). The [Caribbean map](https://www.naturalearthdata.com/downloads/50m-cultural-vectors/50m-admin-0-details/) retains Natural Earth 5.1.1 1:50m regional geometry already reviewed for the Caribbean atlas. Its context includes nearby countries and areas.

“Look closer” switches to the separate Census coastline atlas. Those close-up panels have independent scales and omit some outer islands as stated on the map. They cannot be used to measure distance between territories. Washington, D.C. also has its own Maryland/Virginia close-up.