SOURCES & CREDITS
Good maps begin with good sources.
A source explains a fact. A credit explains where a map, image or piece of artwork came from. Both matter.
Look for “Sources & context”
Guided lessons include source links and context near the activity. Place guides link to evidence for their facts. Check the units and reference year when comparing numbers, and the date when reading history.
A national overview simplifies shorelines and small boundaries. Alaska and Hawaiʻi may appear as insets at different scales. Raised shapes do not always represent elevation, and decorative waves do not measure real currents. Read the map’s note before comparing what you see.
Some of the sources behind the atlas
- U.S. Census BureauU.S. regions and divisions
- National Park ServiceNational parks and their context
- U.S. SenateState histories and statehood
- NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research LaboratoryGreat Lakes measurements
- Natural EarthGeneralized geographic data
This is an introduction, not every source used in every lesson. The relevant activity contains the more specific references.
Map and artwork licenses
- Surface imagery, terrain and park boundariesNASA, elevation providers and map limitations
- U.S. place and history photographsCreators, original files and individual image licenses
- D.C. and U.S. island mapsCensus geometry, close-up extents and separate inset scales
- U.S. lake shorelinesNatural Earth, OpenStreetMap, island holes and water-level limits
- U.S. river connectionsSource reaches, downstream direction, map projections and imagery
- U.S. mountains and living desertsMountain regions, summit locators, local desert examples and image credits
- U.S. territories and capital-district orientationGeographic overviews, island close-ups and independent scales
- National park datesAll 63 parks, specific events and primary date sources
- U.S. animals, plants and habitatsLocal examples, seasonal limits and individual photograph credits
- State flagsArtwork sources and individual licenses
- U.S. Atlas geometryMap dataset license
- Three.js3D rendering library license
- LucideInterface icon license
BrytaMaps’ copyright does not replace these third-party licenses.