Explore new territory in the Google Maps Gallery

Sometimes the Internet is like visiting a town you haven't seen for years and finding that all new buildings have sprung up where there were only vacant lots. The changes are in the past but new to you. I feel that way most of the time about my rambles on the Web, but the changes don't take years, sometimes they happen overnight. Well, in this case, I can't determine when this website popped into existence, but it is certainly going to impact what we do in genealogy map-wise from now on. Google has the capacity to make a brand new website look like it has been there all the time.

Google Map Gallery is certainly one of those programs that appear full-blown with content. There doesn't seem to be any indication of how many maps are on this website, but the number is climbing because anyone with online maps can contribute their maps to the gallery. Do you need a map of all of the present U.S. school districts, both elementary and secondary? Well, the U.S. Census has an interactive map of the entire U.S. showing every district. Here is a screenshot of my part of Arizona: (You can click on any image to enlarge it)

This is obviously a website that takes some considerable time to explore. Another example is an overlaid map of the battles of the U.S. Civil war from the National Geographic Society:

Zooming in on that Civil War map looks like this:

In addition, there is a further gallery of related maps:

This may take some time to figure out exactly how best to use this new-to-me website.