One of the perks of the end of the cold war is the global positioning satellite system, called GPS. A series of satellites in geosychronus orbit (they are in a fixed location and don't move) allows a GPS device - a receiver - to use several of them at a time to fix your position on Earth.
GPS devices cost less than $200 these days. There are many varieties, and there are software programs that turn your computer laptop, with a GPS device attached, into a visual directional aid as you drive across the country.
DeLorme
www.delorme.com
DeLorme has a product called Street Atlas USA for both Mac and PC platforms. Combined with their EarthMate GPS device it would be hard to get lost.
Earthmate and a laptop will show your location on detailed Street Atlas USA® maps. An arrow shows your position in real time on street-level maps, so you always know where you are and where you are heading. If you have it attached to a Mac portable you can have Street Atlas talk to you giving step by step directions.
The Map program is very easy to use. Just type in an address, zip code, placename, and a detailed map will appear. You have many tools to fine tune the map and you can print it on a color printer for great looking maps. Type in a destination address and you can have your own personalized guide with time and milage. There are some differences between the Mac and PC products. You can import raw data into the PC program to create specialized maps. I guess they believe Mac people are not researchers.
The package retails for less than $180 and that includes the GPS receiver. They have versions for Mac, PC and Palm Pilot.
If you like working with USGS maps, Delorme has a new product called 3-D TopoQuads
According to Delorme, the USGS maps have been scanned directly by the USGS and are then powered by the feature-rich DeLorme software engine. You can access these USGS raster maps in 17 smooth-scrolling viewing levels in addition to 80 levels of updated DeLorme vector data. In short, you can view these USGS maps in 3-D and they look very cool. Great as teaching aids. They are available for each State.
You can view a sample on their Web site. It appears they do not have a Mac version, only for the PC and Palm.
Mountain Maps
Mountain High Maps, published by Digital Wisdom, Tappahannock, Virginia is distributed on two CD-ROMs and features over 100 relief maps - both flat map projections and globe projections.
Each grayscale map is offered in three resolutions-72 dpi, 100 dpi and 300 dpi, and with masks for ocean and land areas. You see their maps everyday in major newspapers. These are some of the most stunning visuals I've seen.
The manual that accompanies the disc set is also one of the best produced tutorials giving you detailed instructions on how to use the maps in Photoshop, Freehand, Quark Xpress, Pagemaker, and Coral Draw. It gives tips on the use of color and masking. With the masks, you can produce maps that only show cities, landforms, borders, etc.
Making Your Own Maps
There are also links to a digital terrain database and environmental data. It's free.
These are authentic USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle maps with DeLorme's own updated topographic and street-level data combined.
http://www.digiwis.com/welcome.htm
The product sells for just under $1,000.
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/topo/globeget.shtml
The Global Land One-km Base Elevation (GLOBE) Project: Get GLOBE Data is a National Geophysical Data Center project. Here are the actual raw data coordinates from satellites that let you download into your own computer and with PhotoShop, and other programs, make superb maps of the world.