Settlements
Why Rivers Draw Settlements into Valleys
Why rivers draw settlements into valleys becomes clear when you read the river, slopes and routes together to explain…
The collection
All stories
Explore the changing patterns of the world through its landscapes, settlements, borders, routes and place names.
Routes
Mountain Pass or River Crossing: Two Kinds of Route
Compare a mountain pass and a river crossing to see what each route makes travellers go around, climb over or cross…
Landscapes
The Quiet Work of a Watershed Boundary
A watershed boundary separates land draining to different outlets. Learn to trace its subtle line on a map and see…
Borders
When Map Borders Look More Certain Than They Are
Map borders can look exact while hiding scale and boundary differences. Learn how to read the line, check its source…
Place Names
A Place-Name Walk Through an Ordinary Neighbourhood
A place-name walk through an ordinary neighbourhood helps you notice how street, district and feature names describe…
Our point of view
Places are shaped by connection
A map is more than a picture of where things are. It can show how terrain, movement and human choices have shaped the places around us.