This Spring Break - Head to the Yucatan! :: We've Got Your Map

While the weather here at the National Geographic maps offices in Colorado has been unseasonably warm, many cities throughout the country have seen record cold temperatures, feet of snow, torrential rain, and even a few rare February tornadoes. If you're one of the poor souls tired of walking past cold windy alleys, digging your car out from behind the snowplow berm, or excited when "spring fever" means 37 degrees - then turn your attention south to Mexico and the lush Yucatan Peninsula.

The Yucatan offers something for every tourist. For the resort set, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and the rest of the Riviera Maya offer 5-star hotels, white sand beaches, warm Caribbean waters, and plenty of nightlife, restaurants, and bars to shake off your mid-winter chills. Those that enjoy a more adventurous vacation will find the Maya sites scattered throughout the peninsula (easily accessible via numerous tour agencies) an alluring attraction with their incredible architecture and historical significance.

In the case you're still undecided on the Yucatan as your spring break destination here are a few other compelling reasons:

* Current temperature in Cancun (11am, 2.27.09) = 79 degrees. Current temperature in Boston = 35 degrees.

* Current water temperature off the coast of Cancun = 78 degrees.

* $1.00 currently equivalent to 14.98 (MXN Pesos)

* Roundtrip airfare from Boston to Cancun the weekend of March 13th, $358.

Now that you're ready to start packing your bags and making the clicks to purchase hotel and airfare, make sure you pick up a copy of our brand new Northern Yucatan Peninsula and Maya Sites Adventure Map. At just $11.95, this is the perfect companion for your trip for both pre-trip planning and in-country navigation.

The front side of the map contains a carefully researched and detailed road layer with hundreds of place names, including the small rural towns that are scattered throughout the peninsula. Two inset maps provide street level detail for Merida and Cancun and include the locations of key infrastructure like post offices, hospitals, and bus stations, but also popular points of interest like parks and museums. Adventure travelers will benefit with the locations of prime snorkeling, surfing, and fishing spots plus Maya historical sites and federal and state protected lands.

The map's reverse contains a detailed guide to (7) of the most popular Maya Sites, complete with inset maps that highlight points of interest at each location. A cool new feature noted on this map are Maya sites with TekTrek multimedia destination guides available for download. These immersive audio and video programs include information on the history and significance of the sites and how to support local sustainability efforts. Sites detailed on the back of the map include: Chichen Itza, Ek' Balam, Tulum, El Rey, Uxmal, Coba', and San Gervasio. Downloadable TekTrek guides are available at their website.

Our new Yucatan map is available now at the NG Online Store and directly from National Geographic Maps. To place an order call 800.962.1643 Mon-Fri between 8:00am and 5:00pm mountain time.

To learn more and browse our Yucatan map - visit it's page on our website.

National Geographic Maps Baja California

Snow is starting to fall throughout the U.S. and Canada and with it interest quickly peaks in warmer climates. While the economy has made it less attractive to board a flight to the Mediterranean or other far-flung exotic destinations, Mexico remains tangible for even the most frugal and depending on your location could be just minutes away.

Located on the Northwest corner of Mexico is the Baja Peninsula, over 700 miles in length from the U.S. border to its southern terminus in Cabo San Lucas. Highly diverse, the peninsula contains forests, deserts, agricultural valleys, and a vast coastline with rugged cliffs, protected coves, and hundreds of miles of unmolested sand beaches.

Baja offers a variey of experiences for travelers. Those seeking luxury resorts will find the Los Cabos resort corridor with its Nicklaus designed golf courses and lavish resorts an ideal destination. The Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) at San Jose del Cabo is located just a few miles north of Cabo san Lucas and is serviced with direct flights from Frontier, Alaska Airlines, America West, Continental, Delta, and Mexicana Airlines.

Those seeking a more adventurous, off-the-beaten path experience need only hit the road on MX-1 the main highway which runs the length of the peninsula. This is a drive of a lifetime and is not the typical American road trip. You can easily bridge hours and hundreds of miles in the central portions of the peninsula without seeing a convenience store, let alone a place to stop for gas. With it though comes incredible beauty and the rare opportunity to explore a region of the Earth that is still virgin to over commercialization.


Surfers consider Baja one of the premier destinations in the Western Hemisphere. The Seven Sisters a stretch of seven right point breaks from Punta Cono to Punta Rosarito just north of the Baja California / Baja California Sur state line offer incredible surfing in the winter months with strong west or northwest swells. One of the best things about surfing in Baja is the quantity of great locations and the ability to break free of the crowds with just a little exploration.


Baja is of worldwide importance to marine wildlife as well. Surrounding the peninsula on both the Pacific Ocean side as well as the Gulf of California are a series of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and protected areas. Most notably the El Vizcaino Gray Whale Sanctuary on the western coast of Baja California Sur (mid-peninsula) contains two lagoons, Ojo de Liebre and San Ignacio, which serve as key wintering and reproduction areas for Gray Whales, Harbour Seals, Elephant Seals, Blue Whales, and four species of endangered sea turtles.

For the past several months National Geographic cartographers in cooperation with local government, the Nature Conservancy of Mexico, UNESCO, and local experts have been carefully researching and developing a series of two new Adventure Maps for Baja California, which are now available. The two maps, Baja California and Baja California Sur, combine highly detailed topography with up-to-date roads and the locations of key points of interest. Unlike other maps of the peninsula, each of our new Baja maps contain extensive place and feature names, backroads, historical places , and important service features (such as gas and diesel stations). Mexicali, Tijuana, Ensenada, La Paz, Cabo San Lucas, San Jose' Del Cabo, and the Los Cabos Resort Corridor are detailed in inset maps that pinpoint post offices, churches, government facilities, and popular tourist destinations.

Having traveled to Baja on several occasions via car, cruise ship, and plane I recall using a variety of guide books and the now out-of-print AAA map. Obviously I'm a bit biased, but these maps are amazing and are perfect examples of National Geographic quality. Should you be one of the 200,ooo expected in Baja next week for the Baja 1000, be sure to look for our friends at Too Much Fun Promotions (Armando Carrasco) in Ensenada or in the pits at race mile 108.

Our new Baja maps are available at the National Geographic Online store and at retailers in Mexico and of course closer to home.

:: Learn More About Baja ::

Looking for a bit more on Baja? Check out these articles from our Adventure and Traveler magazines:

Preserving Baja's Coastal Treasures from National Geographic Traveler's award-winning Intelligent Travel Blog. "Is Baja on the Block?" looks at how the spread of tourism and development is threatening the integrity of Baja California in Mexico. Here, he introduces some of the people trying to help sustain the marine heritage of the region. See the original article in this month's issue of National Geographic Traveler.

The Baja Blueprint from National Geographic Adventure

Trails Illustrated Adds Coverage in California | Interview with Shane Matthews, TI Product Manager

Just over a week ago National Geographic Maps began shipping Trails Illustrated map #809, Mammoth Lakes/ Mono Divide. This exciting new map is the first of 5 new titles for California's Sierra Nevada. To learn more about the series Contours sat down with Shane Matthews, Product Manager for Trails Illustrated & Adventure Maps.

Contours:: TI 809, is the first of five new TI maps for California. Can you tell us a bit more about this project?

Shane Matthews:: The newly published Mammoth Lakes / Mono Divide (TI809) title turned out beautifully! This was an interesting project in that it encompassed a wide range of public lands for recreation, to include National Park and Forest Lands, Wilderness Areas and a highly used Sierra Ski Area. This map includes popular areas of the Sierra and Inyo National Forest.

Contours:: Besides 809, what other new titles or revisions are in the works for California?

Shane Matthews:: Mammoth Lakes / Mono Divide (TI809) is just part of a much bigger picture. Two years ago we published three Tahoe National Forest maps to include the Lake Tahoe Basin Unit. So, the newly published TI809 and the upcoming Sierra map titles are added components of our extensive Sierra Nevada map coverage and there is going to be more!

Currently we are working on four new titles that will add to this map coverage. Crystal Basin (TI806) will highlight Eldorado National Forest and will include the Rubicon Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and other Scenic Trails, and loads of camping areas. Carson-Iceberg / Emigrant and Mokelumne Wilderness Areas (TI807) will take in portions of Stanislaus National Forest including generous overlap with TI806. This map will feature some of the best High Sierra back-country there is to offer, true wilderness! Merced and Tuolumne Rivers (TI808) will take in remaining portions of the Stanislaus National Forest and will feature two of most Wild and Scenic Rivers in the country. This map will also include a variety of recreational amenities that surround these rivers. Shaver Lake (TI810) will feature remaining portions of the Sierra National Forest. It will include recreational areas such Bass and Shaver Lakes. The Dinkey Lakes and Kaiser Wilderness areas will also be featured with a variety of trail systems for the back-country hiker. Another important note would be that some of these titles will share overlap with our Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Park maps, lending seamless coverage of adjacent lands for the map user.

Other interesting California projects would include some revisions and significant updates of existing Trails Illustrated maps. We have just recently finished an update to our Mojave National Park and Preserve map. We are doing a major overhaul of our Santa Monica National Recreation Area map and will be published very soon! This map will update should serve the recreationalists in the Los Angeles, Malibu and Santa Monica region extremely well.

In the next few months the Trails Illustrated California map titles will be in their best shape ever with all coverage either brand new or newly revised and updated! There may be even more next year.




Contours:: TI maps are completed in cooperation with local land managers – who did you work with on 809?

Shane Matthews:: Establishing a cooperative relationship with public land agencies is essential to a successful TI map. TI809 was no exception to this rule. We worked with The Sierra and Inyo National Forests and their knowledgeable staff. Everyone from Public Affairs, Land Ownership, GIS Mapping, Trails and Recreation Specialists, Interpretation and Wilderness Rangers were included and this is typical for any map we publish. In addition, we always work with regional Managing Associations to these forests and other public lands. In this case we worked with the Eastern Sierra and the Three Forests Interpretive Associations.

Contours:: Creating a new map from scratch must be a pretty extensive project. Can you describe what went into the creation of 809?

Shane Matthews:: Our production team treated this new map like any other, really. It starts with establishing that relationship with the key people as I just mentioned. Securing the most updated information these land agencies can provide is the next big step. Having these two things in place we are off and running. Typically, the map base is generated using USGS information then we add a variety of information obtained from land agencies and other trusted sources in the region.

Editorial and other essential information is also collected and included in all of our maps. We put TI809 through several in-house edits before it went to the land agencies for an on-site review before publishing. We found that working the district-level forest staff, the people who “walk the ground” was key with TI809, which can be said for any project.

Contours:: What do you think users of 809 will most appreciate about the map?

Shane Matthews:: The map user will appreciate a variety of things about TI809, but quite simply they will appreciate this map because it can be trusted. It is published at a very usable scale with extreme detail to landscapes. TI809 offers practical information that the user will need for trip planning and for use while exploring and recreating in the region.

Contours:: What popular places are contained on 809?

Shane Matthews:: TI809 contains portions of Sierra and Inyo National Forests, Ansel Adams and John Muir Wilderness Areas, Devils Post Pile National Monument, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, The Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway, The Pacific Crest Trail just to name a few.

Contours:: Finally, besides California what other projects is your team working on right now?

Shane Matthews:: We are busy with many Trails Illustrated revisions around the country. Mammoth Cave National Park, Pisgah Ranger District , Fontana and Hiwassee Lakes, Nantahala & Cullasaja Gorges, and many Colorado and Utah region maps are among the revisions on the exhaustive docket for the year. New titles will include two maps under the Adventure Map Series covering the California Baja of Mexico. These Baja maps will be the latest in the quickly expanding Adventure Map Series and will include the comprehensive travel information these maps are known for. Look for them this Fall!

Contours:: Thanks for your time Shane and keep up the great work!

Dominican Republic adventures

The Dominican Republic is a popular resort destination, but its reputation for outdoor recreation is rapidly growing.

A variety of adventure sports opportunities are available, including hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, river rafting, four-wheeling, diving, surfing and paragliding.

And now, we present the map that will guide you to your Dominican adventure.






The new Dominican Republic Adventure Map is hot off the presses and will be coming to a map, book or outdoor store near you in the coming weeks.

Panama Then & Now

Early in the history of map supplements at National Geographic, in February of 1912 we produced a Bird's Eye View of the Panama Canal, which was then nearing completion.

Last fall, in cooperation with the Panamanian government, we published an AdventureMap of Panama. This two-sided waterproof, tearproof map shows all of Panama at a scale of 1:475,000 (8 miles to the inch) and includes detailed insets of Panama City and the Canal Region (excerpt below). Map notes, text blocks and photos make this map into a mini-guidebook, making it a great planning tool for an outdoor recreation trip to Panama and to use in-country as well.

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