Documenting the American South

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The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway

Interactive Maps

The following selection of historic maps from the "Driving Through Time" project can be viewed as Interactive Maps, which means that they are layered directly on top of current road maps or satellite images. Each historic map has been geo-referenced, meaning that it should line up very closely with the current map. This technique allows users to "see through" the historic maps and gain insights about how plans for the Parkway evolved (how some plans for the Parkway were different from what was finally built), and how the Parkway landscape has changed over time.

It is important to note that some of the maps we include here were planning maps while others are maps that depict the Parkway's "as-built" condition. Given that plans often changed, planning maps sometimes do not match what now lies on the ground.

By default, the Interactive Maps are presented with a historic map placed on top of a current hybrid Google satellite image marked with road names. Using the options available under the small blue arrow on the right of the map, visitors can change the base image to show either only the satellite image, only the street map, or the original hybrid layer. Additionally, they can turn the historic map on and off. The "opacity" control at the bottom of each map allows continuous fading of the historic map to make it easier to see the layer underneath. And conventional Google map controls on the left side allow users to zoom in and out and move the around the image.

These maps are also available for download in a format suitable for use in Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Please visit the Davis Library GIS page for more information.