Sunday, June 15, 2014

The 21st Century Cassini Map of France


The Carte de France or the Cassini Maps were created by four generations of the Cassini family in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Cassini Maps were the first truly accurate national survey based on geodetic triangulation.

You can view all 182 pages of the Cassini Maps overlaid on top of Google Maps on the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.

French interactive mapping specialists Carte Libre have created a rather beautiful interactive map inspired by the Cassini Maps. Blason des Communes, Départements et Régions de France is a map showing the coats of arms of all French regions and towns.


The maps was created using OpenStreetMap data with the Leaflet map platform. I'm sure the map will be of great interest to students of heraldry. For me however it is far more interesting as an example of the level of control developers have in styling OpenStreetMap data to create really beautiful interactive maps.

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