In National Geographic’s June 1912 issue, the historian Laurence F. Schmeckebier wrote of the national parks, “Within these great reserves may be found scenery and natural phenomena that are unequaled in their majesty and grandeur.” Published four years before the National Park Service was established on August 25, 1916, his article was accompanied by the magazine’s first map of the national parks, which spanned eleven states at the time.

Schmeckebier’s description captures the essence of what draws people to the national parks, and also what makes them such enticing subjects for cartographers. “It's a concentration of fascinating things in an area that people can visit,” says Debbie Gibbons, a cartographic director at National Geographic. That geographic concentration also makes