Push Pin Travel Maps

Our maps are designed as reference maps of the world — to visualize the geography of our planet — from countries, cities, oceanography, and more. 
Fine-Art Map Production Studio: We produce all of our maps as fine-art, museum-quality works. We use premium materials for rich color depth and select the best media that are ideal for the details inherent to maps. After all of our research and work in cartography, only the best printing production is acceptable. We built the finest Map Studio in the USA to produce our maps. To best display the intricate details and labeling we crafted over months and years, we tested hundreds of materials, found the best ones, and invested in high-performance printing equipment so that the inks and materials will resist fading over time. We have developed a dedicated environment that is essential for our top-quality maps.

All of our framed and stretched canvas maps are built as push pin maps and mounted on high-quality pin boards. Every map is embedded into the pin board for a permanent bond that will not separate. We found the highest quality boards that will not warp over time. In our research, we discovered lesser quality constructions tended to cup, curl, and warp in normal conditions. Our maps are beautiful pieces of archival cartography that will continue to show Earth's natural beauty and complexity over the span of decades. Use pins to mark places you have visited, plan to visit, or highlight your family heritage, making every push pin map a personal journey.
If you are looking for a unique and personal way to track your travels, or a gift to give to others, our cartographic and geographic details are the top notch in every map. To top it off, we assist with custom touches and have a number of customization styles to suite everyone's tastes and preferences.

A country is an area of land with recognized boundaries and unified by one central government. The government represents the nation of people. Generally, the four characteristics of a country include

1. an area of land that is defined by borders
2. a permanent population
3. a formal government
4. sovereign territory that is diplomatically reinforced by one single independent government.

However, what specific areas constitute a country is an ever-evolving debate, with various regions claiming independence to varying degrees of recognition around the globe. The Holy See and Palestine, notable as UN observers, have wide recognition though are not UN members. Areas of disputed sovereignty have less recognition, such as Taiwan and Kosovo, which change over time.

Our world maps represent all of the countries using the United Nations geographic database.  However, there are many constraints when displaying the world as a flat rectangular wall map in a very small scale. The Earth covers 196.9 million square miles (510 million kilometers). Using GIS technology, we can reduce geographic features to a fraction to enable the visual display as a wall map. When appropriate, we must take measures to prioritize details in a map where labeling may obscure the visibility of the geography. We prioritize the visualization of features to enable a perspective of the location, size, and shape of areas. We apply comprehensive and modern projections that eliminate large exaggerations of lands such as Greenland when the Mercator projection is applied. Using two parallels at the 45-degree latitude on both the northern and southern hemispheres, we can optimize the visualization of the major bodies of land. Our projections are designed to prioritize the shape and area of land to maximize our visualization. 

We make our maps at our studio in Pleasanton, California, USA. These are our works of art, and we craft each one to order - we do not keep stock products in inventory.

Each map is a product of years of research and design. We love the opportunity to combine science and art in these wonderful travel maps, and we especially love personalizing them just for you!

Your map will be produced to your specifications using our archival quality materials and fade-resistant inks on large format printers. If you choose a poster in canvas or paper it will be rolled and mailed to you. For ready-to-hang options in framed or stretched canvas, we will mount your map on archival quality pin board and include everything you need to start pinning and build lifelong memories.

We do not use foamcore or cork backing - the gatorfoam we mount pin maps to is a premium archival quality rigid material that will not warp over time, bend away, or crush as you pin your travels. Your pins will be held tight for a lifetime. This material also enables us to offer you incredible clarity with satin paper options that have a smooth finish, in addition to our canvas offerings.

Our canvas wrap and framed maps include premium hanging hardware as well. You will find the pre-installed rigid hangers make it easy for you to hang your map and keep it solidly level, and no guessing or measuring where to drill like for a wire!

The details matter:  Our products are created by a professional Geographer and Cartographer who has the passion and experience, including Master's degrees in GIS and Environmental Science, to create impressive maps for your home or office. We understand the massive amount of accurate information necessary for a great map, so we highly recommend our maps — professionally designed with GIS.

The main differences are the colors and cartographic styles. The informative details (labeling) are the same throughout the maps with a few exceptions:  

The Voyager 2 includes snow/ice modeling. We use the MODIS satellite data collected in February to show the snow/ice cover on the landscape, which you can see represented in white in the northern hemisphere.

The Voyager 1 excludes the snow/ice modeling, so you can visualize the elevation and landscape of the terrain that lies beneath the snow cover.

The Magellan World Map features additional facts about Ferdinand Magellan's epic voyage around the world.

The Voyager, Nautilus, Magellan, Darwin, and Odyssey World Maps include modeling of the landscape and terrain (deserts, forests, flat lands, and more) and elevation features — which illustrate the mountainous regions. We applied a hillshade to model the sunlight at 3 p.m. consistently around the world. The hillshade provides a 3D effect. It is a flat surface — yet looks 3D due to the incredible modeling technique.

The Voyager, Nautilus, Magellan, and Odyssey World Maps include all 63 USA National Parks (as of 2024). In addition, all of these maps include renowned National Parks in several countries around the world.

The Endeavor, USS Enterprise, Humboldt, and Columbus World Maps provide a classic look at Earth without terrain modeling. Each of these maps depicts beautiful cartographic styles — from modern, sleek designs to antique-inspired designs that capture the character of old-world maps.  

All of our world maps feature our unique ocean floor elevation modeling derived from NOAA oceanic data. This data illustrates the formations of islands, archipelagos, plate tectonics, and ocean currents by displaying the sea floor elevation across the Earth's oceans.  

We produce all of our maps as Fine Artwork. The maps are rolled in a tube to eliminate creases and damage. You can frame the map locally or apply a pin board with a DIY mounting method that suits your abilities. The posters can also be enjoyed as wall art, and all of our products are sized to be framed with standard sized frames.

Every component of our products is made in the USA!
Our maps are produced using the highest-quality printing, paper, and canvas. We use archival inks for rich color depth and fade resistance. We fix all of our framed and canvas wrap products to gatorfoam, a strong, durable material that's used in museums and designed to last for a lifetime.

Traditional stretched canvas in a gallery style wrap, with the art continuing over the sides. This format is lightweight at smaller sizes, and also is available at giant wall-spanning multi panel sizes.

The canvas is wrapped around an internal solid wood frame, premium pinboard, and is installed with our premium rigid hanging solution that makes it easy to mount on your wall.

All of our maps are handcrafted, made to order just for you, and we will work with you to craft your personal masterpiece map. Most of our map product pages will guide you through their options, but ALL of our maps can be customized. Include your quote, family names, or logo as directed, or reach out to our support for something special - we can also accept commissions for custom colorways!

All custom maps will receive a proof via email, and you will approve your proof before we print your map and begin crafting it to your specs. This will elevate your map to be an unforgettable gift, family heirloom, or personal travel diary.