Maps of Asia produced by National Geographic

Several maps of Asia were produced by National Geographic since its first map in 1899 titled " Theatre of Military Operations in Luzon. " Since then they have produced many maps of the whole Asian continent, along with Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, Asia-Pacific and South Asia. You will also find maps on China, India, Burma, Afghanistan, Japan, Korea, The Philippines, Viet Nam, Indonesia and several other countries.

Click on Map Titles that are Links to see a Picture of that map.

Maps covering all of Asia

2. Asia - December 1933 (37"x30.5") Intricately detailed map showing political divisions, regional names, extensive land features, water features and cities and towns according to population.

3. Asia and Adjacent Areas - December 1942 (40.5"x27") This map was made while battles were raging in Asia, Europe and Africa. Shows international boundaries as of September 1, 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland.

4. Asia and Adjacent Lands - March 1951 (29"x27") Offers a peek into Asia's past during the cold war and shortly after China had annexed Tibet.

5. Asia and Adjacent Areas - December 1959 (25"x19") Part of the maps of Asia series, this map contains notes and information on the boundaries between Asia, Europe and Africa.

6. Asia map - March 1971 (37.5"x32.5")
Side B: Political map of Asia with with special attention to details of the surrounding oceans. (depth, currents and prevailing winds). Side A is shown below.

7. Asia-Pacific - November 1989 (25"x19.5")
Side A: This is a colorful political map detailing Eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand along with thousands of islands in the Pacific. On the bottom is an inset map showing a continuation of the main map.

8. Western Pacific Rim - November 1989 (25"x19.5")
Side B: This side has a large physical map of the Western Pacific Rim with the countries color coded to show the amount of Gross National Product pre Capita along with manufacturing regions. Throughout the map are graphs showing the population, average GNP per Capita, adult literacy rate and average energy consumption listed for several countries. There are inset maps showing Trade routes, population density and exclusive economic zones.

Maps of Asia:
Southeast and Southwest Asia

2. Southeast Asia - September 1955 (35"x30") Detailed and informative map produced shortly after the Korean war. Has lots of historical notes.

3. Southeast Asia - May 1961 (25"x19") Map of Southeast Asia with detailed insets of Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore.

4. Southeast Asia- December 1968 (33.5"x26.5") This is a beautiful political map of Southeast Asia published during the time when the United States was at war in Viet Nam.

5. The Peoples of Mainland Southeast Asia - March 1971 (37.5"x32.5")
Side A: Wonderful guide to all the varied cultures of Mainland Southeast Asia. This is an excellent addition to the maps of Asia series.

6. Southwest Asia - June 1952 (37"x27") Map of Southwest Asia including an inset showing the population of Moslems in the region along with historical notes.

7. Southwest Asia - May 1963 (25"x19") This map also shows the Moslem population in the region. Includes inset maps of Bombay, Calcutta and Karachi.

Maps of South Asia, India, Burma, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Pakistan

2. Political Subdivisions of India - April 1946 (31"x26")
Side B: Outline map showing the political subdivisions of India.

3. The Far East - September 1952 (41"x30") This map was made in the midst of two wars, the Korean war and the First Indochina War. Inset map shows the battle line in Korea as of July of that year.

4. Peoples of South Asia - December 1984 (28"x22.5")
Side A: Informative map with illustrations and notes about the religions, history, languages and ways of life of the peoples of South Asia.

5. South Asia with Afghanistan and Myanmar - December 1984 (28"x22.5")
Side B: This map came out during two tragic events in India's history: The assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in October and the Bhopal disaster in December.

6. Indonesia - February 1996 (31"x20")
Side A: Physical map featuring relief shading of mountainous regions and ocean bathymetry.

7. Indonesia - February 1996 (31"x20")
Side B: The whole center section of this side is filled with a beautiful physical map of the islands that make up Indonesia, colored to show the vast biodiversity of the vegetation of the landscape. It is a fantastic educational map with insets showing climate, rainfall, population and the economy. It has an abundance of information on the geography and wildlife of the region with lots of illustrations.

8. South Asia with Afghanistan and Myanmar - May 1997 (23"x20.5") Side A: Has points of interest, dams and ruins, in addition to cities and geographical features.

9. India - May 1997 (23"x20.5")
Side B: Has a wealth of information on the population, history, geography and economy of India.

10. Afghanistan: Land in Crisis - December 2001 (31"x20")
Side A: Beautiful physical map of Afghanistan with a timeline of Afghan life from 1838 to 2001. Contains inset maps showing the patchwork of ethnic minorities, drought and earthquakes throughout the region and the refugee status and famine.

11. Afghanistan and Pakistan - December 2001 (31"x20")
Side B: Political map of Afghanistan, Pakistan and surrounding areas. It has little insets showing the flags, area, population, religion, languages, literacy, life expectancy, GDP per capita and troops of six different countries.

Maps of Asia: China

2. China and its Territories - October 1912 (23"x17") This map came out the same year the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty abdicated and ended over 2000 years of Imperial rule. The Republic of China was born.

3. China - June 1945 (36.5"x26") World War 2 was about to end when this map came out, and China was plunged into a four-year civil war.

4. China Coast and Korea - October 1953 (42"x26") Political map produced just months after the end of the Korean war.

5. China - November 1964 (25"x19") This map contains thousands of place names and geographical features. It has an inset map of Taiwan.

6. The Peoples of China - July 1980 (37.5"x30")
Side A: This informative map shows the diverse ethnicities of the people of China. It contains an abundance of illustrations. It is an excellent addition to the maps of Asia series.

7. The Peoples Republic of China - July 1980 (37.5"x30")
Side B: A political map of China printed one year after the Tiananmen Square protest.

8. High Himalayan map - November 1988 (36"X22.5")
Side A: This is a computer-generated panorama of the Himalayas from Kathmandu to just east of Mount Everest. The technology to create this is called High-Tech Land-Cover Mapping with most of the technology being done by Dynamic Graphics Inc., the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and KRS Remote Sensing. The Society's Computer Mapping Laboratory coordinated the production effort. The landscape is color coded to show what type of landform or what type of foliage covers the landscape.

9. Mount Everest - November 1988 (36"X22.5")
Side B: This is a map of Mount Everest and surrounding regions using soft, colored shading to show the foliage or landforms. Elevation lines are heavily used throughout the map to show the different elevations of the landscape. Place-names on the map were provided by linguistic experts in consultation with the Chinese and Nepalese authorities.

10. China - July 1991 (29"x22")
Side A: A political map of China containing a pronunciation guide to Pinyin. It has an inset map of the South China Sea region.

11. China - July 1991 (29"x22")
Side B: This side has two huge physical maps of China showing population size and distribution and agriculture and industry. There are six inset maps titled Evolution to Empire 5000 BC to 221 BC, Han Expansion and Collapse 206 BC to AD 220, An Asian Empire Seventh Century, Northern Invaders 1100 to 1300, The Last Empire 1760 to 1912 and World war-Civil war 1916 to Present. On the far right is a timeline titled History of China dated from 5000 BC to 1989.

Maps of Asia: Japan and Korea

2. Japan with Asia and the Pacific Ocean - April 1944 (35"x27") Published during World War 2, this map has insets detailing the industrial centers of Japan.

3. Japan and Korea - December 1945 (37.5"x27") This map was published just after World War 2. It has inset maps of the many islands in the region plus historical notes.

4. Japan and Korea - December 1960 (25"x19") This map contains great details of the region. It has inset maps of the Ryukyu Islands and U.S.S.R. Administered Islands.

5. Historical Japan - June 1984 (37"x11")
Side A: This side is mostly filled with insets titled Birth of a Central State 552-710, Age of the Courtiers 710-1185, Medieval and Feudal Japan 1185-1868 and Modern Japan to 1945. On the left side is a timeline dating from ca 30,000 BC to 1945 titled Scroll of a Nation.

6. Japan - June 1984 (37"x11")
Side B: This is a beautiful political map of Japan filled with historical notes on the general history of this country. It includes an inset map of the Japanese possessions.

7. The Two Koreas - July 2003 (31"x20")
Side A: Physical map of North/South Korea with historical notes. It has insets on population, economy and armaments.

8. The Forgotten War - July 2003 (31"x20")
Side B: This map uses small maps with lots of information showing the time line of the Korean war, from the seeds of strife in 1894-1948 till after the war in 1953.

Maps of Asia: The Philippines

2. The Philippines - January 1900 (12.5"x10") Historic black and white map produced two years after the Philippines was purchased by the US from Spain after the Spanish American war.

3. Philippines Military Telegraph Lines Northern - January 1902 (40"x33.5")
Side A: Very detailed map of the entire Northern group of islands of the Philippines. It includes an inset of the Manila Bay area.

4. Philippines Military Telegraph Lines Southern - January 1902 (40"x33.5")
Side B: Detailed map of the Southern Philippine islands with an inset of the Tawi Tawi Islands.

5. Philippines map - August 1905 (36"x24") Vintage map with relief shading showing the various cable lines of the time.

6. The Philippines - March 1945 (26"x17.5") Fine map featuring the provinces and their capitals, with the locations of airfields. It has inset maps of Manila and the Lingaven Gulf.

7. History of the Philippines - July 1986 (27"x20")
Side A: This map was published just after the inauguration of Corazon Aquino. It contains an abundance of information on the history of the region.

8. Philippines map - July 1986 (27"x20")
Side B: A political map of the Philippines, with an inset map showing distances from Manila to major cities in the region.

Maps of Asia:
Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand

2. Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand - January 1965 (20.5"x11")
Side B: This is the index for the map on the opposite side. It also includes historical information about French Indochina.

3. Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand - February 1967 (39"x31.5") Very detailed historical map with relief shading. Has an inset on the Continuation of Thailand.

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