Landscapes
How a River Valley Organizes a County Landscape
A river valley organizes a county landscape by revealing changes in elevation, drainage, and settlement—without making…
All our stories
All stories
Browse explanations of county landscapes, boundaries, settlements, place names and the connections between them.
Boundaries
County Line or Familiar Region: Two Different Maps
County boundaries and familiar regions answer different questions. Learn which map to use for services, identity…
Settlements
From Cluster to Crossroads: Why Settlements Take Different Shapes
Settlement shapes reveal whether daily movement gathers at a center or follows a route, helping readers interpret…
Place Names
What a Place Name Can Preserve, and What It Cannot
Learn how to read a place name as a clue to local language, landscape, or memory without mistaking it for a complete…
Connections
A Two-County Map Afternoon: Compare One Route at Two Scales
A two-county map afternoon helps you trace a route from neighborhood streets to the wider county network and see what…
Our point of view
A county is more than a boundary
Land, names, settlements and routes all help make a place legible. We look at how those parts relate without treating any one feature as the whole story.