Data sources and credits

Natural Earth

Country outlines, coastlines, cities, administrative regions, rivers, lakes, mountain ranges, deserts, oceans and seas all come from Natural Earth. We use its 1:50m country, river and lake layers and its 1:10m layers for cities, regions and physical features.

Natural Earth data is in the public domain, so it can be used, changed and shared freely. Our current snapshot was taken on 22 October 2026. Names and boundaries follow Natural Earth, which does not always match the latest official changes in every country.

Website: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ – Terms of use: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/

World Bank population data

Population figures on our maps, tables and country pages come from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (indicator SP.POP.TOTL, total population). We show each country’s latest available year, so years can differ from place to place. Regional totals are left out.

This data is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (CC BY 4.0). We group the figures into bands for shading and round them in our text.

Indicator: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL – Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

USGS earthquakes

Our earthquake maps use the US Geological Survey feed of magnitude 4.5 and larger earthquakes from the past seven days. Each map is a dated snapshot, refreshed once a day, and is meant for learning – it is not a live alert service. USGS data is in the public domain.

Feed: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/feed/v1.0/geojson.php

US National Park Service

US national park locations come from the National Park Service’s public boundary data. We include sites designated National Park or National Park and Preserve and mark the centre of each park, which is not the same as its entrance or visitor centre. NPS data is in the public domain.

Data: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/gisandmapping/tools-and-data.htm

How we make the maps

PiSpace Maps draws every map, preview image, worksheet and PDF from the data above. Boundaries are simplified so they print clearly, and very small islands or distant territories are sometimes left off. City and park positions are reference points, not exact addresses.

We group countries and territories the way Natural Earth does. That grouping is a way to browse the library and does not take a position on disputed borders or on a territory’s status.

Source data is checked automatically: earthquakes daily and the other sources about once a month. If a download fails, the last good copy stays in use with its original date.

Using our maps

You are welcome to print our maps and share printed copies with students and family. If you share a map or image online, please link back to the page you found it on. For anything beyond that, see our terms of use.