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veltman

Strip map

Version with labels

Creating an automatic strip map based on some geographic features and a chosen "spine." The approximate steps:

  1. Pick a LineString (e.g. the California coast) to straighten out.
  2. Simplify that LineString.
  3. Turn that simplified LineString into a set of zones, one per segment.
  4. Rotate/translate each zone to its destination position, anchoring it to the end of the previous segment and rotating it to match the desired angle (e.g. horizontal).
  5. Warp the contents of each zone to the resulting rectangle with a bilinear warp.

Steps 4 & 5 are separate for this demo but they could be calculated in a single step in real life.

Some issues:

See also:

Line simplification
Ribbon Map of the Father of Waters
Lake Michigan Unfurled
Unrolling Maryland
Warp-off
John Ogilby's Britannia Atlas
California Coastline Ring
A Linear View of the World: Strip Maps as a Unique Form of Cartographic Representation