Free Geography Tools

The classic functionality for Google Maps is the computerized equivalent of “sticking a pin in a map”, albeit a very fancy pin with the ability to hold and display additional information. ZeeMaps takes that simple Google Maps functionality and moves it towards something a lot closer to a Geographic Information System. With ZeeMaps you can:

• Create standard maps, housing maps (specialized real estate data attributes), or IP maps (data markers based on location of IP address)
• Import and export data in CSV format.
• Import a list of addresses and have them automatically geocoded and plotted. Or, import data with latitude/longitude coordinates.
• Define attribute fields for your data, then filter your data based on those attributes.
• Annotate the map with text (separate from the data markers).
• Display data in map form, list form, or both.
• Select data points based on distance from a specific point (spatial selection).
• Publish maps on the Web, either in read-only format, or allowing others to add and modify points. You can also select subsets of data that is displayed, while hiding other datasets.
• Associate and upload pictures and audio files with data markers.
• “Print” the map in PDF format.

The service is free, and can be used without registration (though registration makes tracking and managing multiple maps easier). The interface is intuitive, and there’s a decent help section. Although some operations take a few more steps to accomplish than I would like, overall there’s nothing major to complain about; it’s a great Google Maps service, especially at the price.