Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.

Rand McNally stands as a venerable American institution, a technology and publishing company that has long been synonymous with cartography and navigation in the United States. For generations, its maps and atlases have guided countless travelers and businesses, embodying a legacy of innovation in depicting the world around us.

About Rand McNally: A Legacy in Mapping and Technology

At its core, Rand McNally is a multifaceted entity, providing sophisticated mapping solutions, cutting-edge software, and specialized hardware tailored for a diverse range of markets. Its offerings extend across consumer electronics, where its influence on personal navigation devices and applications is significant; commercial transportation, where it aids in logistics, fleet management, and driver assistance systems; and the education sector, supplying invaluable resources like globes and atlases that help students understand geography.

The company maintains its headquarters in the vibrant city of Chicago, Illinois, a location that has served as its operational hub for decades. Complementing its primary corporate functions, Rand McNally also operates a crucial distribution center situated in Richmond, Kentucky, ensuring its wide array of products efficiently reaches customers nationwide, upholding its commitment to accessibility and service.

Exploring the World Through Road Maps

A fundamental tool for travelers, commuters, and adventurers alike, a road map—often interchangeably called a route map or street map—serves a distinct purpose: it primarily visualizes roads and various transport links. Unlike topographical maps that highlight natural geographical features such as mountains, rivers, and elevation contours, road maps prioritize the intricate network of human-made infrastructure designed for movement and travel.

Essentially, a road map is a quintessential type of navigational map, meticulously designed to guide users from one point to another. Its utility is further enhanced by its common inclusion of political boundaries and associated labels, ranging from state and county lines to city and town designations. This integration means that a well-designed road map often doubles as a type of political map, offering a comprehensive view of how administrative divisions overlay the transportation network, providing crucial context for journeys.

Beyond the fundamental depiction of roads and political demarcations, modern road maps are rich with additional information designed to assist users. These frequently include a variety of points of interest (POIs) that make travel planning and exploration much easier. Such POIs can encompass:

While primarily focused on automotive routes, a comprehensive road map may also document non-automotive transit routes, such as bicycle paths or public transport lines within urban centers or scenic regions. However, these specific transit details are more frequently and extensively found on dedicated transit maps, which specialize in public transportation networks within urban or regional areas, offering granular detail for those utilizing buses, trains, or subways.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Rand McNally primarily known for?
Rand McNally is widely recognized as a leading American technology and publishing company specializing in mapping, navigation software, and hardware. It has a long history of producing maps, atlases, and digital solutions for consumers, commercial transportation, and education markets.
What is the main purpose of a road map?
The primary purpose of a road map is to help users navigate by clearly displaying roads, highways, streets, and other transport links. It focuses on the infrastructure relevant to travel rather than natural geographical features like mountains or rivers.
What kind of information can be found on a typical road map?
A typical road map includes roads and transport links, political boundaries (like state or city lines) and their labels, and various points of interest such as prominent businesses, tourist sites, parks, hotels, restaurants, airports, and train stations. Some may also show non-automotive transit routes.
How does a road map differ from other types of maps?
A road map distinguishes itself by prioritizing the depiction of man-made transportation infrastructure (roads, highways) over natural geographical features (like mountains or rivers), which are the primary focus of topographical maps. While it includes political boundaries, its core function remains navigation via transport links.