About MapPlanet

MapPlanet is a world map where people can leave their own mark.

Pick a spot on the map and fill it with whatever you would like to show or tell about that place.

Over time, a different kind of world map emerges – filled with what people find interesting about a place or want to share with others.

How MapPlanet works

Explore the world map, search for a place or simply zoom in anywhere.

Choose a free spot. There you can add an image, free-form text and a link.

Your image appears directly on the world map once you zoom in far enough. Click the spot to see the full entry.

An idea from 1998

The idea for MapPlanet dates back to 1998. The aim was to create a digital world map where people from around the world could make a small spot their own.

The technology was still limited, and the project was meant to be financed through advertising. The concept did not work, and MapPlanet GmbH was dissolved again in 2001.

More than 25 years later, the technical possibilities are entirely different. But the original idea remains: a world map that shows not only places, but also what people want to leave there.

This time, MapPlanet is also meant to have an impact beyond the map. In the future, it should be possible to support nonprofit projects through an entry.

Data sources & licences

Map imagery: The base map is based on NASA Blue Marble: Next Generation with Topography and Bathymetry – August 2004. Source: NASA.

Cities and place names: The place data is based on GeoNames and has been processed for display in MapPlanet and selected by zoom level. GeoNames data is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0).

Geographic features: Names and positions of geographic features such as seas and lakes are based on Natural Earth. Natural Earth data is in the public domain.