| Maps have been around for centuries, it is hard to | | | | village; he followed this feat with another depicting |
| image how our forefathers were able to so | | | | Paris in 1868. Unfortunately these aerial maps no |
| accurate depict the world with the limitations they | | | | longer exist, but James Wallace Blacks aerial shot |
| face. Babylonian clay tablets are the earliest | | | | of Boston in 1860 is still in existence today. |
| surviving signs of any maps made. These showed | | | | By 1906, the full range of what could be done |
| the world as flat; because no one knows for sure | | | | with a camera in mid-air was being realized. |
| when or where the first map was drawn the | | | | Photographer George Lawrence captured the |
| Babylonian depiction hold the honor as the worlds | | | | aftermath of the San Francisco Earthquake of |
| first map. This map was found in 1930 in present | | | | 1906 using a number of kites equipped with |
| day Iraq. | | | | cameras. This showed the use of aerial |
| While we can trace the history of maps to | | | | photographs as a map to identify what |
| ancient times, the history of aerial maps is much | | | | destruction was done to the area. The first such |
| shorter. The discipline came about only after the | | | | picture using an airplane was done by Wilber |
| advent of photography and flying. The first aerial | | | | Wright, of the Wright brothers, in 1909. |
| maps were photographs taken from hot air | | | | Today many aerial maps are available from |
| balloons in the mid 1800s. The first record aerial | | | | Microsoft TerraServer, which includes thousands |
| photograph was taken over France in 1858 by | | | | of spy maps from the Cold War era. These are a |
| Nader (Gasper Felix Tournachon). He took a | | | | great addition to the developing knowledgebase |
| picture of a French village, Petit-Bectre from a hot | | | | on the history of aerial maps. |
| air balloon. This picture showed the houses in the | | | | |