To cite a map or aerial photograph, use the same basic style guidelines as you use to cite your books and articles (for example: MLA, APA, or Chicago Manual of Style). However, maps/aerial photographs have some unusual elements, such as scale, that should be included.
Note: You will likely need to modify the form of these examples to conform to a particular style.
Map Author. Map title. Edition. Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date.
Example:
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Madagascar. 1:3,465,000. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 1973.
Map Author. Map title. Scale. Place of publication: Publisher, Date. In: Book Author. Book title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Date, page.
Example:
Fig. 5: Major Seaports and Transportation Axes in Southern and South Central Africa (1978). 1.6 cm. = 500 km. In: Wiese, Bernd. Seaports and Port Cities of Southern Africa. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH., 1981, p. 23.
Map author. Map title. Scale. In: Article author. "Article title," Journal title, Volume (Date): page.
Example:
U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories. Yellowstone National Park; From Surveys Made Under the Direction of F. V. Hayden, U.S. Geologist and Other Authorities, 1871. Scale not given. In: Walsh, Jim. "Exploration and Mapping of Yellowstone National Park," Meridian, 3 (1990): 14.
Adapted from this excellent Dartmouth College Library guide on citing cartographic resources.
