Map lovers will find much to appreciate in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer, an exciting mapping project powered by Esri. To begin, readers may simply type in the location of the place they would like to explore. For example, entering "Ashland, Oregon" calls up a map of the small town on the northern border of California. Clicking on the map then pulls up a timeline featuring multiple historical maps that can be perused at the reader's leisure. In the case, of Ashland, maps from 1891, 1893, 1897, 1964, 1983, and 1996 show the developing town center and the roads and streets that, over the decades, have begun to snake out from downtown and occupy the nearby hillsides. The thousands of historical maps available on the site may all be downloaded free of charge.