Google History Maps: Interactive maps that let you travel through time in your browser

Wikipedia is a great example how much can we do on the Internet if we decide teamwork. Although it has its pros and cons, in most cases it has become reference source which even the search engines themselves use to answer questions from their users. It is not surprising that this is a standard and that it inspires similar projects. This is the case of Chronas, interactive map who wants to become a meeting place for historians and history buffs.

History may be one of the most important sciences what people have created. Whether we like it or not, history helps us remember our past and understand our present and future. And although it is not perfect, every day helps us understand what is happening around us or many miles away. The reasons for the relationship of some countries with others, the reasons leading to wars and conflicts in certain regions of the planet, have always had explanation in history.

So, whether you want to understand our reality, out of simple curiosity or for entertainment or educational reasons, a look at Chronas will lead you to through time and around the world through interactive maps enriched with layers of information, Wikipedia articles and graphic resources taken from here and there. A way of studying history that is also possible thanks to selfless cooperation some of its most active users.

Travel through time and space

The study of history involves the integration of two elements as disparate as time and place. We can consider historical facts with Newslinebut also do it with geographic map to show us what happened at a certain point on the planet. Unite time and space This is what those responsible, Chronas Dietmar and Joachim Aumann, wanted to do. Thanks to translators and active users who provide more data, this project is growing and become a source of advice very interesting.

The result was a dedicated project designed to spread knowledge among interactive historical maps based on Wikipedia, Wikidata and resources such as images, videos, or links to other sources. According to its creators, this is a kind of Google Maps History. What some have done on a small scale with personalized Google Maps, but in Chronas it becomes unified and enriched experience.

The idea for Chronas originated in 2014, and a year later the first version appeared. Name combination of Chronos and Atlas. Time and place. Two years later, thanks to funding through Kickstarter, the Aumann brothers were able to rework the project and create Google Maps with a timeline spanning from 2000 BC to the year 2000. customization layersMaps of the history of Chronas show a wealth of information that allows us to understand what happened, who was in charge, or what civilization lived in each area. But keep in mind that the project It is in beta testing, so we may encounter some problems along the way. Something inevitable in a project of this scale with over 50 million data points.

Explore, discover or play with history

When you log into Chronos, the platform itself tells you that there is three experience levels. Depending on your web browser’s capabilities, you can use all the features of these interactive story maps or choose a simpler version. However you can choose one or the other and try your luck.

By default you will find a standard sushi map, but in color. And you’ll see that there’s a timeline at the bottom. When you hover your cursor over a point on the map, you will see similar topics, such as historical figures, important cities, civilizations, and other cultural or political concepts. So while Wikipedia is organized with links that connect articles to others, Chronos is based on a map and a timeline that modifies it. And at a higher level, related Wikipedia articles, related graphical resources, and other data or statistics that may be useful to us.

In addition to exploring the map by zooming in and out and touching certain points, you can drag the timeline and watch the map change. But there are other ways for you to learn more about history. On the left sidebar you will find buttons Discover And random item. The first is a carousel of random images about historical aspects taken from here and there. And the second speaks for itself. It’s like a random Wikipedia article button.

Another practical section. Collections. way group items and resources organized on the basis of historical fact. There are public collections and you can create your own collection of events of interest, which you want to save separately. And to learn and test yourself, Chronos has a game consisting of identify historical countries and territories.

Interactive journey into the past

The most exciting part of Chronos is the autoplay of story maps. Place yourself at a point on the map and press the button Autoplay, the map will change as you move the timeline without you having to do anything. Time travel you can tune in the closer you get to a geographic region. Yes, indeed. It doesn’t work equally well in all browsers, so you may run into problems and have to switch to another one.

Clicking the button Autoplay You can select the start and end year of your trip. You can also specify how many seconds you have left in every historical leapso that you have time to see all the information or elements that appear on the screen. Otherwise, you can pause your journey whenever you want and interact with maps, images, or items you find as you progress through the story.

In the end. As I mentioned at the beginning, Chronas is a joint project and selfless funded by donations. Through Patreon you can collaborate with its creators. It will also help expand the database with additional content. To do this, click on the star icon and get About Chronas version. You can pay the amount you want.

Being in beta testing, there are some aspects that need to be finalized, such as: most of the content is in English even if you specify Spanish or there is a version of the linked Wikipedia article in your language. There is something inevitable about such a big project that requires the cooperation of everyone to make it great and turn it into a model for study and disseminate history.