Subscription Databases and E-books
America the Beautiful
contains information about the states and territories of the U.S. including facts, history & geography, and famous people.
CultureGrams: World Edition, Kids Edition, States Edition.
Experience the cultures of more than 200 countries in reports that include maps, statistics, a glossary, and in-depth information on 25 categories. A Recipe Collection is also included. Tour the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in fun reports filled with facts, symbols, time lines, and more. Kids: Get an engaging kid's-eye view of 82 countries, featuring cultural and geographical information, history, maps, flags, and colorful images.
Lands and Peoples
an encyclopedia for students filled with information on countries, cultures, and current events.

Websites Selected by Librarians
Oddens' Bookmarks
Browse a wide selection of links or search by country and category.
Maps and Geographical Information
A selection of sites provided by a Santa Clara County librarian.
Interactive Maps - United States
Consumer oriented mapping services, including Google, MapQuest and Yahoo, allow users to locate businesses, street addresses, and driving directions.
Interactive Maps - International
Consumer oriented mapping services, including Multimap and ViaMichelin provides street-level maps and driving directions.
Google Earth
View satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. Need to download the viewer. Not available for in-library use at this time.
PCL Map Collection
From the University of Texas Perry-Castaneda Collection Map Library, an excellent collection of online international maps, including historical maps, city maps, and outline maps.
United Nations Cartographic Section
A very assessable collection of country profile maps, thematic maps, and peacekeeping maps.
National Atlas
Maps that capture and depict the patterns, conditions, and trends of American life.
USGS National Mapping Information
A searchable database of geographic features in the United States. Information includes name, type, elevation, population, latitude and longitude, and links to maps.
TopoQuest
Excellent online source for the U.S. Geological Survey topographical maps. Search by place name or latitude and longitude on this interactive site covering the entire United States.
USGS Earthquake Information Center
From the U.S. Geological Survey,a variety of information on earthquakes around the world. The Earthquake Hazards Program of Northern California provides the latest quake information for California, including real time earthquake maps.
ABAG Geographic Information Systems
Provides hazard planning maps for the 9 Bay Area counties. 
Historic Topographic Maps of California
San Francisco Bay Area -- From UC Berkeley, provides web access to historic topographic quadrangles from 1895 to the present.
Map Collections
Map images from 1500 with a focus on the Americana and Cartographic Treasures of the Library of Congress. Organized by category and searchable by keyword.
Map History / History of Cartography
Listing of over 1,200 image sites for early maps.