Syria Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Maps in the News:  Syria Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) has a significant collection of maps of Syria and the Middle East.  The maps include both historic and new, updated maps of the country and region.

Illustrated Syria map was published in 1943.  The map depicts agricultural and industrial products and places of interest, including parts of Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and then Palestine.  An inset map shows main roads, air routes, railroads, pipelines, and political divisions.  The text is written in English and Arabic.

The GRMC also includes road maps of Syria, maps of archaeological sites, tourist maps, economic maps, and land use and population maps.  A unique tectonic sketch map showing oil wells and petroleum exploration from 1978 was published by the Foreign Scouting Service.

Four sets of topographic maps of Syria (including historic maps) at varying scales are also available.  City maps of Syria are also available from the GRMC, including a reproduction of a bird’s-eye view map of Damascus from 1575.

The top map above (click to enlarge) was published by the Central Intelligence Agency and shows the area near Ar-Raqqah on the Euphrates River where American airstrikes are targeted.  This map includes railroads and expressways.

The second map, Syria Country Profile, was published by the CIA in 2011 when the civil war there began and shows the location of an airbase near Ar Raqqah.  Inset maps include a map of the Golan Heights, the oil and gas infrastructure, ethnoreligious distribution, and population density.  The relative size of Syria compared to the eastern United States is also shown.  This map includes information and statistics for a number of geographic features.

For more information about these maps, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097 Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 5:00.