Store Puts Old-School Maps Front and Center
Feb 28, 2020, 8:20 AM | Updated: 8:52 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – When you check out the state’s Mighty 5 National Parks – like Bryce Canyon or Zion – how do you find your way around?
Maps on mobile devices are slaves to both battery life and signal. However, you don’t need an electrical outlet or five bars to read a physical map.
Believe it or not, physical paper map sales are up year-over-year from between 7% – 10%, according to a recent survey. And there’s a place in the Salt Lake Valley that will provide you with just such a map, and take you bake to a simpler time.
“A physical, tangible map lets you hold it in your hands — and you don’t have to zoom in and out,” said Brian Butler.
He runs the Utah Geological Survey Map and Bookstore, located in the Division of Natural Resources building, 1594 W. North Temple. It houses collections of not just maps and charts, but also history books, information for rock hounds and hunters, and even literature on Sasquatch.
The Utah Geological Survey Map and Bookstore houses collections of not just maps and charts, but also history books, information for rock hounds and hunters, and even literature on Sasquatch.
“People come in looking for maps of their hometown and places they used to go,” Butler said. “Someone will come in and say, ‘My grandpa used to take us fishing up in this spot,’ and we’ll spend an hour finding out how to find it on a map and how to get to it from there.”
He said the store’s top sellers are maps for hunters, and it sells colorful charts that make great decorations for Utah history buffs.
