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🗺️ Using the MapNavigating The Map

Last Updated: 4/8/2026

Navigating the Map

The interactive Kansas map is the heart of Where Did They Go? This guide explains how to navigate the map, zoom into counties, and use the filter panel to explore different data layers.

What You See on First Load

When you first open the application, you see the state view:

  • Kansas outline with all 105 county boundaries drawn in black
  • Timeline slider set to 1860 (the earliest year in the dataset)
  • Year label displaying “1860” below the slider
  • Play button next to the slider for automatic timeline playback
  • Filter panel on the right side listing available data layers

By default, several data layers are already visible: county borders, railroads, rivers, lakes, interstates, and cities. The filter panel shows checkboxes for each layer, allowing you to toggle them on or off.

Zooming Into a County

To examine a specific county in detail:

  1. Click any county on the map
  2. The map smoothly zooms in over 750 milliseconds
  3. The county fills most of the screen
  4. County borders become thinner (stroke width changes from 2 to 1)
  5. The filter panel updates to show only layers available at county zoom level

At county zoom, you can see fine-grained details like individual schools, healthcare facilities, and census tracts that would be too cluttered to display at the state level.

Zooming Back Out

To return to the state view:

  1. Click the same county again (or click anywhere within the zoomed county)
  2. The map zooms back out to show all of Kansas
  3. County borders become thicker again
  4. The filter panel reverts to showing state-level layers

The zoom transition is smooth and animated, making it easy to maintain your spatial orientation.

Understanding the Filter Panel

The filter panel appears on the right side of the map and lists all available data layers. Each layer has:

  • Checkbox: Check to show the layer, uncheck to hide it
  • Label: Descriptive name like “Railroads” or “Schools”

Filter Panel Behavior

Dynamic visibility: The filter panel only shows layers available at your current zoom level. When you zoom into a county, state-only layers disappear from the panel, and county-only layers appear.

Independent state: Filter settings at state level do not carry over to county level. If you check “Schools” at county zoom, then zoom out and back in to a different county, “Schools” will be unchecked again. Each zoom level maintains its own filter state.

Smooth transitions: When you check or uncheck a layer, it fades in or out over 500 milliseconds rather than appearing or disappearing instantly.

Interacting with Data Layers

Different layers respond to interaction in different ways:

Hoverable Layers

Cities (state view only): Hover over a city point to see its name and population (for years 1970–2020). The text appears above the point and fades out when you move your mouse away.

Schools (county view only): Hover over a school to see a detailed information box with the building name, district, building number, level (elementary, middle, high school), opening date, homepage, and address.

Healthcare Facilities (county view only): Hover over a facility to see its name, type (hospital, pharmacy, EMS, etc.), address, city, and additional details like bed count or trauma level for hospitals.

Non-Interactive Layers

Railroads, Interstates, Rivers, Lakes, Tracts: These layers provide visual context but do not respond to mouse hover. They help you understand the geographic and infrastructure context of population changes.

Visual Feedback

The map provides several types of visual feedback:

Cursor changes: When you hover over a clickable county, the cursor changes to indicate interactivity.

Smooth animations: All transitions—zooming, fading layers in and out, and changing years—use smooth animations to help you track what’s changing.

Color coding: Different layer types use distinct colors:

  • County borders: Black
  • Railroads: Green (dashed line)
  • Interstates: Blue
  • Rivers: Light blue
  • Lakes: Light blue fill with blue outline
  • Cities: Red points with blue labels
  • Schools: Black points
  • Healthcare facilities: Color-coded by type (hospitals are red, pharmacies are green, etc.)

Tips for Effective Navigation

Start at state level: Get an overview of Kansas before zooming into specific counties. This helps you understand regional patterns.

Use filters strategically: Turn off layers you’re not currently analyzing to reduce visual clutter.

Zoom in for detail: County-level view reveals infrastructure and services that influence local population trends.

Compare counties: Zoom into different counties to compare their infrastructure and service availability.

Watch for patterns: Notice which counties have dense railroad networks, which have interstate access, and which have abundant schools or healthcare facilities.

What’s Next

Now that you know how to navigate the map:

 

Fetching DataState View And Filters