American Panorama

The Digital Campus insert in the recent Chronicle of Higher Education features an article on "American Panorama," an evolving site that currently features four data-rich interactive maps: Canals: 1820-1860, Foreign-Born Populations: 1850-2010, Overland Trails: 1840-1860, and Forced Migrations of Enslaved Peoples: 1810-1860.

The  maps are supported with sidebars and additional graphs that feature statistics (yearly tonnage for specific cargos on canals!) and narratives that include primary source diaries. I think it is a strong site for high school students to explore, analyze, and develop questions from the provocative data.