Llke peering down from space, viewing this map lets you see what's on the ground in the big picture. The deep greens of the Congo Basin and the Amazon Basin let you know in a moment that the vegetation is lush, while the Sahara vies with the Gobi to display the desert browns. Land cover colors in between these extremes describe each corner of the planet, and these colors are underlain by shaded relief, to give a sense of elevation. Fine white lines show country boundaries, lending a sense of place, but the natural look of the Earth is the main focus of this map. In addition, the map is filled with informative labels noting geographic feature names—deserts, plateaus, mountain ranges and peak heights, and regional names. The oceans, too, are busy with the names of ridges, trenches, and basins. This map is a great tool for young students who are learning the basics, or as a reference for the geographically curious of any age. This is the world map that lets you view the planet as it might look to an astronaut on the International Space Station. Maps.com's World Physical-Land Cover map paints the landscape with colors that indicate what is—or isn't—growing on the land.