We all love our cats, dogs, and hamsters. But what about the animals we usually only see on the Discovery Channel? In-person viewing of wildlife can help educate and motivate animal lovers in conservation efforts. This is one of the goals of zoos, and in the United States, there are 439 of them.

But where in the country are the most zoos located? Ten U.S. states (and even some cities!) have many more than others, which means you might be able to visit two in one day. But not all zoos are the same. Zoos can be diverse in the type of animals they keep. See the familiar and unfamiliar zoo names for yourself on the map below.

View U.S. Zoos in a full screen map

The data for the map comes from Wikipedia’s list of zoos in the US. It includes some of the largest zoos in the US, including zoos of various types: safari and animal theme parks, aviaries, butterfly or other insect zoos, reptile centers, and petting zoos, as well as wildlife sanctuaries and nature reserves. Filter by the type of zoo that most interests you or stay tuned for where they’re located.

Most Zoos Are in These 10 States

While 439 U.S. zoos may seem like a lot, they’re not all evenly distributed across the country. Several states have at least 25 times the number of zoos than other states. Even select cities have more zoos than some states.

According to Wikipedia, Florida is home to the most zoos in the U.S. Thirty-one animal theme parks, jungles, and animal museums are located across the Sunshine State. Four of those 31 zoos are located in a single Florida city: Miami. There are also three in Tampa.

Additionally, both Texas and California have plenty of zoos to offer residents and visitors alike. Texas has 26 while 25 are located in California. Two more states have at least 20: Wisconsin (22)—where the city of Wisconsin Dells is home to three—and New York (20). Speaking of New York, five zoos are located in N.Y.C., though they’re all in different neighborhoods. Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and The Bronx each have their own zoo.

On the other end of the spectrum, the entire state of Wyoming has just one zoo: the Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary. The state has no official zoo. Other states like Vermont and Rhode Island have only two. But what kinds of zoos are we talking about? Let’s take a look.

Safaris, Wildlife Sanctuaries, & Other Zoo Types

All of the 439 zoos contain animals and all are open to visitors (at least pre-pandemic). But some are marketed towards lovers of specific animals. For example, a safari zoo would attract more elephant aficionados than a farm zoo. Horse fans may prefer the farm option which is why we assigned a type to each zoo.

• Zoo – 175
• Park – 87
• Wildlife sanctuary – 47
• Museum, conservation, or nature reserve – 25
• Farm or petting zoo – 23
• Aviary, butterfly, or other insect zoo – 19
• Safari – 18
• Reptile or marine center – 17
• Lions, tigers, & bears – 14
• Animal theme park – 14

Of course, most are general city zoos (175). Of these, 15 are located in Texas. As for the types of zoos that appear the least, there are 14 animal theme parks. Four can be found in Florida: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Disney’s Animal Kingdom (in Bay Lake), Orlando’s Gatorland, and Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee.

The rest of the animal theme parks are on a one-per-state basis and none can be found in the same city. But just because that’s the case with these types of zoos, doesn’t mean it applies to them all.

Hit Two Zoos in One Day

Several cities have multiple zoos. For example, Miami is home to Zoo Miami, Jungle Island, Monkey Jungle, and the Zoological Wildlife Foundation. Other cities like Wisconsin Dells and St. Louis also have many zoo options. To determine if you can visit two on the same day, do more than just eyeball how close they are. You can calculate distances between two addresses or points, (in this case, zoos) on your BatchGeo maps.

To do so, click the ruler in the top left corner of the map and select the measuring tool. From here, draw a line to each point and BatchGeo will let you know how far they are apart. For example, Miami’s Jungle Island is a little over 18 miles from Zoo Miami in the same city. These benefits are available to BatchGeo Pro users in Advanced Mode. Get started today at batchgeo.com.

Vacationers flock to the Florida shores or beautiful beaches of Hawaii because they love the sea. But the ocean is not always such a calm place, as proven by international shipwrecks. Ships in the night need precautions to keep them safe. Of course, lighthouses fall into this category and the tallest among them are a sight to see in addition to the visibility they provide to passing ships

In the United States, the tallest beacons stand between 16 and 210 feet tall. So let’s highlight the 10 tallest in the entire country along with the five states with the most lights (and the least), as shown on the map below.

View Tallest lighthouse in the United States in a full screen map

We gathered the data from this List of tallest lighthouses in the United States to see how they dot the U.S. coasts (except for the one in Summersville Lake, West Virginia!). You can read on for more information about the tallest of the tall below.

The 10 Tallest Beacons

Lighthouse height is of the utmost importance. The lights must be high enough for mariners to see before they reach danger. But how tall are lighthouses? Take the Statue of Liberty. The 305-foot (93 m) national monument was actually an operating lighthouse between 1886 and 1901 after a light was installed in the torch and around its feet.

While no official beacon in the U.S. rises to quite that height, several come close. The 10 tallest among them all stand above 150 feet, which you’ll see below and on the map when you filter by Height (ft).

1. Cape Hatteras Light (210 feet)
2. Cape Charles Light (191)
3. Ponce de Leon Inlet Light (175)
4. Absecon Light (171)
5. Cape Lookout Light (169)
6. Fire Island Light (168)
7. St. Augustine Light (165)
8. Cape Henry Light (164)
9. Barnegat Light (163)
10. Navassa Island Light (162)

So what is the tallest lighthouse in the United States? That’s the Cape Hatteras Light (210 ft.). Located in the Outer Banks of Buxton, North Carolina, the beacon is 19 feet more than even the next tallest light.

Also of note: eight of the 10 tallest are located in the Eastern U.S. Even more specifically, six reside in the Southeastern region of the country. The Cape Charles Light (the second tallest beacon at 191 ft.) and Cape Henry Light (164 ft.) are of Virginia while the previously discussed Cape Hatteras Light along with Cape Lookout Light (169 ft.) were built in North Carolina. Also in the Southwest are Florida’s Ponce de Leon Inlet (175 ft.) and St. Augustine Lights (165 ft.). New Jersey’s Absecon Light (171 ft.) and Barnegat Light (163 ft.) round out the last of the tallest lighthouses concentrated in the East.

Check out Where Are the World’s Tallest Buildings? or take a closer look at where these lights are located.

Five Locations Loaded With Lighthouses

North Carolina and other Southeastern states may be where the top 10 tallest of the tall reside, but where are the majority of the 240+ tallest beacons located? Below are the states with more than 10 uber-tall lighthouses.

• Michigan (110 lighthouses)
• California (30)
• Washington (16)
• Florida (15)
• Alaska (12)

Michigan is the home of more than 45% of the U.S.’s tallest lighthouses and the northern region of the Great Lake State like Mackinaw and Cheboygan is where they’re most concentrated. After Michigan, California has the most, followed by Washington, Florida, and Alaska. North Carolina, Oregon, Maryland, and Maine also have more than five tall lights, though it’s still a feat when compared to states with none or just one.

Less Light Locations

On the other hand, what are some places that have fewer beacons? As the 243 tallest lighthouses are spread across just 25 U.S. states, half have none. It’s easy to see which states are without on the map (pretty much every state that’s not on the water). All the more interesting: the states (on the coasts) with only one.

These single-lighthouse states include Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, and Rhode Island. The New London Harbor Light (89 ft) is in CT. The Marcus Hook Light is along the Delaware River and stands 100 feet tall. Hawaii’s sole light (138 ft) is on the north side of Moloka’i while the 45-foot Beavertail Light is located in Little Rhody.

Additionally, the non-coastal states of Illinois, Minnesota, and West Virginia each only have a single lighthouse.

The last location with just one beacon is Navassa Island, a small uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea. Now let’s switch gears to a better way of viewing your many map markers (like 243 of the tallest lighthouses).

Summarize Multiple Markers Below

Sometimes you find yourself with a lot of data squished together location-wise. While a map of your data is a much better place to store and visualize location information than a spreadsheet, you may run into marker overload. For example, there’re 243 tall lighthouses on the map, but they’re concentrated close together on the country’s coasts. It can be hard to get an idea of individual markers without zooming in and losing the big picture.

This is why a way to see an overview of what’s below is invaluable. With map clustering, which is automatically enabled on maps with 300+ locations, there’s no need to zoom or squint. Markers that are near each other are replaced with another icon to represent multiple markers. You’ll be able to see either the number of markers the new icon contains or the average or sum of specific data. You can adjust the data settings and also manually enable it on less crowded maps.

Explore how icons that summarize multiple markers help you better understand your data at batchgeo.com.

In the age of DoorDashing from the 7-Eleven across the street and Michelin star microwave dinners, the tools you use for data should be just as convenient. This includes maps, which make it easy to visualize the meaning in your data and can go beyond just showing you the geography of your information.

Our mapping tool takes any additional data you may have and automatically groups it together so that you and your users can easily filter what you want to see in or out. Let’s first go over how to make a map of your data, which you’ll need before getting started with map filters. We’ll also demonstrate how to easily add multiple filters at once. Let’s jump into it.

Make a Map of Your Data

Before you can get started with map filtering, you’ll need a map. Thankfully, it couldn’t be easier to make a custom version, like our largest metropolitan parks example below.

View Metropolitan parks by size in a full screen map

Start by identifying the data for your map. Any location-based nformation can be plotted—be it countries, states, cities, addresses, or even geographic coordinates. You may find desirable data with your business proposals, sales numbers, or even the Wikipedia page of a topic that interests you. If the data isn’t already stored in a spreadsheet, you’ll want to transfer it to Excel, Google Sheets, or any other spreadsheet program. It’s best to include headings and separate columns for the location information. Then, plot your points with the following steps:

1. Select and copy the information from your spreadsheet
2. Open your web browser and navigate to batchgeo.com
3. Click on the location data box with the example data in it, then paste your own data
4. Check to make sure you have the proper location data columns available by clicking “Validate and Set Options”
5. Select the proper location column from each drop-down
6. Click “Make Map” and watch as the tool maps your data

Now let’s find out about map grouping and filtering your newly created map.

Intelligently Group Additional Information

As an entire profession is dedicated to mapping (cartography), simple maps provide valuable insights on their own. However, BatchGeo also finds the best home for any additional data you may have. For example, the largest city parks data contained information about location (city/metropolitan area and country) along with park name.

The location gets mapped while the name ends up as the title. But the data also contained:

• Ranking (1-161)
• Managing authority
• Size (in both acres and hectares)

BatchGeo makes these data columns (and just about any non-location fields in your spreadsheet) available for map grouping. The tool will automatically place any numerical data (like the ranking and sizes in our example) into helpful ranges while textual data gets grouped based on repeat values. This paves the way for you and your map users to select only the markers that meet certain requirements, filtering out the rest.

See What You Want, Filter Out What You Don’t

Custom maps can have upwards of thousands of markers. Seeing them pinned can help you identify geographic trends, but what about your additional groups? You can filter your groups, enabling you and your map users to select only the markers that meet certain requirements—and combinations of requirements. There are a couple of ways to go about viewing only what you want, but perhaps the simplest is to navigate to the lower left dropdown. Then, opt for the group of your choice and select an option from the legend to filter.

Another way to filter is via the search bar in the upper righthand corner of your map. Type in a group or specific range, then select the right one. The map will update to include only the results that match your search, and it will zoom closer to their location. But that’s not the extent of what you can do.

Add Multiple Filters At Once

Narrowing down your map by one value, say the largest range (495K – 7,800 acres), already makes your data more manageable. With a single filter, you isolate 27 out of the 168 city parks on the map. However, you have the option to further your focus with additional filters at once.

Via the dropdown in the lower left of your map, you can mix and match different groups, adding more values in the legend. As you select additional values, the filter grows, showing you only the data you want to see, when you want to see it.

Get a new view into your data with map filtering. Try copy-pasting your Excel spreadsheet into batchgeo.com to start gaining fresh insights.