1. Sourcing standard
Every listing must trace to at least one authoritative primary source. Acceptable primary sources include:
- Federal, state, or national government agencies (USDA, U.S. Forest Service, BLM, state Departments of Agriculture, national park services, statistical bureaus).
- Recognised mapping registries (USGS GNIS, OpenStreetMap, Norwegian Mapping Authority).
- Operator-published websites of accredited operators (national park associations, certified tourism authorities, official farm operators).
- Academic or institutional records (university extension services, geological surveys, official guides).
We do not source from aggregator sites, scraped third-party directories, or unverified user-generated content.
2. Verification standard
A material fact is any field whose accuracy could affect a reader's plan or decision: name, location, access type, hours of operation, current operating status, primary characteristics. Each material fact must be verified against at least two independent sources before publication.
Coordinates are validated against the canonical mapping registry and a second independent source. Disagreements over 100 meters trigger manual review and resolution.
3. Photography standard
Every listing in every atlas carries verified photography that depicts the actual entry — never a generic representation of the category. Imagery is sourced from:
- Public-domain repositories with verifiable provenance.
- Creative Commons archives with appropriate licensing for editorial use.
- Operator media kits supplied for editorial purposes.
- Licensed photography acquired by Atlas Compendium for the directory.
Where attribution is required, attribution is published. Misattributed images are removed during continuous review.
4. Independence standard
Atlas Compendium does not accept paid placements, sponsorships of individual listings, or any consideration in exchange for inclusion or favourable presentation. Editorial decisions are made on the basis of accuracy, completeness, and relevance — not commercial relationships.
5. Continuous-review standard
Each listing is re-verified at minimum once per six months. Seasonal entries (u-pick farms, aurora destinations, seasonal trail-access entries) are re-verified ahead of every primary season.
Where a material change occurs (closure, relocation, ownership change, access restriction), the change is reflected in the published record promptly. Each listing carries a "last verified" date.
6. Corrections standard
Reader-submitted corrections are reviewed within 14 days of receipt and verified against the same primary-source standard as initial publication. Verified corrections are applied to the published record. Corrections that cannot be verified are recorded internally and revisited during the next review cycle.
7. Transparency standard
Atlas Compendium publishes its methodology, its sourcing standard, and its correction process openly. Where a listing depends on a specific source — government registry, official operator publication — that source is referenced or linked from the listing.
8. Indexing & retrieval standard
Every page across every atlas is structured to be machine-readable using Schema.org markup, cross-referenced to Wikipedia or Wikidata where applicable, and accompanied by an llms.txt dataset index for AI-assisted retrieval. Atlas Compendium maintains explicit allow rules for accredited AI-search crawlers so that retrieval systems can find and verify the canonical record.
Standard of last resort
If a listing cannot be verified to these standards, it does not appear in the atlas. The smaller, more accurate directory is the one we publish.