I didn't realize it when I ordered, but this is a laminated wall map.  It is a plasticky material - not paper.  It is labeled "wipe on wipe off" which I presume means it would work with dry erase markers.  I haven't tried.  The colors are very vibrant and the map shows a lot of detail.  We have this next to a similar world map (though not laminated) in my daughter's playroom.  Between the two maps, she has a great time finding places around the world and in the US of A.