diff --git a/src/common/utilities.js b/src/common/utilities.js
index 25c1718..4050da9 100644
--- a/src/common/utilities.js
+++ b/src/common/utilities.js
@@ -180,5 +180,6 @@ export function getEventOpacity (events) {
    * other events there are in the same render. The idea here is that the
    * overlaying of events builds up a 'heat map' of the event space, where
    * darker areas represent more events with proportion */
-  return 0.3 + (Math.min(0.5, 0.08 * (events.length - 1)))
+  const base = events.length >= 1 ? 0.3 : 0
+  return base + (Math.min(0.5, 0.08 * (events.length - 1)))
 }
diff --git a/src/components/Timeline.jsx b/src/components/Timeline.jsx
index d532ba1..89fca83 100644
--- a/src/components/Timeline.jsx
+++ b/src/components/Timeline.jsx
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ class Timeline extends React.Component {
                 onDragStart={() => { this.onDragStart() }}
                 onDrag={() => { this.onDrag() }}
                 onDragEnd={() => { this.onDragEnd() }}
-                categories={this.props.domain.categories}
+                categories={this.props.domain.categoriesWithTimeline}
               />
               <Handles
                 dims={dims}
@@ -346,6 +346,7 @@ function mapStateToProps (state) {
     domain: {
       datetimes: selectors.selectDatetimes(state),
       categories: selectors.getCategories(state),
+      categoriesWithTimeline: selectors.selectCategoriesWithTimeline(state),
       narratives: state.domain.narratives
     },
     app: {
diff --git a/src/components/TimelineCategories.jsx b/src/components/TimelineCategories.jsx
index a97ccc5..7d41383 100644
--- a/src/components/TimelineCategories.jsx
+++ b/src/components/TimelineCategories.jsx
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ import React from 'react'
 import * as d3 from 'd3'
 
 class TimelineCategories extends React.Component {
-  constructor () {
-    super()
+  constructor (props) {
+    super(props)
     this.grabRef = React.createRef()
     this.state = {
       isInitialized: false
@@ -38,9 +38,7 @@ class TimelineCategories extends React.Component {
     const dims = this.props.dims
 
     return (
-      <g
-        class='yAxis'
-      >
+      <g class='yAxis'>
         {this.props.categories.map((cat, idx) => this.renderCategory(cat, idx))}
         <rect
           ref={this.grabRef}
diff --git a/src/components/presentational/Timeline/DatetimeBar.js b/src/components/presentational/Timeline/DatetimeBar.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2ef86e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/presentational/Timeline/DatetimeBar.js
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import React from 'react'
+
+export default ({
+  category,
+  events,
+  x,
+  y,
+  onSelect,
+  styleProps,
+  extraRender
+}) => (
+    <rect
+      onClick={onSelect}
+      className='event'
+      x={x}
+      y={y}
+      style={styleProps}
+      width={4}
+      height={55}
+    />
+)
diff --git a/src/components/presentational/Timeline/DatetimeDot.js b/src/components/presentational/Timeline/DatetimeDot.js
index 24a7abd..505701e 100644
--- a/src/components/presentational/Timeline/DatetimeDot.js
+++ b/src/components/presentational/Timeline/DatetimeDot.js
@@ -9,18 +9,12 @@ export default ({
   styleProps,
   extraRender
 }) => (
-  <g
-    className='datetime'
-    transform={`translate(${x}, ${y})`}
-    onClick={() => onSelect(events)}
-  >
-    <circle
-      className='event'
-      cx={0}
-      cy={0}
-      style={styleProps}
-      r={5}
-    />
-    { extraRender ? extraRender() : null }
-  </g>
+  <circle
+    onClick={onSelect}
+    className='event'
+    cx={x}
+    cy={y}
+    style={styleProps}
+    r={5}
+  />
 )
diff --git a/src/components/presentational/Timeline/Events.js b/src/components/presentational/Timeline/Events.js
index bd80ea2..b6c6e34 100644
--- a/src/components/presentational/Timeline/Events.js
+++ b/src/components/presentational/Timeline/Events.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import React from 'react'
 import DatetimeDot from './DatetimeDot'
+import DatetimeBar from './DatetimeBar'
 import { getEventOpacity } from '../../../common/utilities'
 
 // return a list of lists, where each list corresponds to a single category
@@ -57,43 +58,52 @@ const TimelineEvents = ({
       const customStyles = styleDatetime ? styleDatetime(datetime, dot.category) : null
       const extraStyles = customStyles[0]
 
-      // const isLocated = dot.events.map(ev => !ev.latitude || !ev.longitude)
+      const categoryColor = getCategoryColor(dot.category)
+      const locatedEvents = dot.events.filter(ev => ev.latitude && ev.longitude)
+      const unlocatedEvents = dot.events.filter(ev => !ev.latitude || !ev.longitude)
 
       // TODO: work out smarter way to manage opacity w.r.t. length
       // i.e. render (count - 1) extra dots with a bit of noise in position
       // and that, when clicked, all open the same events.
-      const styleProps = ({
-        fill: getCategoryColor(dot.category),
-        fillOpacity: getEventOpacity(dot.events),
+      const locatedProps = ({
+        fill: categoryColor,
+        fillOpacity: getEventOpacity(locatedEvents),
         transition: `transform ${transitionDuration / 1000}s ease`,
         ...extraStyles
       })
 
-      const extraRender = () => (
-        <React.Fragment>
-          {customStyles[1]}
-        </React.Fragment>
-      )
+      const unlocatedProps = {
+        fill: categoryColor,
+        fillOpacity: getEventOpacity(unlocatedEvents)
+      }
 
-      return (<React.Fragment>
-        <DatetimeDot
-          onSelect={onSelect}
-          category={dot.category}
-          events={dot.events}
-          x={getDatetimeX(datetime)}
-          y={getCategoryY(dot.category)}
-          styleProps={styleProps}
-          extraRender={extraRender}
-        />
-      </React.Fragment>
+      const extraRender = customStyles[1]
+
+      return (
+        <g className='datetime'>
+          {locatedEvents.length >= 1 && <DatetimeDot
+            onSelect={() => onSelect(locatedEvents)}
+            category={dot.category}
+            events={locatedEvents}
+            x={getDatetimeX(datetime)}
+            y={getCategoryY(dot.category)}
+            styleProps={locatedProps}
+            extraRender={extraRender}
+          />}
+          {unlocatedEvents.length >= 1 && <DatetimeBar
+            onSelect={() => onSelect(unlocatedEvents)}
+            category={dot.category}
+            events={unlocatedEvents}
+            x={getDatetimeX(datetime)}
+            y={40}
+            styleProps={unlocatedProps}
+          />}
+          {extraRender ? extraRender() : null}
+        </g>
       )
     })
   }
 
-  // console.log(datetimes
-  //   .filter(d => d.events.some(e => e.category !== 'Legislation'))
-  // )
-
   return (
     <g
       clipPath={'url(#clip)'}
diff --git a/src/components/presentational/Timeline/Markers.js b/src/components/presentational/Timeline/Markers.js
index 6d9e7d1..80b628b 100644
--- a/src/components/presentational/Timeline/Markers.js
+++ b/src/components/presentational/Timeline/Markers.js
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ import colors from '../../../common/global.js'
 
 const TimelineMarkers = ({ styles, getEventX, getCategoryY, transitionDuration, selected }) => {
   function renderMarker (event) {
-    return (
+    const isLocated = !!event.latitude && !!event.longitude
+    return isLocated ? (
       <circle
         className='timeline-marker'
         cx={0}
@@ -22,6 +23,26 @@ const TimelineMarkers = ({ styles, getEventX, getCategoryY, transitionDuration,
         }}
         r='10'
       />
+    ) : (
+      <rect
+        className='timeline-marker'
+        x={0}
+        y={0}
+        width={4}
+        height={55}
+        stroke={styles ? styles.stroke : colors.primaryHighlight}
+        stroke-opacity='1'
+        stroke-width={styles ? styles['stroke-width'] : 2}
+        stroke-linecap=''
+        style={{
+          'transform': `translate(${getEventX(event)}px, 40px)`,
+          '-webkit-transition': `transform ${transitionDuration / 1000}s ease`,
+          '-moz-transition': 'none',
+          'opacity': 0.9
+        }}
+        r='10'
+      />
+
     )
   }
 
diff --git a/src/selectors/helpers.js b/src/selectors/helpers.js
index 273d70f..d7e7257 100644
--- a/src/selectors/helpers.js
+++ b/src/selectors/helpers.js
@@ -14,3 +14,16 @@ export function isTimeRangedIn (event, timeRange) {
     eventTime < timeRange[1]
   )
 }
+
+/**
+ * Shuffles array in place. ES6 version
+ * @param {Array} a items An array containing the items.
+ * https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6274339/how-can-i-shuffle-an-array
+ */
+export function shuffle (a) {
+  for (let i = a.length - 1; i > 0; i--) {
+    const j = Math.floor(Math.random() * (i + 1));
+    [a[i], a[j]] = [a[j], a[i]]
+  }
+  return a
+}
diff --git a/src/selectors/index.js b/src/selectors/index.js
index 933fa44..42df9f3 100644
--- a/src/selectors/index.js
+++ b/src/selectors/index.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { createSelector } from 'reselect'
 import { compareTimestamp, insetSourceFrom } from '../common/utilities'
-import { isTimeRangedIn } from './helpers'
+import { isTimeRangedIn, shuffle } from './helpers'
 
 // Input selectors
 export const getEvents = state => state.domain.events
@@ -181,3 +181,27 @@ export const selectSelected = createSelector(
     return selected.map(insetSourceFrom(sources))
   }
 )
+
+/**
+ * Only categories that have events which are located should show on the
+ * timeline.
+ */
+export const selectCategoriesWithTimeline = createSelector(
+  [getCategories, getEvents],
+  (categories, events) => {
+    if (categories.length === 0) {
+      return categories
+    }
+    // check for located events in category
+    // shuffle first to improve chances of stopping more quickly
+    const hasLocated = {}
+    for (let event of shuffle(events)) {
+      if (Object.keys(hasLocated).length === categories.length) break
+      const cat = event.category
+      if (hasLocated[cat]) continue
+      const isLocated = !!event.longitude && !!event.latitude
+      if (isLocated) hasLocated[cat] = true
+    }
+    return categories.filter(cat => hasLocated[cat.category])
+  }
+)