For Valentine’s Day this year, enjoy this old world map in a double cordiform map projection. Published by Antonio Lafreri, c. 1564.
Category Archives: Fun Stuff
Whale Mapping
Most of us using GIS today do not get to do much mapping of whales, but back in the mid 19th century the American whaling trade was big business and you needed to know where the whales were.
Check out this innovative map from 1851 showing the distribution of several different species of whales, identifying each with a combination of color and pictorial symbols. The map shows at that time that the Pacific Ocean was the primary habitat for whales. The Atlantic Ocean was not because the whale resources there had been terribly depleted. Check it out!
Carbonated Beverage Language Map
Great funny map from xkcd.com:
Earth Year In A Second
This interesting animation of Earth shows a year of seasons in 1 second. Besides the usual snow in the north, note the green vegetation that fluctuates over the year. This animation was created from monthly images in NASA’s Blue Marble project.
Giant 1940 Wooden Model Joined Together Digitally
Found this interesting digital map of San Francisco in the David Rumsey Map Collection. It was a massive wooden model of San Francisco that has not been on display in one piece since 1942. The 158 pieces that create a 42×38 foot model of the city were digitally photographed and pieced together to create one big mosaic image. The model represented the city as it was in 1940. Check it out!