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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 07/09/2026

The roc (or rukh) was a legendary bird of prey that Marco Polo described as 'so strong that it will seize an elephant in its talons and carry him high into the air and drop him so that he is smashed to pieces'.

Map: Tavola XXXXI. Che Ha Sua Superiore La Tavola. XXIII. E.XXIIII. Libro Terzo. (Urbano Monte, 1587)

Ferdinandes Magalanes Lusitanus, plate 4 from "Americae Retectio". Source: Smithsonian

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Whit Durham @canebrake.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jodocus Hondius’s 1590-1602 map of the world hosts a pair of ferocious beasts and a flying fish. Note the European uncertainty about the poles and Australia at the time. This map is held by a private collector.

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 23/08/2026

The tragic story behind the phantom Willoughby's Land in the Barents Sea is a remarkable episode in early explorations of the Northeast Passage. After sighting land at 72°N in 1553, did Sir Hugh Willoughby and his crew accidentally poison themselves when forced to overwinter in the Arctic?

Willoughby’s ships frozen in for the winter in Arctic seas

Map: Inset from Europam ab Asia & Africa segregant Mare mediterraneum, Euxinus Pontus (nunc Mare Majus) Palus Meotides, Fluminaque Tanais et Duina (Petrus Plancius, 1594). Source: Wikimedia

Map: Hydrographica Septentrionalis Norvegiae partis descriptio in qua quomodo tuto navigarae, vel etiam anchoras figere, Braevia item et syrtes evitare liceat, demonstratur (Willem Barentsz, 1596). Source: Nasjonalbiblioteket

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 17/08/2026

Gerardus Mercator writing in his 1595 atlas stated: Only two habitations in the extreme North, namely in Greenland, are known to us, Alba (11°W, 74°45'N) and St Thomas monastery (16°W 75°12'N).

Map: Septentrionalium terrarum descriptio (Mercator, 1595). Source: Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 09/08/2026

Our new video is out... 🇺🇸v🇩🇰 and the myth of Peary Channel in northeast Greenland

youtu.be

The deadly race to map Greenland's last unknown frontier

YouTube video by Map Myths

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 07/08/2026

When Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was discovered in 1642 by Abel Tasman, it appeared on contemporary maps as an isolated coastline. Its insular nature would not be confirmed for another 150 years.

Map: Magnum Mare del Zur cum Insula California (Frederick de Wit, 1690). Source: David Rumsey

Map: Hemisphere Meridional (Guillaume de L'Isle, 1714). Source: David Rumsey

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Whit Durham @canebrake.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerard Mercator’s 1600-1699 map of South America features a very spiny fish, a flying fish, a Patagonian giant, and some folks potentially exploring Antarctic waters. This map is held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

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Daniel Bellingradt @dbellingradt.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

While celebrating or watching in horror the #July4th in the US of America, let's take a second and thank Matthias and Martin (M&M) who used the term #America first (in a world map they published in 1507), in honor of the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. The too long hashtag for M&M is ... 1/2

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 04/07/2026

#OTD in 1892, Robert Peary reached Independence Fjord and assumed it to mark the northern coast of mainland Greenland. The phantom Peary Channel he charted would remain on maps until Danish expeditions completed surveys of this coastline decades later. mapmyths.com/blog/peary-c...

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 01/07/2026

A lighthouse built on the Baltic island of Märket ended up redrawing an international border. In 1885, when Finland was part of the Russian Empire, a much-needed lighthouse was planned - the treacherous island had contributed to the sinking of eight ships in 1873 alone.

Märket on the border between Finland and Sweden
Karta öfver Åland (Nordisk familjebok, 1922). Source: Projekt Runeberg

Map of Märket
Source: https://www.histdoc.net/historia/se/market.html

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Whit Durham @canebrake.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jan Baptista Vrients’s 1608 map of Genoa features a pair of sea beasts (one startled by the compass), and a siren with head plumage and braided tails. And how about those griffons? This map is held by a private collector.

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 23/06/2026

Look closely at Swisstopo maps, and you might find a hidden easter egg. www.swisstopo.admin.ch/en/hidden-im...

Hidden images in national swisstopo maps

A marmot hidden in the crags above the Aletschgletscher

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 20/06/2026

The legend of Prester John goes back to the mid-12th century, and tells of a Christian king of enormous wealth and power. His kingdom was initially thought to lie in Asia. The idea that it could lie in Africa emerged once Europeans began to learn about the real Christian kingdom of Ethiopia.

The Fra Mauro world map (1459).
'Here is the principal residence of Prester John'
Source: https://mostre.museogalileo.it/framauro/en/interactive-exploration/explore.html

Prester John enthroned in East Africa. The Queen Mary Atlas (Diogo Homem, c.1559). Source: British Library

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 17/06/2026

The Royal Cartographer to France created a rare mistake in 1780 by mapping 'Alaschka' as an island. The name derives from the Aleut language, meaning 'the mainland'. This early attempt at rendering the Aleutian Islands came just after Cook's voyage to the Pacific Northwest returned in 1779.

'Alaschka' as an island. Map: Planisphere suivant la projection de Mercator (Rigobert Bonne, 1780). Source: Yale University

Map: Planisphere suivant la projection de Mercator (Rigobert Bonne, 1780). Source: Yale University

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Whit Durham @canebrake.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerard Mercator and Andre Thevet’s 1569 map of western South America features a furry fish with a wolf-like head, what looks like a wolfman on all fours, and some Patagonian giants. This map is held by the Library of Congress.

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 04/06/2026

Muhammad Al-Idrisi's world map from 1154 is one of the most advanced of its time, drawn for the Norman king of Sicily, Roger II. To ensure its accuracy, 15 years were spent examining existing maps and interviewing travellers. Note that south is at the top of the map.

Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154. Modern consolidation, created from al-Idrisi's 70 double-page spreads.Source: BNF

(Rotated) Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154. Modern consolidation, created from al-Idrisi's 70 double-page spreads.Source: BNF

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 23/11/2024

A short story on the mysterious 'double-life' of Giles Land - a phantom island that persisted on maps of the Arctic well into the 20th century. How did the island manage to fool mappers and explorers for so long? 🧵

media.tenor.com

a foggy landscape with mountains and a body of water in the foreground

ALT: a foggy landscape with mountains and a body of water in the foreground

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 19/05/2026

During the first circumnavigation of the world, Ferdinand Magellan came across only two islands during their traverse of the Pacific Ocean. One found on 24th January 1521 was named San Pablo, probably the Puka-Puka atoll in the north-eastern Tuamotu Archipelago.

NASA astronaut image of Puka Puka Atoll (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia) in the Pacific Ocean

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 29/04/2026

A new island was just discovered in Antarctica. And it definitely isn't an iceberg. The 'dirty iceberg' spotted by RV Polarstern in the Weddell Sea turned out to be a rocky island 130 metres long & 50 metres wide. The naming process is underway.

awi.de

Uncharted island soon to appear on nautical charts

A 93-strong international expedition team has been exploring the northwestern Weddell Sea in the Antarctic on board the Alfred Wegener Institute's icebreaker Polarstern since 8 February 2026. In this ...

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 27/04/2026

For #MapMonsterMonday, why not check out our new video on Abraham Ortelius' Islandia? If the sea monsters, the erupting gateway to hell, or polar bears didn't get you, at least you could quench your thirst at the spring of beer 🍺

youtu.be

The bizarre details hidden in a 16th-century map of Iceland

YouTube video by Map Myths

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Whit Durham @canebrake.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

1/3 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerard Mercator’s 1569 (reprinted here 1864) sheet five of his map of the world hosts many incredible creatures that defy description. This map is held by a the University of Pittsburgh.

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 26/04/2026

Early explorations of the Paraguay River and the discovery of the vast Pantanal floodplain soon led to the embellishment of a vast inland sea. Initially, it went by the name of Eupana on Portuguese and other European maps.

Map: Bartolomeu Velho, 1561. Source: Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza

Aerial view of Pantanal Wetlands in Brazil. Source: Greenpeace

Map: America (Mercator & Hondius, 1623). Source: David Rumsey

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 18/04/2026

The mis-sighting of the Croker Mountains represents probably one of the most significant mistakes made in the race to find a Northwest Passage during the 19th century.

A General Chart Shewing the Track and Discoveries of H.M. Ships Isabella & Alexander to Davis's Straits and Baffins Bay in an attempt to discover a passage into the Pacific Ocean (John Ross, 1819)

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 17/04/2026

Map myths in the wild...Mercator's Septentrionalium Terrarum descriptio spotted on an advertisement at University of Tromsø campus

Septentrionalium Terrarum descriptio by Gerard Mercator, second state

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 14/04/2026

Happy 499th birthday to Abraham Ortelius! 🎉

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 12/04/2026

📣 NEW BLOG POST: From Puritan paradise to debaucherous hellhole. Once hailed as a royal gift ripe for the taking, the island of Fonseca eventually became synonymous with debauchery and the worst of 'colonial vices'.

Providencia and its barrier reefs, as seen by Landsat 9. Source: NASA

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 10/04/2026

The Nimrod Islands were first reported by Captain Henry Eilbeck of the ship Nimrod, who passed them while sailing across the Pacific between Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) and Rio Janeiro in 1828. He noted a great quantity of marine 'vegetables' and numerous birds and amphibious animals.

Map: World, Mercator's projection (John Arrowsmith, 1835). Source: David Rumsey

Map: Antarctic research : series of maps illustrating Dr. John Murray's address, 1893 (John Bartholomew, 1894). Source: David Rumsey

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 03/04/2026

I take you on a short journey around Buache's 1757 map of his Terres Antarctiques, and the stories he used to predict an entire continent. #Antarctica

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The 'impossible' map of Antarctica, decades before its discovery #Antarctica #history

YouTube video by Map Myths

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 29/03/2026

A surveying mistake made in 1841 near Vancouver can still be found on Google Maps. Gordon and Adolphus islands were inexplicably charted within the San Juan Islands in Washington by Lieut. Charles Wilkes during the United States Exploring Expedition, even though neither existed.

Map: Atlas of the Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition : during the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842 (Charles Wilkes, 1844). Source: Library of Congress

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 23/03/2026

Spot the difference...1541 vs 1561 and the correction of the Yucatan island to a peninsula. Traces of the mistaken coastline are still evident on the printing block used for Ruscelli's 1561 version of his 'New Spain' map.

Map: Nueva Hispania tabula nova (Giacomo Gastaldi, 1548). Source: David Rumsey

Map: Nueva Hispania tabula nova (Girolamo Ruscelli, 1561). Source: David Rumsey

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 16/03/2026

Johnston Atoll was inadvertently discovered when two ships simultaneously ran aground on its northern reef in 1796. Captain Pierpont conveyed his experience to several American newspapers, along with reasonably accurate coordinates. But Pierpont would not be the one to name the atoll.

"DISCOVERY. In lat. 16, 45, N. long. 169, 38 W. from London, on my passage from the Sandwich Islands to China, the 2d. of Sept. 1796, at midnight, in company with the sch. Prince William Henry, William Wake, master, of London, we both ran ashore on the North-side of a reef of Coral rocks and sand, where we continued until the next day noon─at which time the weather being very clear, we saw two small Islands of Sand, bearing W by N. 4 or 5 miles distant; and from our topgallant-mast-head, we saw the shoal extending E.S.E. southerly round to W.S.W.─but how far we were not able to determine. Keep the lat. 17. N. and the shoal will not be seen. JOSEPH PIERPONT."

Philadelphia Gazette, September 18 1797.

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 12/03/2026

According to the English hydrographer, John Purdy, Walker's Islands were first reported by a Captain Walker in 1814, described as low and well-wooded. Their coordinates were recorded as 3°34'N, 149°15'W.

Map: Carte particuliere de la Polynesie, (partie de l'Oceanie). (Adrien Hubert Brue, 1827). Source: David Rumsey

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The Old Map Gallery @oldmapgallery.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

A wonderful mix of evolving precision, and some mythical holdovers. So much of the East Indies now becomes identifiable, but it looks like a land bridge connects Australia to Papua New Guinea. Note as well the lake which is the source to all the great rivers of SE Asia #maps #history #map #Asia

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 08/03/2026

📣 New blogpost: The armchair explorer and the “Desired” Australian river. One bored pensioner’s vision for the unexplored interior of Australia – a country he’d never actually visited – doomed numerous expeditions during the 19th century. 🧵

The expedition in a desert in Australia (Thomas Maslen, 1830). Source: State Library South Australia.

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 07/03/2026

Our latest short about Sannikov Land, a mirage of the Siberian Arctic. Or did it simply get eroded? Find out more at mapmyths.com/blog/sanniko... Thanks to @media.elizaveta.no for the edit.

youtube.com

Soviet Hollywood's phantom island epic

YouTube video by Map Myths

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 03/03/2026

Even in the 20th century, giant icebergs in the Southern Ocean were still being reported as newly discovered islands. Truls Island was once such mis-sighting, made by the whaling ship Truls in January 1930. The height of the island was claimed to be 33 metres.

“Changing look-outs 10pm Look-out is kept 175 feet aloft on the main mast.”. Source: livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/54914

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Whit Durham @canebrake.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerard de Jode’s 1593 map of northern Europe features a trio of fanciful sea monsters that appear to be having a grand time frolicking among the ships. This map is held by a private collector.

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 17/02/2026

🧵 THE MIRAGE CELEBRATED BY SOVIET HOLLYWOOD For over 125 years, the elusive Sannikov Land foiled explorers, directed the funding of the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences, and eventually morphed into a cinematic epic.

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 17/02/2026

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 14/02/2026

💔 The tragic love affair bound to a phantom island. The Isle of Demons became the setting for the marooning of the French noblewoman, Marguerite de La Rocque, and her lover when their affair was discovered during their transit to the New World in 1542.

Map: Nuova Francia (Giacomo Gastaldi, 1556). Source: McGill University

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 09/02/2026

The first appearance of Albion Island on maps coincides with a rivalry between the French and English on who would be the first to publish the first chart of Australia's full coastline. 🧵

Map: Carte de Indes Orientales (Pierre Du Val, 1665). Source: David Rumsey

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 05/02/2026

In our interactive map, relive centuries of exploration and speculation to uncover the routes of the Northwest and Northeast passages. mapmyths.com/arctic-fog

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 31/01/2026

🧵 MURDER AT THE NORTH POLE The debate over who really first reached the North Pole became a bitter public dispute in the early 1900s. Crocker Land was perhaps the key: sighted by Robert E. Peary but undetected by his rival Frederick Cook, could its discovery prove who really traversed the Arctic?

Lieut. Robert E. Peary, Arctic Explorer, Discoverer of the North Pole, April 6 1909. Source: Bowdoin College

The Sunday illustrated supplement of the Paris newspaper Le Petit Journal, for September 19, 1909, shows Robert E. Peary and Frederick Cook battling at the North Pole, observed by penguins: "The Conquest of the North Pole / Dr. Cook and Commander Peary argue over glory." Source: Bowdoin College

Dr Frederick Cook c.1906, Arctic Explorer, Discoverer of the North Pole, April 21, 1908. Source: Bowdoin College

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 25/01/2026

Watch our very first long-format video, which showcases the American-led Crocker Land Expedition of 1913. From the amazing photo and film archive brought back from Greenland, we explore how the search for a phantom land during the race for the North Pole led to one man never returning from the ice.

youtu.be

Murder in the Arctic while on the chase for phantom land

YouTube video by Map Myths

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Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 23/01/2026

For a brief time in 2021, the northernmost land in the world was considered to be the newly discovered island of Qeqertaq Avannarleq north of Greenland. But it would soon be revealed that it was just an iceberg.

Drone shot of Qeqertaq Avannarleq (Martin Nissen, 2021) . Source: Arctic Today.

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Brilliant Maps @brilliantmaps.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Bad Map Projection #248: Madagascator Mercator projection but with the North Pole in the Indian Ocean so it exaggerates the size of Madagascar instead of Greenland Credit: XKCD Explanation & 7 Other Examples: brilliantmaps.com/bad-map-p...

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