iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The monastery was mentioned again in the narrative of a 14th-century voyage taken by the Zeno brothers, published in 1558. While on the search for new land, Nicolo Zeno discovered a church dedicated to Saint Thomas, '...hard by a hill which vomited fire like Vesuvius and Etna'.

The Zeno Map, with St Thomas monastery located in the north of Greenland.

Map: Nova totius terrarum orbis iuxta neotericorum traditiones descriptio (Abraham Ortelius, 1564). Source: Basel University Library

030

When the Christian king of this isle fell sick and was on his deathbed, St. Thomas of Canterbury appeared to him in a vision, instructing the king to build a church dedicated to him. As soon as the first stone was laid, the king's illness lifted.

St. Thomas Monastery, Gevaş, Van (not Greenland) Source: https://www.jelleverheij.net/monuments/st-thomas-monastery.html

The monastery likely stems from a legendary miracle recounted in the 14th-century travelogue of Sir John Mandeville. The story is set in Tile (Thule) - the furthest isle of the world inhabited by men.

Jean de Mandeville is sent forth from England on his expedition by Edward II

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 10/08/2026

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

130

Yeah! It was restored in 2016, so it should stand for a while longer.

230

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 07/08/2026

It would not be until 1798-99 when Matthew Flinders and George Bass sailed through Bass Strait that Tasmania was definitively determined to be an island. In 1856, Van Diemen's Land was renamed Tasmania in honour of the first European to visit the island. mapmyths.com/van-diemen's...

Map: A chart of Bass's Strait between New South Wales and van Diemen's Land explored by Mattw. Flinders 2nd, Lieut. of his Majesty's ship Reliance by order of His Excellency Governor Hunter, 1798-9 (A Arrowsmith 1800) Source: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231299708

121

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 07/08/2026

When more of the Australian coastline became charted, particularly following Captain Cook's visit to the east coast in 1770, cartographers became increasingly confident that Van Diemen's Land was connected to its larger neighbour.

Map: S. Hemisphere (James Cook 1777). Source: David Rumsey

Map: Tabula Geographica Hemisphaerii Australis (Leonhard Euhler, 1753). Source: David Rumsey

Map: Carte reduite du Globe Terrestre ( Pierre Marie François Pages 1782). Source: David Rumsey

Map: Southern Hemisphere (William Faden, 1790). Source: David Rumsey

142

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

163

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...

073

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 01/07/2026

The Finnish architect Georg Schreck managed to build the lighthouse on the highest point of the island; it just so happened to be on the Swedish side. Yet, the lighthouse was never considered Swedish, nor administered from Sweden.

Märket Lighthouse, Finland. Source: Wikimedia

Plaque on Märket island. Source: https://www.foboconsulting.com/post/market-reef

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

132

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

162

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 20/06/2026

The full map by Diogo Homem (c. 1559), held by the British Library.

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

020

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

140

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

062

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 04/06/2026

The myth of the Mountains of the Moon features prominently as a source for the 'Egypt Nile', but also the 'Sudan Nile', flowing to the Atlantic. The latter is likely a conflation of great rivers such as the Niger, at the southern edge of the Mediterranean's 'known world'.

Of the ten surviving copies of the Tabula Rogeriana, six contain at the start of the work a circular map of the world, which is not mentioned in the text of al-Idris. Source: Bodleian Library

(Rotated) Of the ten surviving copies of the Tabula Rogeriana, six contain at the start of the work a circular map of the world, which is not mentioned in the text of al-Idris. Source: Bodleian Library

150

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

1269

Poor positioning of the original sighting meant this island would survive in duplicate on some maps (along with Honden Eylandt or Puka Puka) well into the 20th century.

Map: South Pacific Ocean (John Bartholomew, 1922). Source: David Rumsey

251

Dutch explorers Jacob le Maire and Willem Schouten also landed at Puka-Puka on April 10, 1616, naming it 'Honden Eylandt' (Dog Island) on account of seeing three dogs along the coast. This was also the voyage that proved a route around Cape Horn was viable, thus avoiding the Strait of Magellan.

Map: Mare del Sud detto alurimenti Mare Pacifico (Vincenzo Coronelli, 1693). Source: David Rumsey

Map: Americas and the Pacific (Joannes van Keulen, 1680). Source: David Rumsey.

131

Together with Tiburones they were named Islas Infortunadas (Unfortunate Islands in Spanish) on account of them not having any water or fresh food. Only trees, birds, and sharks. The date of discovery is near the festival of when Paul the Apostle is traditionally said to have become a Christian.

Map: Americae Sive Novi Orbis, Nova Descriptio (Abraham Ortelius, 1570). Source: University of Washington.

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 29/04/2026

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

162

Its picture nicely demonstrates why many phantom islands once filled charts of the Southern Ocean, like Dougherty, Nimrod, Emerald, Pagoda Rock, and more. All of which have since melted away. 📖 mapmyths.com/dougherty-is...

Island in the Weddell Sea not yet recorded on nautical charts (Photo: Alfred Wegener Institute / Simon Dreutter)

020

Although it was realised during the 17th century that the Paraguay River did not connect with the Amazon basin, Lago de los Xarayes would appear on some maps even into the 19th century. 📖 mapmyths.com/lago-de-los-...

Map: Mar di Aethiopia vulgo Oceanus Aethiopicus (Johannes Jansson, 1650). Source: David Rumsey

Map: South America (John Grigg, 1830). Source: David Rumsey

030

Relevant Spanish explorations of the Paraguay River (in search of gold) included Sebastian Cabot in the 1520s and later by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1543, who at the time was the Spanish governor of Río de la Plata, based in Asunción.

121

The lake's name later became commonly associated with the Xarayes (the indigenous people who lived in the region and roughly translated to 'masters of the river') following the 1601 publication of Antonio de Herrera's chronicles of Spanish conquests in the New World.

This river is called Paranaguazu in the language of the Indians, and commonly Parana. It has its entrance and mouth on the South Sea from 35 degrees to 36 degrees high, between the capes of Santa Maria and Cabo Blanco, which from there another ten leagues wide, with many islands in between, and many very large and volumunious rivers that enter it from the east and west, up to the port of Los Reyes, which is a large lagoon called Los Xarayes, a little less than 300 leagues from the Rio de la Plata...

Source: Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos en las Islas i Tierra firme del Mar Oceano

Map: Paraguay o Prov. De Rio De La Plata cum regionibus adiacentibus Tucuman et Sta. Cruz De la Sierra (Willem Blaeu, 1642). Source: Stanford University

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 18/04/2026

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

161

He named the mountains after the First Secretary of the Admiralty, and with no further investigation or consultation with his crew he turned the ship around, despite the many protestations of his officers.

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 18/04/2026

Despite heavy sea-ice in 1818, John Ross managed to reach Lancaster Sound in the far northwest of Baffin Bay. After several miles of sailing between Devon Island and Baffin Island, Ross looked out and saw a mountain range blocking any possible progress westwards.

Lancaster Sound, as seen from H.M.S. Isabella at 3P.M. August 31st 1818 (John Ross, 1819)

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)

141

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

140

Satirical stories of Fonseca started appearing in the late 17th century. One 1708 letter described it as a moral and social hellhole, where "such a mixture of pestilential nastiness, folly, pride and extortion" had never been seen before.

A voyage to the new island Fonseca, near Barbadoes. Source: NLA

Not long after, in 1633, John Pym and his company of investors were on the verge of sending Puritan colonists there from England, believing it to be more fertile than their current colony on Providencia. But at the last minute, they chose to pursue trade relations with tribes in S. America instead.

QuakersEngelse Quakers en tabak planters in Barbados (Peter van der Aa, 1726). Source: NYPL

This phantom first appears in 1537, east of Barbados and Tobago, with the moniker Biciosas (vicious). Others renamed it San Bernardo, including Cabot (1544) and Mercator (1569), before its final form of Fonseca (dry source) arrived on Hondius' double hemisphere world map c.1595.

Portolan (Gaspar Viegas c. 1537). Source: Biblioteca Riccardiana

Map: Mappemonde (Sébastien Cabot, 1544). Source: BNF

Map: Gerard Mercator's Mappemonde, Duisburg (1569). Source: Wikimedia

Map: Vera Totius Expeditionis Nauticae (Jodocus Hondius, 1595). Source: LOC

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 10/04/2026

📣 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

111

Captain JK Davis, sailing aboard a different Nimrod, measured a depth of 1140 fathoms (2,080 m) nearby in 1909 without reaching bottom, after the British Antarctic Expedition led by Shackleton. Eilbeck had likely sighted icebergs, but the islands were not removed from Admiralty charts until 1935.

John King Davis. Australian Antarctic Program

060

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

161

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 29/03/2026

Given Wilkes' antagonistic reputation, one theory is that the islands were snuck in by a disgruntled officer keen to embarrass his reputation. The error was noticed by the United States Coast Survey in 1853. However, Gordon Island's name has survived and is still visible on Google Maps.

Google Maps screenshot from the San Juan Islands in Washington.

131

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

281

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 23/03/2026

And the entire map in its full glory.. #Mexico

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

030

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

183

The danger became known as Wake's Rocks (or reef or ledge), and was later transposed into the eastern hemisphere for unknown reasons, remaining as a phantom island for nearly 100 years. Johnston's 1807 discovery thus filled an empty space on the map, and the name stuck. 📖 mapmyths.com/wake's-reef

Map: Pacific Ocean (Aaron Arrowsmith, 1819). Source: David Rumsey

Map: Hydrographical Chart of the World (Aaron Arrowsmith, 1819). Source: David Rumsey

Map: Pacific Ocean including Oceania (Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 1859). Source: David Rumsey

News of Pierpont's and Wake's grounding on the reef apparently reached Aaron Arrowsmith (Hydrographer to the King), who included it on his 1798 'Reduced Chart of the Pacific'. However, the coordinates used were considerably different to those described by Pierpont. Did Wake supply inaccurate data?

Map: Reduced Chart of the Pacific Ocean (Aaron Arrowsmith, 1798). Source: David Rumsey

That break fell to Captain Charles James Johnston, onboard the HMS Cornwallis of the Royal Navy, who rediscovered the atoll on December 14, 1807. But how did Pierpont miss the chance to lay claim to the discovery?

Map Myths @mapmyths.com · 12/03/2026

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.

152

Walker Island would survive on maps of the Pacific into the 20th century, including on this 1924 "Rand McNally Standard Map of The Pacific Ocean and Bordering Lands".

Map: Standard Map of The Pacific Ocean and Bordering Lands (Rand McNally, 1924). Source: David Rumsey