Warning: do not attempt to use these maps on your next road trip. You will get lost.
At our core, scientists are story tellers. Everyone loves a good story, and maps tell some of the best. Every map has an objective, some message they want to show. Below are some of my favorite maps.
Number 5: The Earth in Motion
Let’s face it, I love the Ordovician. I think the animals that lived during that time were wild, but I also think the Earth itself looked so completely different, it’s almost unrecognizable. The full interactive map lets you look at the Earth in all different time periods. You can even put in a city name, and it will show where that city is located on Earth at a geologic time! The right hand drop down menu also lets you choose a certain event in geologic time, such as early hominids or the extinction of the dinosaurs, and it shows what the Earth looked like at this time.
The Earth during the Ordovician. Click here for the full interactive map.
I think it’s so strange to see our home look like an entirely different planet. The Earth below us was not always where it is today. I’m not the only one who struggles with thinking on long time scales. An issue with conservation is that we inherently view things on a human time scale—we cannot easily see events as they unfold over hundreds and thousands of years. The Earth is constantly in motion, we just cannot see the ground move beneath our feet. What happens on our planet in the here and now is important, but it can be changed. This too, shall pass—even the continents.
Number 4: A Perplexing Projection
One of the great troubles of geography is that, despite what you may have heard, the Earth is round. This means that the Earth is a 3D object. However, for most of human history, all of our maps have been 2D. So, how do you draw a 3D object onto a 2D surface? You create a projection, which basically flattens the Earth on a plane, so that you can draw it on your 2D paper.
Projections have resulted in some truly terrible maps (I’m looking at you, Mercator). However, it has also given us the majestic Dymaxion world map.
World Map, with a Dymaxion projection. This is the map I would use to create a map to buried treasure. No one would ever find it. Picture courtesy of Justin Kunimune, Copyright CC BY-SA 4.0. Click for link.
I love this map for a few reasons. It’s absolutely crazy, but underneath, this map has a beautiful message. The Dymaxion projection was developed by Buckminster Fuller (yes his name is as bonkers as his map) in the 1940’s and 50’s. Instead of using a relatively spherical shape to represent the relatively spherical Earth, like a cylinder (or say, a sphere) Fuller decided to use an icosahedron. Geographers, you have done your job. Please retire before you unleash more chaos on the world.
But why use an icosahedron? Why create this map at all? Here is what makes this map one of my favorites.
Fuller fully recognized that most of our world maps contain cultural bias, in that they emphasize the Northern Hemisphere and make continents in the Southern Hemisphere look smaller than the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. His Dymaxion map has less distortion of area than most maps, particularly my most hated projection—the Mercator projection. Additionally, there is no “up” or “down” on a map that has used the Dymaxion projection. Concepts like “up” or “down” have no actually meaning on a planetary scale; for example, Mars is not North or South of Earth. We actually tend to associated North with “superior” and South with “inferior,” a cultural bias that Fuller recognized and explicitly worked to fight with his projection. Finally, Fuller developed his map to unfold in many different ways, in an attempt to emphasize many different perspectives of Earth. As the projection unfolds, the continents appear connected rather than separated by vast oceans, which Fuller coined the “one island Earth.”
Animation showing how the Dymaxion projection would look, properly folded. Try this at your next origami class. Animation created by Chris Rywalt, and is in the public domain. Click for link.
Yes, this map projection is perplexing. But I love that Buckminster Fuller realized almost 80 years ago that the way we represent the Earth is biased, and developed this beautiful, crazy map to counter that bias.
Number 3: The Origins of Food
Trying to guess where my food originated, and discovering how incredibly wrong I am, is one of my favorite past times. My lab used to spend hours discussing how the food we associate so strongly with being American, such as apples and corn, didn’t originate in North America. A 2016 study by Khoury et al studied the origins of many of our foods, and created this fantastic map showing where these foods originated. I find this map so interesting because of all the surprises. I had no idea apples originated in Europe and Asia, or that watermelons originated in Southern Africa!
Figure from Khoury et al 2016 reproduced under CC BY 4.0. Click for link. For a more interactive map, click here.
There are so many hidden nuggets all over this map. For example, cabbages are shown to have originated in Southwestern Europe and East Asia. Over in the Western Hemisphere, pumpkins originated in tropical South America and North America. I love that this map challenges my perceptions of the history of my food, and forces me to recognize the contributions of so many before me.
Number 2: Migrations in Motion
I’ll admit it—I like pretty things. This map is gorgeous, and just plain cool. Each of the little squiggly lines is showing were a mammal, amphibian, or bird needs to migrate if it is going to survive future climate change. This generally means that the animal needs to migrate somewhere cooler. It also shows how connectivity is so important; we need to maintain corridors and establish conservation areas that act as ‘highways’ for mammals, amphibians, and birds, as they migrate away from adverse climates.
I find this fascinating not just because of the pretty lines, but because this map shows the importance of mountains. The tops of mountains are cold, and they are going to stay cold longer than a flat area, such as a prairie. As our climate continues to warm, the tops of mountains will become a safe haven for many animals, at least for a little while. On the map, you can see mammals, amphibians, and birds all head towards the Appalachian mountains, for example, as they head for cooler climates. In South America, you can see all these animals head for the Andes, on the Western edge of the continent. This map really highlights the importance of conserving mountains, so that animals can migrate and survive the continually warming temperatures.
Number 1: The One with all the Plants
My all-time favorite map wasn’t even created in the past century. It doesn’t have any flashy animations and the text is way too small. There’s no north arrow and no scale. However, this map revolutionized our understanding of the world, and was an early form of the infographic. This map is known as the Tableau Physique des Andes et Pays voisins (just rolls right off the tongue).
The Tableau Physique des Andes et Pays voisins, created in 1807 by Humboldt and Bonpland. Public domain. Click for link.
Alexander von Humboldt may be one of the least known scientists, but he had an incredible impact on almost all scientific disciplines. His publications and expeditions made him famous in the early 1800’s, to both academics and the general public. He contributed to ecology, biogeography, meteorology, geology, physiology, and botany. In addition to his academic publications, Humboldt’s personal narratives inspired Darwin to travel on the HMS Beagle—where Darwin developed his theory of natural selection. Without Humboldt, our science today would look much different.
From 1799–1804, Alexander von Humboldt funded and led a scientific expedition to South America (the only requirement for a grant in those days was that you needed to be rich or know a king, and Humboldt had both). He took with him expert botanist Aimé Bonpland to describe the plants that they encountered. Humboldt’s expedition laid some of the foundation for science in South America, but his Tableau Physique des Andes et Pays voisins (Physical Table of the Andes and neighboring countries) would have a global influence.
Although a bit difficult to read, the tiny words on the mountain in the Tableau Physique are the scientific names of plants, roughly at the elevation where Humboldt and his team encountered them. It is essentially showing the distribution of plants on a mountain. This fairly simple depiction of plants launched a broad scientific discussion on why plants and animals occur where they occur, which has continued to this day.
Not only did Humboldt’s map inspire entire new disciplines of science, but he also wanted to share his ideas beyond the scientific community. He published many short essays, and even wrote for The New York Times. This is once again a revolutionary idea, even in the modern day, where cutting edge science often is not easily available to the public.
The Tableau Physique was published in 1807, but the idea of science communication to the public, for the public, continues today. I share Humboldt’s desire to share exciting and interesting science with everyone. His work has inspired my scientific career and this blog, which is why Humboldt’s Tableau Physique is my favorite map.