Mistaken Maps

There are certain uncomplete maps of the known world that we keep because of their value in the history of exploration, or how we learned about the world. Then there are those that you don't see all that often, because they are just plain wrong. Before sophisticated measuring instruments, much less aerial views, mapmaking involved a lot of guesswork, and some cartographers were better than others. Consider this map of the island of California, published by Johannes Vingboons in 1650. What's weird about it is that even earlier maps showed California as part of the mainland. Read about it and several other mistaken maps at the Economist's 1843 magazine. -via the Presurfer


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