Map by Le Cartographe | Original by Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus
According to the USGS, about 71% of the Earth’s surface is water-covered with oceans holding about 96.5% of all Earth’s water.
This inspired a series of maps in 1942 by oceanographer and geophysicist Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus which can be found in his book: Atlas of the World with Geophysical Boundaries Showing Oceans, Continents and Tectonic Plates in Their Entirety
Above, we see an ocean/shoreline map reimagined by Le Cartographe which seeks to emphasize the importance of the seas. As per their website:
“In order to realize this one the author uses the principles of the two following projections. The projection of Ernst Hammer and that of August Heinrich Petermann (co-author with Hermann Berghaus and Carl Vogel from Atlas Stieler). The result is an interrupted projection in which the oceans form a unit. It’s both awesome and totally confusing. The deformation is such that the American and Asian continents are completely torn apart. Europe, Africa and South-East Asia, on the other hand, maintain a coherent form . This projection is rarely used and it is a shame!”
