Map Myths delves into the stories and people behind the phantom geography found on maps - by @rhewlif.xyz
Myth map 👉 https://mapmyths.com
Long reads 👉 https://mapmyths.com/blog
Map Myths
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Our new video is out on YouTube 🔥
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? 🧵
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.
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'.
Map Myths
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 Myths
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
Map Myths
Map Myths
Map Myths
Map Myths
Map Myths
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 ...
