The new book All Over the Map gathers together maps of all types, including this one of plants and animals found in the Pacific region. It was created by Miguel Covarrubias as part of his Pageant of the Pacific atlas—six enormous, themed maps that he painted as murals for the 1939 San Francisco World’s Fair.
These amazing maps greet aliens, aid spies, reveal seafloors
Maps offer much more than directions. They tell of incredible scientific achievement, bravery, and superhuman precision.
In the age of Google and Waze, maps may seem redundant. But Betsy Mason, co-author with Greg Miller of All Over the Map, published by National Geographic Books, explains that maps can do much more than help us avoid a traffic jam or find the next Starbucks. They can map poverty, bring to life the beauty of the Grand Canyon, or record war damage.
When National Geographic caught up with her in California, Mason explained how a woman named Marie Tharp was one of the first people to chart the ocean floor; how 3-D models created by a top-secret military unit helped plan D-Day; and why extraterrestrials could one day use information carried by the Voyager spacecraft
