McArthur's New World Map

by HELGE Art Gallery

Title

McArthur's New World Map

Artist

HELGE Art Gallery

Medium

Digital Art - Digital Art

Description

South-up map orientation places the labeling on a map so that south is up, north is down, east is left and west is right. Thus the Southern Hemisphere appears at the top of the map instead of the usual bottom. Maps in this orientation are sometimes called upside down maps or reversed maps.
Because orienting north toward the top is a matter of convention rather than correctness, a south-up map is technically just as correct as north-up. Such maps have been made in several cultures and time periods, as have other orientations. The convention of orienting north to the top (and thus east to the right) probably was established by the astronomer Ptolemy. In modern times, south-up maps are made as a learning device or to illustrate Northern Hemisphere bias. Beyond just turning a north-up map upside down, a south-up map has the text oriented to be read with south up. South-up maps often have Indonesia placed in the center while Europe and the Americas are placed to the sides, although there are south-up maps centered on the Prime Meridian.

Any orientation can be achieved trivially. There are many other maps with non-standard orientation, such as medieval T and O maps, polar maps, and Dymaxion maps.

Uploaded

January 19th, 2015

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