Mercators 1595 Iconic Map of the North Pole Regions - Flat Earth Print - Wall Art Poster Present Gift - Ancient Old Vintage Antique Look - Rolled Picture Artwork Classroom Decor

1595 Mercator's Iconic Map of the Northern Polar Regions. Mercator's classic map of the Arctic is in hemispherical form and framed by four medallions and a handsome floral border. The map extends thirty degrees in radius to sixty degrees N latitude—ten degrees wider in radius than the original inset. The pole itself is made up of four islands, which myth had it were separated by four strong flowing rivers. These carried the oceans of the world towards a giant whirlpool at the pole where there stood a large rock, labeled here as “Rupes Nigra et Altissima.” The map shows Greenland, Iceland, and the mythical island of Frisland. The northern most portions of Asia, Europe, and America cluster at the edges of the hemisphere, with California identified as a Spanish territory and labeled far north of its usual location. The Biblical land of Gog, usually associated with Tartary, is shown in Asia, just across the Strait of Anian. Three of the four medallions contain inset maps of the Faeroe Isles, the Shetland Isles, and Frisland. The fourth contains the title.