Maps of Fictional Places

I have always fancied maps and charts, especially old maps. I have studied cartography, have a couple books in my library about maps and have a small collection of maps and charts.

By viewing old maps you see how people envisioned their world back then. Some of the oldest maps indicate sea monsters and ships actually falling off the side of the earth. They actually believed the world to be flat.

Viewing the maps that accompany a novel has always fascinated me, maybe even more than the story itself. I believe a map makes the story even more believable. Over the years I have encountered several maps of fictional places. Here is a short list of maps I have encountered through my readings.

Earthsea

I read what, was then a trilogy, of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea fantasy novels during my late teens. The location for the novel takes place on a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by uncharted ocean. The islands are peopled by a few different cultures that use weapons created out of wood and iron. There are dragons, peoples, cultures, and wizards with their magic spells.

The Hobbit

Middle Earth

Middle-earth is the fictional universe created by the author J. R. R. Tolkien for his fantasy writings of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Jurassic Park

Isla Nublar

Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg. The movie is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. Jurassic Park was the much publicized theme park that never was. You must watch those disgruntled hackers.

The Lost World

Isla Sorna

The Lost World is another novel written by Michael Crichton. The Lost World is a sequel to his Jurassic Park. Isla Sorna is an island that is purported as being the location for the manufacture of the beasts found in Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park has been abandoned and something has went terribly wrong.

The Land that Time Forgot

Caprona (Caspak) Island

Caspak Island is a fictional island used in Edgar Rice Burroughs's Caspak trilogy, including The Land That Time Forgot, The People That Time Forgot, and Out of Time's Abyss. Caspak is described as a land mass near Antarctica that through its unique geology is much like a tropical island.