Ant Scott sent us this pic from a recent MapAction deployment

“I came across this one while out on a damage assessment visit yesterday for MapAction following the recent Sulawesi earthquake. I don’t remember seeing maps on election posters before, let alone with classes and a legend, showing (I believe) which seats this party is standing in. However the road the poster is on is actually closed now because a little further on, it (and many houses) was swept away by the soil liquefaction which followed the earthquake. Politics (and everything else) continues, but there’s a huge reconstruction job to be done following a disaster which has literally changed the landscape and claimed thousands of lives.”

Dan Ormsby sent us this schematic map

“A schematic map hanging in the signal box of a railway station in central Sri Lanka showing the lines, signalling equipment, engine sheds etc.  The signalling equipment is the original equipment installed by the British when the railways were build (around the 1860’s) .. and the map looks nearly as old!  I like the way that it is actually a black and white print, that somebody has coloured in with pencil to aid its interpretation – GIS the old fashioned way!  It, along with the signalling is a good step back in time to remind us of how the railways were once run in Britain without the use of digital tech – and still are in other parts of the world.  The train we got in Sri Lanka was itself 4 hours late – but the signal man let our kids kill half an hour changing the signals and the points.  Fortunately only a small handful of trains travel through there each day!”

Thanks Dan, glad the kids didn’t cause a railway disaster.

In Belem just on the outskirts of Lisbon is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or Monument of the Discoveries commemorating the great explorers of Portugal’s past. In front of the monument is this amazing marble map detailing the extent of the Portuguese empire at its peak.

Dave Lovell sent me this beautiful pic that shows the scale of the Marble Map, the holiday pic of me shows some of the detail.

The monument is pretty cool too

Originally posted on Twitter by David McCutcheon, this wonderful old record was found languishing in an Oxfam shop and picked up by David for a paltry £3 which has to be worth it for the fantasy map artwork adorning the cover.

Caitlin Dempsey, the editor of GisLounge sent us this beauty

“One of my favorite hidden gems at the Los Angeles Farmer’s Market is the “Travel Angel” which was installed in 2001 as part of a public art project. The piece is kind of hidden in a nook near one of the entrances, making it a delight to stumble upon.  I always look for it any time I visit the Grove.  The inside of the wings are covered with maps and the outer wings (which you can’t see in this photo) are collaged with postcards from places around the world.  “

Nice one Caitlin – you win the award as our first contributor

America loves concrete. Urban areas are absolutely covered in the stuff. Everything is made using the stuff. But I do like the fact that they imprint various patterns into the vertical walls they make using the stuff. often it’s something that reflects the neighbourhood. As a large citrus producing area, many in and around Redlands have oranges or orange groves. this, however, is near Loma Linda hospital and has the imprint of the world. It’s a little odd…two portions of a hemisphere either side of the underpass but, clearly, a considerable amount of artistic license in the positioning of land masses.

This brass version of the UN logo hangs in the Council Chamber in Geneva.

“A map of the world representing an azimuthal equidistant projection centred on the North Pole, inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed conventionalized branches of the olive tree, . . . The projection of the map extends to 60 degrees south latitude, and includes five concentric circles.”

— Official Seal and Emblem of the United Nations, Report of the Secretary-General, 15 October 1946

The olive branches are a symbol for peace, and the world map represents all the people and the countries of the world.

In the week that Europe won the Ryder Cup it seems appropriate to note this little golf ball.

This map is painted on a wall next to a petrol station in Redlands CA. Originally painted in the 1950s and recently restored. I pass it almost every day and love it. What particularly impresses me is that it’s right reading. When you’re stood looking at the wall you’re pretty much facing east. So the map is oriented that way too. East is at the top. You look left and see the mountains and that’s north. Any map in a public space should be oriented correctly. North is not always up!

On the Ile de Re there is a village called Ars-en-Re. This town map reminded me of the then Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger