The Never-Ending Coastline
Today's 30DayMapChallenge task is Borgesian Map – a map so detailed it becomes the territory. The challenge takes its inspiration from Jorge Luis Borges' short story On Exactitude in Science , in which cartographers create a map so accurate and detailed that it eventually becomes the same size as the empire it represents. For my contribution, I've created The Never-Ending Coastline , an interactive map exploring one of cartography's most intriguing curiosities: the coastline paradox . How long is a coastline? It sounds like a straightforward geographical question, but the answer depends entirely on how closely you look. My map illustrates this using three different versions of the same stretch of coastline. At the first level, we trace the broad outline, smoothing over small bays, inlets and headlands. Zoom in and we capture more of the shoreline's twists and turns. Zoom in again and we discover yet more detail, producing an even longer coastline. As you scroll t...
