The (not so) Straits of Magellan
This is a work in progress. I'm not happy at all with the cartouche. I think I threw it together to create a quick snapshot of what I was working on. I definitely have to revisit this one. Two things got me interested in doing this map. The first was just the labyrinth-like path the Straits of Magellan follow. I'm sure today you just punch in some GPS coordinates and you're done but what did it take for Magellan's navigator to find the correct path from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean? I've never read an account but I wonder if he took many wrong routes prior to finding the correct one. There are several places where the larger opening leads to a dead end. The other interesting aspect of this part of the World is the amazing number of islands that make up the Southern tip of South America. The pattern of islands starts to look like a hand print. It is also interesting to note the border between Chile and Argentina. Both Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego exist in both countries. And Argentina's border takes several jogs as if to keep giving Chile just a little more room. I think these islands are not very hospitable place to be so the fact that the border passes on this side of Island number 2037 and not the other side seems somewhat arbitrary to me. But then, if governments didn't take their borders so seriously, map making wouldn't be so interesting.