This Map Is Not Upside Down By Joshua Stevens, August 25, 2025 Category: Odds & Ends --- Overview The familiar mental image of the world map typically places North America and Europe at the top, Africa in the middle, and South America, Australia, and Antarctica at the bottom. This north-up orientation, however, is a convention rather than a necessity or geographical mandate. The map designed by cartographer Robert Simmon challenges this norm by presenting a south-up world map. --- About Robert Simmon’s South-Up World Map Features: Includes countries, major lakes, oceans, gulfs, seas, roads, and cities. Insets: Earth’s biosphere, global land cover, and bathymetry. Purpose: To disorient and challenge traditional map-reading, inviting viewers to see Earth with fresh eyes and consider why north is conventionally placed at the top. Caption: Viewed with south on top, a map of the world can seem strange and unfamiliar. (Source: Robert Simmon) --- Historical Context of Map Orientation Early maps were not consistently north-up; some had south, east, or other directions at the top. The compass, known for pointing north today, was originally used differently in some cultures: Ancient Chinese navigators, over 2,000 years ago, used the compass with south as the dominant reference point. The north-up norm became widespread largely due to Ptolemy’s work, which introduced latitude and longitude lines and standardized map copying. --- Psychological and Cultural Implications Humans tend to associate the top of a map or page with something "good" or important, and the bottom with less favorable implications. North-up maps can subtly influence views of geographic importance or status, though historically it was not intended to elevate certain regions deliberately. --- Data Sources for the Map Natural Earth GEBCO (General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans) NASA/USGS MODIS Land Cover Classification NOAA VIIRS NDVI and Ocean Color data --- Significance Simmon’s south-up map serves both as a geographically correct representation and a philosophical prompt. It encourages us to question accepted norms, understand the roots and consequences of map design conventions, and appreciate that maps can be oriented in diverse ways without one being inherently "right side up." --- About This Map | Title | The World, South Up | |-------------|---------------------| | Creator | Robert Simmon | | Data Sources| Natural Earth, GEBCO, NASA/USGS MODIS, NOAA VIIRS NDVI and Ocean Color | Submitted through Maps.com’s submission program. --- Related Articles Back to the Map: The United States of Natural Disasters (July 21, 2025) Back to the Map: Avalanche Risk in Dachstein Area (June 10, 2025) A Turtle-Shaped Map About Map Turtles (June 27, 2024) --- Key Takeaway There is no absolute "right side up" for a map. As Robert Simmon demonstrates, the choice of orientation is a human convention subject to cultural, historical, and psychological influences. Challenging this convention opens up new perspectives on how we view our planet and our place on it.