Читать книгу Geography For Dummies - Jerry T. Mitchell - Страница 60

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The answer to the headline is this: Nothing much, really. You could say the map is upside down, and you would be right to a point. After all, nowadays maps commonly have north at the top. But considered as a planet in the multi-dimensional vastness of space, Earth has no “right side up.” Thus, no compelling scientific reason exists as to why you can’t make a map with south toward the top — other than that it would look strange and confusing to most people. Indeed, in olden times maps were oriented every which way. Chinese maps tended to have south at the top, and early Christian maps had east on top with Jerusalem at the center.

Suffice to say, there are a number of competing ideas about how north got on top. The discovery of magnetic north? The preference of ninth-century Frankish emperor Charlemagne, who as powerful king would have held a bit of sway? The widespread use of the Mercator projection by navigators (see Chapter 4 to find out more about this)?

Regardless of how it came about, north at the top tends to be the default, but there are exceptions. If you have a bit of free time, go online and search for Chile’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Their logo includes a map that bucks convention.