The former county of Lanarkshire was covered by North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Glasgow. The county has historically also been called Clydesdale after the River Clyde. In 1975, South Lanarkshire separated, and currently borders the City of Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, the Scottish Borders and West Lothian. The larger […]
Author: Louise Speller
Zoom into Aberdeen City
Aberdeen City sits on the north-east coast of Scotland, north of the River Dee and south of the River Don. Aberdeen is often referred to the Granite or Silver City as the buildings were built with granite that has a high mica content (mica is a natural mineral that is typically very shiny or shimmery). […]
Zoom into East Renfrewshire
Historically, East Renfrewshire formed part of the larger Renfrewshire county. In the 1970s, most of the area broke away to become a new council district called Eastwood. The area was later renamed East Renfrewshire after gaining a part of Renfrew District (namely Barrhead) in 1996. Neighboured by the City of Glasgow to the northeast and […]
Zoom into Na h-Eileanan Siar
Time to step into the rich history and culture of Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles or Outer Hebrides). Na h-Eileanan Siar is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The inhabited islands of the Western Isles include: Lewis and Harris, South Uist, North Uist, Benbecula, Barra, Great Bernera, Berneray, Vatersay, Baleshare, North Grimsay, […]
Mapping Around: Introducing Denoyer-Geppert’s Globe Gores
Examine a terrestrial globe and what do you see? A fascinating model of how we view the world? A historical snapshot of the various landmasses and water features we have encountered? Or are globes a political narrative reflecting the creator’s point of view?
A Mountainous Task: Defining the Summits
Mountains cover much of the earth’s surface from the visible terrestrial peaks to the submerged marine ranges. Mountains form an integral part of many stories, films and works of art and they are often a key source of inspiration for artist and writers. Most people have a strong idea of what they would consider a mountain […]
Plumbing the Depths: The Challenge of Measuring Sea Depth
Have you ever looked at an Admiralty Chart and wondered how each of the sea depths were measured? What about before the invention of echo sounding devices? What did an early oceangrapher use to calculate each fathom? Prior to the early 19th century soundings were measured using a lead line system. A sailor would cast […]
February’s Map of the Month: Botanical Geography
This month’s Map of the Month celebrates the work of Alexander von Humboldt. The map Outlines of Botanical Geography appears in W.K. Johnston’s Physical Atlas (1848). Humboldt played an important part in the design and production of this map. Bearing an almost Faustian thirst for knowledge, Humboldt aimed to explore as much of the world as […]
Map of the Month: James Middleton’s Celestial Atlas
As the sun sets earlier and the nights are getting darker, now is the perfect time to look to the skies and locate different constellations. This would be impossible for the amateur astronomer without a handy constellation guide like Middleton’s Celestial Atlas.
Here comes the sun: a collection of postcards from the Maps Team
Holiday season is upon us; time to remember to send that postcard home! If you are either sending or receiving postcards, I think you will enjoy this light-hearted ramble though some of the Map Library’s Postcard collection. I have selected a few of the Geographical Series of Postcards (John Walker & Co 1903) to enrich […]