Remembering History: This is the second edition of Gerard Mercator’s map of the North Pole or Arctic, one of the great cartographer’s most interesting and important maps. Mercator envisions the North Pole itself as a large black rock, the Rupes Nigra , surrounded by a great whirlpool into which four powerful rapid rivers flow. These rivers divide a massive continent sized landmass into four distinct islands or countries.

This is the second edition of Gerard Mercator’s map of the North Pole or Arctic, one of the great cartographer’s most interesting and important maps. Mercator envisions the North Pole itself as a large black rock, the Rupes Nigra , surrounded by a great whirlpool into which four powerful rapid rivers flow. These rivers divide a massive continent sized landmass into four distinct islands or countries.

This is the second edition of Gerard Mercator’s map of the North Pole or Arctic, one of the great cartographer’s most interesting and important maps. Mercator envisions the North Pole itself as a large black rock, the Rupes Nigra , surrounded by a great whirlpool into which four powerful rapid rivers flow. These rivers divide a massive continent sized landmass into four distinct islands or countries.