Small Sample of Magnetometer Contour Map
Showing Targets for Investigation.

Image selected by Elinor Mossip.

I was first drawn to this image by the interesting lines and colors. It’s so beautiful, but I had no idea what it meant without reading about it! The cryptic notes add another layer of mystery for someone like me, who does not have the ability to read these kinds of maps. Reading the story about the “Lost Colony”, the project for which this sample map is for, made the image even more interesting. I still don’t know the significance of the different colors used but the person who decided on the color combinations certainly had a good eye, in my opinion. The map shows areas of the seabed that require further investigation. These areas are of interest because they may hold clues to the mystery of the Europeans who briefly populated the small island in the mid to late 1680’s. This history makes the map take on a haunting quality. There is so much information embedded in this image. It describes an underwater landscape that is invisible to the majority of us, but also potentially has the only record of what life was like for the people on the island and may have the clues to where they mysteriously moved.

You can view the original post here: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/his/mua/iimr1.html

Page source: Institute for International Maritime Research, Inc: Raleigh Colony Investigation.


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