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My 1970s map of Africa showed Lake Chad as a huge lake - it's almost gone now
I picked up a 1974 National Geographic map at a thrift store last month. The weirdest thing was Lake Chad taking up a massive chunk of the country. I compared it to a current map and that lake is maybe 10% of what it used to be. Has anyone else found old maps that show places that basically don't exist anymore?
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lilyo302d ago
Wait what? 10%? Thats insane. I mean I knew Lake Chad was shrinking but I didn't realize it was that bad. A 1974 map would show it as basically an inland sea compared to what's there now. Makes you wonder how many other places on old maps look like straight up fiction these days. Really puts into perspective how fast things can change when we're not paying attention.
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wren9761d ago
Man that's wild, I had almost the exact same shock last year when I found a 1960s atlas at my uncle's house. The Aral Sea was this massive blue blob on the map and now it's basically a puddle with a few fishing boats rusting in the sand. It's one thing to hear about environmental problems in the news but another to hold an actual map and see what used to be there. Makes you wonder what future maps will look like compared to ours now right?
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