Lighting Upwards The Basis

Lighthouses of the World is an interesting map of all the world's lighthouses. OK, it isn't that interesting - but I produce similar how the map lights upward some of the world's busiest coastlines too the Great Lakes of North America.

I believe the map was made using information from OpenStreetMap (you tin toilet read to a greater extent than near how lighthouses are mapped on the OSM Wiki). This does hateful that the Lighthouses of the World map is simply equally accurate equally the information on OSM. It could survive that some areas of the footing convey non had equally many lighthouses mapped equally other areas of the world.


You tin toilet encounter that non all busy coastlines convey lighthouses marked on the map. You tin toilet persuasion most of the busiest transportation lanes some the footing on Shipmap.org. Shipmap.org is an outstanding animated map that visualizes the movements of the global merchant transportation fleet over the cast of 1 year.

If y'all compare the 2 maps it appears that Africa too the western coastline of South America are 2 areas amongst heavy marine traffic but less lighthouses. I'm non sure if this is due to a lack of information on OSM inwards these regions or if in that place isn't the same tradition of edifice lighthouses inwards these areas of the world.

Another matter I similar near this map is its role of Firefly Cartography. Firefly Cartography is a term coined yesteryear John Nelson to depict maps with:

• A dark, de-saturated basemap (usually imagery) 
• Masked highlight expanse too vignette 
• Single bright, glowing, thematic layer

Lighthouses of the World for certain has the night basemap too glowing thematic information of firefly cartography. Of cast a firefly cartographic subject is solely appropriate for a map of lighthouses, which are meant to similarly direct us inwards the dark.