If you look at the maps of the XVII-XVIII centuries, you can notice an unusual image of California-it looks like an island. Over the centuries, the cartographers were mistakenly portrayed, and this error remained until the 18th century, despite a considerable amount of evidence of the opposite, writes iflscience.

The focus. Technology has its own Telegram channel. Subscribe so as not to miss the latest and most exciting news from the world of science!

The error is rooted in the early European research of the region. In 1538, the famous cartographer Gerard Mercator first portrayed California as a peninsula, and this image remained unchanged for most of the 16th century.

However, everything changed at the end of the century, when Antonio de la Asension, the Spanish missionary and researcher, mistakenly wrote that California is completely separated from the mainland.

“The whole Kingdom of California, opened during this journey, is the largest famous island,” he wrote, which further strengthened the false representation.

Other researchers, in particular Juan de Iturbe in 1615 and Anthony Vasquez de Espinos, shared this opinion. Vasquez de Espinos even insisted that "

Although the early cartographers often had conflicting views on geography, this mistake was widely recognized in 1650, when the influential French cartographer Nikolai Sanson turned on the island of California on his cards. Its authority in this area made many others repeat this mistake, which allowed the false image to exist for more than a century. Only thanks to further research and cartography in the XVIII century was California correctly defined as a peninsula, which laid an end to a long -standing cartographic error.

Several factors contributed to the error. One of the possible reasons is the influence of the Spanish novel of 1510 " A vivid image of distant land in the novel could give rise to false representations among the first researchers.

In addition, researchers could take the desired for real, since the shipping passage between California and the mainland would be beneficial for trade and research. Whatever the reasons, the myth of the island of California has existed for centuries, becoming one of the most intriguing cartographic errors in history.

Previously, Focus wrote about the underground settlement found in Iran. It was found in the ancient city of Abarkuh.

We also talked about the tombs of the Etruscans discovered in Italy. Despite the looting of past generations, archaeologists have discovered numerous artifacts.