Newly Released Map Shows How the Discoveries of Bougainville, Humboldt, and Darwin Fit Together

SANTA BARBARA, CA, UNITED STATES, February 3, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Maps.com is celebrating the fourth annual International Map Day by honoring the creation of the science of ecology from the progressive discoveries of three great explorers in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. This year’s February 3rd map release traces the routes of Louis Antoine de Bougainville, Alexander von Humboldt, and Charles Darwin as they contributed their discoveries of where humanity fits in within the natural world. In accompaniment to the new full-scale wall map are free geography lesson materials, including a printable pdf of the map as well as a digital story map to take the whole class on a virtual field trip.

"International Map Day captures the imagination, sense of wonder, curiosity, and adventure for each and all of us. Before we step out the door and cross the horizon to parts unknown, we grab a map and figure out what we know and what we don’t. At the time, circa 17th, and 18th Century, world maps had large blank sections. That is, we knew the overall surface of the planet but not the delineation of the coasts, rivers, mountains, and other features of our world. Great explorers of the natural world, Charles Darwin, Alexander von Humbolt, and Louis Antoine de Bougainville took the step, or literally the sail, across vast stretches of uncharted waters to lands yet to be discovered. We at Maps.com celebrate the sense of wonder, the thirst for knowledge, and the motivation to travel to far places and return with information unknown until their voyage.

Maps.com is about discovery, learning, and the Knowledge of WhereTM. International Map Day celebrates this desire to discover and return to convey the knowledge and wonder of our natural world!”
John Glanville, Maps.com CEO & President

The "Early Ecological Explorers: Bougainville, Humboldt, and Darwin" map marks their voyages and illustrates the progression of where they traveled, for years at a time, to advance our concepts of the natural world. Their voyages begat books of observational science to inspire future generations to continue the search of how humanity fits within the wonders of ecology.

Louis Antoine de Bougainville was born in Paris, France, in 1729. He joined the military and ended up in the French navy. He wrote an account of his voyages in the South Pacific called A Voyage Round the World, 1772. The French government paid Bougainville to circumnavigate, circle the Earth, in 1766. His party included scientists, including naturalists. His frigate ship was called La Boudeuse. It was 40 meters long and only 10 1/2 meters wide. Just over 200 men were on board.

Alexander von Humboldt was a German explorer and naturalist during the 1800s. His work contributed to the foundations of life sciences. From 1799 through 1804, Humboldt’s voyage extensively explored the Americas. His journals of ecological observations were written into several widely published volumes. Amongst the readers was a young Charles Darwin. Humboldt was one of the first people to propose that the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean were once joined (South America and Africa in particular).

English naturalist Charles Robert Darwin is likely the most famous of the ecological explorers. His voyage on the HMS Beagle, which began in 1831, helped him formulate his ideas about evolution. Darwin believed that animals and humans shared a common ancestry. He concluded that through natural selection, life evolved to the complexity we see today. His book On the Origin of the Species documented his theories. His journals of his travels were also published as the Voyage of the Beagle.

Celebrating these great ecological explorers of the past brings the spirit of discovery into the present for today’s generation of new explorers. Beyond this year’s International Map Day release, more geography lessons and history lessons of many other great explorers can be found in MAPS101.

About Maps.com:

Maps.com is a leading provider of mapping products and solutions to business, education, and consumer markets. Founded in 1991 as Magellan Geographix, Maps.com serves industries as diverse as travel, real estate, media, government, logistics & analytics, education, non-profits, and more. Integrating best-of-class service with leading technology in geographic information systems, Maps.com provides solutions that change our customers' perspectives on geography and their world.

John Glanville
Maps.com
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