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Ocean Map

Decent Essays

Since the start of the 21st Century, countries that border the Arctic Ocean have begun to claim sections of the Arctic seabed as their sovereign territory in hopes of obtaining potential oil and gas that may exist there. As a result of this trend, cartographers created maps to show the regions claimed by those countries, though not all maps succeed in presenting the territorial rights in an understandable way. Of the two maps analyzed, the Arctic Sea Routes map triumphs in depicting the regional disputes in a simple way, while the Durham Arctic Map is better suited for someone who desires to understand the conflict beyond basics. The Artic Sea Routes map reveals that travelling through the Arctic region for trade greatly reduces transit time. The title map suggests that the map focuses on maritime paths through the Arctic. Centered on Iceland and including parts of Africa on the map, the Sea Routes map, due to a focus on trade and therefore the ability of boats to travel through a region, differentiates between ice and ocean. The Sea Routes map shows the topography of the sea floor of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and includes lines of latitude and longitude, …show more content…

The title of the Durham Arctic Map, Maritime Jurisdiction and Boundaries in the Arctic Region, emphasizes the maritime boundaries and therefore the claims themselves though its particular diction suggests agreement upon the given territory rather than the actual existence of disputes. The Durham Arctic Map centers on the North Pole, shows nothing beyond the Arctic Circle, and fails to distinguish ice and ocean. In addition to showing few geographical features besides the shape of the landmasses and some internal waterways, the map only names the countries that appear on the map. Created by the IBRU, the Durham map is an informational and political map showing the region and the territory claims of various

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