http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/613-faces-of-earth-a-mapping-contest-between-man-and-machine

There is more to be found at the intersection of cartography and pareidolia, however, than merely the shapes of countries. Zoomorphism – recognising the shape of animate beings in inanimate objects – is an age-old strain in cartography. Some of the oldest examples are the portrayal of Europe as a queen, or Asia as winged horse, both by the German mapmaker Heinrich Bünting , a more recent one is the ‘discovery’ of an elephant in the contours of southern Ontario , or of a bunch of animals (and animal parts, horresco referens) on the London Underground .

Why wait around for these zoomorphs to manifest themselves? Instead of passively gathering the most obvious specimens, why not actively hunt the ones that hide deep inside maps? That’s the idea behind the Norwegian Cartozoological Society, which defines cartozoology as:

The science or practice of discovering and studying animals outlined paradigmatically by street layouts as they appear on maps, especially with reference to physical evidence of the animals’ presence in the corresponding terrain. —-

dv said:

http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/613-faces-of-earth-a-mapping-contest-between-man-and-machine

There is more to be found at the intersection of cartography and pareidolia, however, than merely the shapes of countries. Zoomorphism – recognising the shape of animate beings in inanimate objects – is an age-old strain in cartography. Some of the oldest examples are the portrayal of Europe as a queen, or Asia as winged horse, both by the German mapmaker Heinrich Bünting , a more recent one is the ‘discovery’ of an elephant in the contours of southern Ontario , or of a bunch of animals (and animal parts, horresco referens) on the London Underground .

Why wait around for these zoomorphs to manifest themselves? Instead of passively gathering the most obvious specimens, why not actively hunt the ones that hide deep inside maps? That’s the idea behind the Norwegian Cartozoological Society, which defines cartozoology as:

The science or practice of discovering and studying animals outlined paradigmatically by street layouts as they appear on maps, especially with reference to physical evidence of the animals’ presence in the corresponding terrain. —-

That’s interesting.

Tanilba Bay was designed by Burley Griffin so it looks like a starfish or an octopus and there are starfish and octopus living in the waters at Tanilba Bay.