A Natural Geography Puzzle
THEME:
A PuzzleMap can be made for any area of the Earth's surface, including water.
This puzzle is comprised of the marginal seas and 8 major gulfs of the Mediterranean.
A simplified polygon of the entire sea was first created from detailed landmass data.
That polygon was then manually divided into logical pieces using the best available information from a variety of sources.
• Total pieces = 25
• Total vertices = 3,857
CLUES: The clues are relatively simple; the maximum depth, major port and a "Fun Fact" from myth, history or the environment. Learning where things are is only part of the puzzle — geography also about intrigue. The story of Dinocrates, the ancient craft of spinning sea silk (byssus) and the existence of Marsili are just a few examples of how PuzzleMap can inspire deeper questions about the world.
BASEMAP:
The World Physical basemap was selected for this puzzle because it is unlabeled and shows the topography of the sea floor.
• Min Zoom = 3
• Max Zoom = 7
VARIATIONS: Commonly available GIS data can be easily adapted for any puzzle theme by creating subdivisions wherever they are needed. This technique could be used to develop a special-interest puzzle in which the shapes may be less important than the informational content.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The basemap selection was changed after the puzzle was created to improve piece visibility. This is has no effect on the puzzle itself, but accounts for some minor inconsistencies seen at smaller scales. Manual correction of the puzzle geometries can fix this.