Happy Mappy Halloween

Maps carved on pumpkins, including a world map, Wisconsin, Georgia, Madison, and the Great Lakes

The first project is a cartographic craftwork during 2020 Halloween. I drew a Robinson Projection world map onto about 1/3 pumpkin (oblate ellipsoid) and carved it. This actually works as a compromise of distortion between an entire 3D globe and flat surface.

Click to view other creative Halloween crafts by UW Cartography Lab artists.

Download Combined Long Image

Before Halloween of 2024, I carved another two maps: 1) Lake Mendota, Monona, and Wingra at Madison, WI, and 2) the Great Lakes. Furthermore, I carved the pumpkin with different depth indicating the lake bathymetry.

Download Full-Size Image

Below are some photos illustrating the making progress of the two pumpkins:

The carved relief of lake bathymetry was said to be hard to notice, so I cut them out and rewrote the labels. Now they look great with real candles inside!