From a blog post by a National Geographic copydesk director David Brindley:
…Our article “Arctic Landgrab” highlights the cutting-edge cartography used to map the bottom of the Arctic Ocean—and the race to stake claims on the oil that may lie beneath. Our cartographers spent months on the nine pages of maps in the article, poring over every detail, analyzing and updating numerous data sets, pondering labels, and rewriting captions to clearly and concisely convey complex information. As with all elements of National Geographic, the maps went through several proof versions, were sent to consultants, reviewed by researchers, editors, fact-checkers, copy editors, proofreaders. And yet none of the numerous people who read the maps (myself included) spotted the typo on page 112: “Alaksa” instead of “Alaska.”
…We regret the error and have tweaked our editorial process to help avoid such mistakes in the future.
Thanks, D!
The map on page 101 misplaced Albuquerque, New Mexico, and omitted Santa Fe. Ponderosa pine seeds were incorrectly described as wingless on page 102; they do have small wings.
