THE DISCREPANCY // 089
Some people remember a landmass at the North Pole, sometimes named Arctica. The geographic pole lies over the Arctic Ocean, with sea ice rather than a continent beneath it. Nearby Arctic islands and coasts are real land and need separate labels.
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90 N / NO FOOTPRINT — A tiny coordinate is drawn over waves. There is no shoreline at the point.
BEFORE THE REFERENCE
Draw the remembered boundary before consulting a polar map. Was the white area outlined like land, ice cover or the edge of a projection? Record the legend you remember. A globe may depict ice using the same pale colour that makes Antarctica familiar, while its underlying geography is different.
THE TRACE TO FOLLOW
NOAA’s reference distinguishes the ocean location from Antarctica. Compare an old atlas with its legend and date intact; ice extent also varies. What did the boundary on your childhood globe claim to show? The missing continent report becomes more precise when the white area has a name and a key.
Keep your first version
Record the detail before opening a reference. Keep the exact object, release or edition with your comparison. A first recollection and a later discovery can be followed as separate traces.
FOLLOW THE SOURCES
Compare the particular object, recording or documented account.
Reported recollections and discussion; a separate trail from the reference.