Sable Island
Graveyard of the Atlantic
Sable Island is an isolated sandbar about 160km off the coast of Nova Scotia, which is disproportionately interesting for its size. It is home to wild horses, seals, and over 350 shipwrecks. It's also a National Park Reserve. Growing up in the Maritimes, I remember hearing stories about pirate treasure buried there as well. As a diver, the wrecks were what really pulled me in. When I discovered a hand-drawn historical map of Sable Island wrecks produced by the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, it felt like an opportunity to revisit that work using modern cartographic tools while preserving the look and intent of the original.
Rather than aiming for precision, this map embraces approximation. Sable Island is a moving sandbar, and many wreck locations were never recorded with exact accuracy in the first place. Wrecks are labeled by name and year, and different ship types are represented using silhouette symbols. This keeps the map readable while staying honest about the limitations of the source data.
The sheer number of wrecks was the biggest surprise. Seeing them all together on a single map makes it immediately clear why Sable Island has such a strong maritime reputation. To manage density and overlap, labels and some symbols were adjusted by hand, which was appropriate given the approximate nature of the locations.
The result is a clear, approachable map that highlights just how concentrated and historically rich Sable Island’s shipwreck record is. It’s meant to be browsed, explored, and enjoyed by anyone curious about the island and its maritime history.
2023-01-29