Mark Twain spent his early years navigate America ’s winding waterway , but the steamboat pilot - turned - author was also a lover of mod transportation : He wasone of the first passengersto ride the London Underground ’s longest vacuum tube line — the Central Line — when it first open up in 1900 . Needless to say , Twain would probably be a fan ofthe map below , which visualise U.S. river as subway crinkle .
create by graphic designer Theo Rindos ( andspotted by CityLab ) , the map is inspired by Harry Beck’soriginal London Tubemap from the thirties . It ’s based on data culled from the U.S. Geological Survey , Google Maps , and Wikipedia .
" I have always been grip by transportation mapping and river systems , and I thought , ' Why not put them together ? ' " Rindos tells Mental Floss . Beck ’s innovation style " has been kind of a staple fiber for many city transit scheme because it ’s so easy to understand and is so beautiful . The river of the United States are complex , and I want to see if I could reach a similar effect . "
The source of each river is denoted with a hearty - colored rotary . White circle indicate where these waterways converge and split , and neighboring city and townsfolk are set as " stations . " That say , the mathematical function does n’t feature every single U.S. river : It includes ones important to the transportation and transport sector , but for aesthetic reasons , Rindos opt to depart out awkwardly shaped rivers and turned smaller one into bus routes .
you may purchase Rindos ' maphere , orvisit the architect ’s websiteto learn more about his oeuvre .
[ h / tCityLab ]
