Bizarre Map

LYNCHVILLE SIGN MAKES "BIZARRE MAP CHALLENGE" TOP 10-A map representing the "international" towns listed on a sign at the intersections of Routes 5 and 35 in Lynchville has been chosen among the Top 10 in the national Bizarre Map Challenge. The challenge, new this year, is sponsored by San Diego State University and the National Geotechnology Center. Gail Aloisio of Albany, an environmental science graduate of the University of Maine, is a student in the geographic information systems program at White Mountains Community College in Berlin, N.H. Her cartography instructor assigned students to design a "bizarre" map to enter in the contest in March. She chose a topic close to home, and mapped the towns (including Norway, China, Mexico and others with international names). Next to each she added a small map of the corresponding country, and also included an old postcard photo of the sign. She learned last week her map, the 80th entry, had been chosen as one of the Top 10. Online public voting to choose the top three is now underway, and closes April 26. The winners will receive $5,000 for first place, $1,000 for second and $600 for third. The remaining mapmakers will receive $200 each. Other examples of entries include a map of missed personal connections in Burlington, Vt., and a map of the colonial land parcels of coastal Louisiana in the shape of an alligator’s head. To see the maps go to http://bizarremap.sdsu.edu/index.html.