"California Island" redirects here. For the rock music album, see Dirty Heads.
Map of California, c. 1650, by Johannes Vingboons; restored. The compass rose in the center of the map marks the approximate location of the modern United States–Mexico border, south of San Diego.The "Island of California", on a 1650 map by Nicolas SansonA satellite view of the Baja California peninsula and the Gulf of California
The Island of California (Spanish: Isla de California) refers to a long-held global misconception, dating from the 16th century, that the California region was not part of mainland North America but rather a large island separated from the continent by a strait now known as the Gulf of California.
One of the most famous cartographic errors in history, it was propagated on many maps during the 17th and 18th centuries, despite contradictory evidence from various explorers.[1] The legend was initially infused with the idea that California was a terrestrial paradise, like the Garden of Eden or Atlantis. This mapping error was not a one-off event. From the mid-1500s to the late 1700s[2] great controversy surrounded the geography of California. For instance, a Spanish map from 1548 depicts California as a peninsula,[3] while a 1622 Dutch map depicts California as an island.[citation needed] A 1626 Portuguese map depicts the land as a peninsula,[citation needed] while a 1630 British map depicts it as an island.[4] A French map from 1682 only shows the tip of the Baja Peninsula.[citation needed] There are slightly over 1,000 maps in Stanford's Glen McLaughlin Collection of California as an Island, the largest collection of such maps in the world.[5]
^"History". California as an Island in Maps - Spotlight at Stanford. February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
^Leighly, John, Robert Grabhorn, and Andrew Hoyem. California As an Island: An Illustrated Essay. San Francisco, [Calif.: Book Club of California, 1972. Print.
^Gastaldi, Giacomo (1548). Map of California. Glen McLaughlin Collection of California as an Island. McLaughlin map number 1189. Green Library, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
^Briggs, Henry (1625). Map of California. Glen McLaughlin Collection of California as an Island. McLaughlin map number 2. Green Library, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
^McLaughlin, Glen. Glen McLaughlin Collection of California as an Island, Stanford Libraries. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.
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The IslandofCalifornia (Spanish: Isla de California) refers to a long-held global misconception, dating from the 16th century, that the California region...
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The Californias region, which comprises California and the Baja California Peninsula, includes many coastal islands in the Pacific Ocean. California is...
popular at the time of the Spanish exploration of Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula, describes a fictional island named California, ruled by Queen...
found not to be an island, as with the IslandofCalifornia). Some may have been purely mythical, such as the Isle of Demons near Newfoundland, which may...
de Montalvo. The book described the IslandofCalifornia as being west of the Indies, "very close to the side of the Terrestrial Paradise; and it is peopled...
Alcatraz Island (/ˈælkəˌtræz/) is a small island 1.25 miles (2.01 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed...
Directorate of Protection Area Wildlife California Gulf Islands in Baja California is responsible for 56 islands located off the coast of the state. These...
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the northern half of the Baja California Peninsula, north of the 28th parallel, plus oceanic Guadalupe Island. The mainland portion of the state is bordered...
San Nicolas Island (Spanish: Isla de San Nicolás; Tongva: Haraasnga) is the most remote of the Channel Islands, off of Southern California, 61 miles (98 km)...
Mare Island (Spanish: Isla de la Yegua) is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about 23 miles (37 km) northeast of San...
the coast of San Francisco, California, United States. The islands are also sometimes referred to by mariners as the Devil's Teeth Islands, in reference...
fictional queen of the islandofCalifornia, first introduced by 16th century poet Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo in his epic novel of chivalry, Las sergas...
San Clemente Island (Tongva: Kinkipar; Spanish: Isla de San Clemente) is the southernmost of the Channel IslandsofCalifornia. It is owned and operated...
California State University, Channel Islands (CSUCI, CSU Channel Islands) is a public university in Camarillo, California. It opened in 2002 as the 23rd...
Bethel Island is an island in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta of Contra Costa County, California, approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Antioch...
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