# How much of the world is still uncharted? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 3, 2002, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-world-is-still-uncharted/140307 "2002-12-03T23:42:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-world-is-still-uncharted/140307/1 "2002-12-03T23:42:48Z")
By this I mean is there a calculation availiable of how much land is yet to be discovered, or has it been largely looked upon? ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-world-is-still-uncharted/140307/2 "2002-12-04T00:06:43Z")
Well, satellites have mapped everything in great detail (well forest may be covering some stuff, so you may still find some “lost” Incan cities, but there is nothing like lost continents, or even small islands). So every square inch, and I mean that almost literally, of the Earth has been charted. But if you mean things that have not been directly seen by human eyes, there is probably still some parts of the Earth, but those parts are very likely negligible in size and/or uninteresting. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-world-is-still-uncharted/140307/3 "2002-12-04T00:15:10Z")
I would say probably about 50%, if you want to take it in totality - I doubt we’ve seen much more than a quarter (as a generous estimate) of the ocean floor. If by land you mean solid, dry land, then refer to Muad’Dib’s answer. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-world-is-still-uncharted/140307/4 "2002-12-04T00:16:24Z")
Some areas are tough to “chart,” as the landbase is always changing. Swamps are an example. You can make a detailed map of an area, but in two or three years, the map’ll be useless. -David ---
**Author:** ![Volta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ce73a5/32.png) [@Volta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Volta)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-world-is-still-uncharted/140307/5 "2002-12-04T00:43:37Z")
There’s actually a surprising amount of unmapped land on Earth, particularly around the Himalayas, Africa, and South America. A Maine mapmaker discovered this when building a 42-foot-diameter globe where one inch represented about 16 miles. Even at that scale there were some unknowns. You might also expect to not find anything too detailed for areas in northern Canada since much of it is covered in forest. [Related story here.](http://www2.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,14815,pg,1,00.asp) ---
**Author:** ![cdhostage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@cdhostage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdhostage)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-world-is-still-uncharted/140307/6 "2002-12-04T01:18:17Z")
All the surface of the Earth has been photographed many many times by sattalites. As for human eyes seeing a particular piece of land RECENTLY and mapping it, I dunno - there’s probably a great deal of unCHARTED land. Righto about the Ocean floor - there’s that time-old statement that we’ve mapped the Moon better than the Ocean. I don’t know if that’s still true. ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-world-is-still-uncharted/140307/7 "2002-12-04T02:08:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*But if you mean things that have not been directly seen by human eyes, there is probably still some parts of the Earth, but those parts are very likely negligible in size and/or uninteresting. \*\* Humanity has explored and “charted” less then 2% of the world’s oceans, a task which is made even more difficult when one realizes that the avergae depth of the ocean is a bit more then 2 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2002, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-world-is-still-uncharted/140307/8 "2002-12-04T02:31:31Z")
There is certainly land under glaciers that has never been charted. I read somewhere once that part of the border between BC and Alaska has never been accurately drawn since it is defined as height of land and is under a mile of ice.