But sometimes cartographers do it just for fun.
These illicit drawings are cleverly hidden among the contour lines that depict Switzerlands remote mountainous regions.
Being located far from populated areas, they often escape scrutiny for decades.
She was not discovered until more than half a century later, in 2012.
He is mostly indistinguishable from the surrounding rock, except for his face, tail, and paws.
Unfortunately, the marmot wont survive the next edition of the maps.
Once these illustrations are found, they are removed when the official maps are updated.
Over half of the known illustrations have disappeared this way.
Creativity has no place on these maps, explained a spokesperson for Swisstopo, Switzerland’s national mapping agency.
The Swiss arent the only ones who fooled around with their maps.
