This map, created by cartographer Kenneth Fagg and artist Tony Petruccelli, was published in 1960 alongside Life magazine.
The illustration shows recent discoveries that had been made about the ocean floor. Until the late 1950s, less was known about the ocean floor than about places as far away as the moon.
Using data available in 1960, the authors compiled this map, the first to represent the ocean floor in this way. The two main hemispheres focus on the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, two smaller maps, at the top and bottom, focus on the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean.
Between 1967 and 1971, National Geographic magazine published more detailed maps of the four major oceans, which consolidated the idea of the ocean floor: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic.
For more information on ocean floor exploration and the creation of these types of maps, please refer to this detailed article on exploration of the ocean floor.
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