With over 20,000 regions currently active on the grid, it is sometimes hard to picture just how big Second Life is, much less under how all the various component parts – continents, famous regional groups, places like the Blake Sea and Bay City – look and fit together. Harder still is to picture exactly how SL grew over the years.

So, if you do have an interest in the physical growth and development of Second Life, or are curious about SL cartography, Maps of Second Life is well worth a visit.

Brought together and curated by Juliana Lethdetter, the exhibition features maps charting the history of Second Life from 2002 onwards, and features maps supplied by groups such as the Historical Society of Second Life, the SL Coast Guard, and individuals such as Carl Metropolitan and Marianne McCann.

Together, the maps present a fascinating portrait of Second Life over the last decade, not only tracing the growth of the main and beta girds, but also providing insight into regions such as the Steamlands, Blake Sea, Nautilus and Bay City. The SL roads and railways are also represented here with a series of maps, and there are a number of unique maps from residents and LL on display as well.

The exhibition also delves into the legend of Magellan Linden, who has been credited with the discovery of much of the historic landmass of the grid and documenting many of the pre-Linden artefacts found in these regions. Magellan himself mysteriously vanished in 2006, but an expedition formed by the intrepid Salazar Jack found evidence that Magellan was continuing his explorations as late as 2008, although his whereabouts today remains unknown.

The exhibition opened on June 30th, and is described as a “limited-time exhibit”. If you’ve not already done so, take time out and go and visit – you won’t be disappointed.

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