Are Maps Accurate? Boston School Maps Depict Africa Bigger than North America. Published Mar 20, 2017 at 9:35 AM EDT Updated Mar 29, 2017 at 12:58 PM EDT.

Interestingly, several northern hemisphere countries also appear much larger on Mercator's map. For instance, Greenland appears as a massive icy landmass, but it is significantly smaller in reality.

This is believed to be the first map of Africa, as a continent. “Africa” was originally a Roman term for the region of modern Tunisia and the western portion of Libya.

Africa is much bigger than you think. Traditional maps have downplayed the size of the continent in comparison to other parts of the world for hundreds of years.

Africa is much bigger than you think. Traditional maps have downplayed the size of the continent in comparison to other parts of the world for hundreds of years.