| Terra Australis | |
|---|---|
 1570 map by Abraham Ortelius depicting "Terra Australis Nondum Cognita (The southern land yet not known)" as a large continent on the bottom of the map | |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Hypothetical continent |
| Locations | Patalis |
Terra Australis (Latin: 'Southern Land') was a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its existence was not based on any survey or direct observation, but rather on the idea that continental land in the Northern Hemisphere should be balanced by land in the Southern Hemisphere.[1] This theory of balancing land has been documented as early as the 5th century on maps by Macrobius, who uses the term Australis on his maps.
- ^ John Noble Wilford: The Mapmakers, the Story of the Great Pioneers in Cartography from Antiquity to Space Age, p. 139, Vintage Books, Random House 1982, ISBN 0-394-75303-8