The hike from the Swan to the Temple

Whenever I measure distances on The Island, I use this distance scale from Rousseau’s map as my guide. With this information, combined with what we know about the locations of the Swan station and the Temple, we can determine that it’s about a 25-mile hike from one to the other.

Average adult walking speed is three miles per hour. We can assume that our heroes were moving at a faster-than-average speed, given the severity of Sayid’s injury. They would have been able to cover much of the distance by traveling over the mesa and through the central valley, which would’ve been easier terrain to negotiate. Even though the old DHARMA roads are overgrown on the modern Island, they probably could’ve used the van to travel at least part of the distance. I’m surprised that they didn’t.

So let’s assume that they were able to cover four miles per hour. It would’ve taken them about six hours to reach the wall of the Temple. When Sawyer extracts Juliet from the Swan wreckage, the sun has just risen, indicating that it is early in the morning. Jack’s group could’ve arrived at the Temple by mid-afternoon.

The smoke monster was obviously occupied with other matters, and we can assume that all of the Others are either at the Temple or at the four-toed statue, so the group could’ve traveled unimpeded to their destination. I suppose the only conclusion must be that nothing interesting happened during the hike, and that Sayid was able to cling to life for about seven hours. Therefore the producers decided that it wasn’t necessary to show the journey from the Swan to the Temple on-screen.

The Compass Variance

Using the sun’s rising and setting as an indicator for due east and west, Sayid observes that compasses on The Island don’t point due north. The variance would appear to be confirmed by Rousseau’s map. The compass rose she has drawn on her map has a line drawn through it, as well as a parallel line and arrow with a notation containing “var.” We can assume that Rousseau has also noticed this phenomenon, and that the “var” stands for “variance.”

Rousseau’s Landmarks

Most of the things Rousseau marked on her map are geographical notations, or places to find food like crabs or coconuts, but there are a few man-made objects she marked as well.

The Shipwreck and the first abandoned camp: These two locations near the northwest atoll indicate where the French science team’s ship ran aground following the storm, as well as the spot where Danielle and the team made their camp. Following their deaths, she moved to a location at the southern end of The Island.

The submarine cable: Marked with a dotted line on Danielle’s map, the cable is instrumental in determining the location of her camp, as well as the Looking Glass station.

The ruins of unknown origin: It’s impossible to know if these ruins have appeared on the show or not. However, the Others and Locke visited some ruins after Anthony Cooper was brought to The Island. It’s plausible that those ruins are located here.

As noted earlier, there are very few structures mentioned on Rousseau’s map. However, there is a small circle drawn on the ridge of the western mountains, in the southwestern area of The Island. Since the radio tower is one of the central elements in Danielle’s story, it makes sense that she might make a notation for it in her map. In looking at the translated version of the map, we find the following text:

Based on this information, I think it’s safe to say that the small circle indicates the position of the radio tower.

This is as good a place to start as any other - Rousseau’s map of The Island. It contains names for very few landmarks, however it provides an accurate depiction of the shape of the coastline and geographical features. It also gives an indication of the size of The Island: approx. 30 miles wide [from east to west] and 40 miles long [from north to south].