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Source Description
Beneath Our Feet: The oldest surviving charts depicting the Mediterranean Sea date to the 13th century; however, these earliest maps created by mariners for navigational purposes did not reflect features beneath the surface of the water. It was not until the production of the first Dutch sea atlas in the late 16th century that nautical charts began recording bathymetric (underwater depth) information. By the late 18th century, mariners had developed established methods for recording underwater depths, landforms and hazards, as seen on this chart of Boston Harbor. Soundings – water depths at specific locations – are represented by numbers indicating fathoms here, while shoals and sandbanks are illustrated with stippling.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
kk91fr068
label
A chart of the Harbour of Boston, with the soundings, sailing-marks, and other directions
core
obj
dtoType
map
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
kk91fr068
contentType
map
stage
normalized
title
A chart of the Harbour of Boston, with the soundings, sailing-marks, and other directions
description
Beneath Our Feet: The oldest surviving charts depicting the Mediterranean Sea date to the 13th century; however, these earliest maps created by mariners for navigational purposes did not reflect features beneath the surface of the water. It was not until the production of the first Dutch sea atlas in the late 16th century that nautical charts began recording bathymetric (underwater depth) information. By the late 18th century, mariners had developed established methods for recording underwater depths, landforms and hazards, as seen on this chart of Boston Harbor. Soundings – water depths at specific locations – are represented by numbers indicating fathoms here, while shoals and sandbanks are illustrated with stippling.
date
["[1776]"]
year
1776
rights
No known copyright restrictions.
rightsUri
No known restrictions on use.
reuseAllowed
no restrictions
language
English
identifierLocal
06_01_007247
institution
Boston Public Library
collections
American Revolutionary War-Era Maps
Boston and New England Maps
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection
Maritime Charts and Atlases
subjects
Nautical charts--Massachusetts--Boston Harbor--Early works to 1800
Boston Harbor (Mass.)--Maps--Early works to 1800
subjectsGeographic
Boston Harbor
Massachusetts
North and Central America
United States
genreBasic
Maps
typeOfResource
Cartographic
country
United States
state
Massachusetts
thumbnailUrl
largeImageUrl
pageCount
1
source
import
pubPlace
London
publisher
R. Sayer and J. Bennett
Source extras
institutionArkId
sf268508b
collectionArkId
dn39z222j
schema:latitude
42.3333
schema:longitude
-70.9667
extent
1 chart : col. ; 53 x 88 cm.
notes
Depth shown by soundings. Relief shown by hachures.
Shows fortifications and settlements.
Appears in the North American Pilot for New England, New York ... London: R. Sayer & J. Bennett, 1776.
hasTranscription
no
dcId
kk91fr068
type
map
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
3e8a2a2a9093505d