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    • Historical Map & Chart Collection of NOAA's Nautical Charts, Hydrographic Surveys, Topographic Surveys, Geodetic Surveys, City Plans, and Civil War Battle Maps Starting from the mid 1700's

    Metadata Updated: April 13, 2025

    The Historical Map and Chart Collection of the Office of Coast Survey contains over 35000 historical maps and charts from the mid 1700s up through the 2020s, including the final cancelled editions of NOAA's raster charts. These images are available for viewing or download through the image catalog at https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/. The Collection includes some of the nation's earliest nautical charts, hydrographic surveys, topographic surveys, bathymetric maps, annual reports, coast pilots, geodetic surveys, city plans, and Civil War battle maps. The Collection is a rich primary historical archive and a testament to the artistry of copper plate engraving technology of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Notable offerings include maps of Vancouver's explorations, the "Wilkes Atlas" of the U.S. Whistler's Anacapa Island chart, an extensive Civil War collection, a large scale topographic series of Washington, D.C., city plans, the reengraving of the famous 1792 L'Enfant and Ellicott plan for Washington D.C., and many artistic perspective sketches that were once an integral part of hydrographic surveys and published charts.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date April 8, 2025
    Metadata Created Date October 31, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date April 13, 2025
    Reference Date(s) 1996 (creation), 2002 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOS OCS

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Nongeographicdataset
    Metadata Date April 8, 2025
    Metadata Created Date October 31, 2024
    Metadata Updated Date April 13, 2025
    Reference Date(s) 1996 (creation), 2002 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:39977
    Access Constraints Cite As: Office of Coast Survey, [Date of Access]: Historical Map & Chart Collection of NOAA's Nautical Charts, Hydrographic Surveys, Topographic Surveys, Geodetic Surveys, City Plans, and Civil War Battle Maps Starting from the mid 1700's [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/39977., Access Constraints: Historical maps and charts on this website are considered to be in the public ___domain. Historical Charts are not for Navigation. Screen captures of Historical Charts do not fulfill chart carriage requirements for regulated commercial vessels under Titles 33 and 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations. For navigational charts, please visit the Office of Coast Survey website., Use Constraints: The Historical Map and Chart Collection is available for free usage by the general public, other Federal, State or Local agencies, and educational institutions. If the images are used in a publication, presentation or exhibit, the Coast Survey requests an appropriate credit line be included such as "From the Image Archives of the Historical Map & Chart Collection/Office of Coast Survey/National Ocean Service/NOAA"., Distribution Liability: All maps and charts in public ___domain. Usage is not restricted.
    Bbox East Long 180
    Bbox North Lat 90
    Bbox South Lat -90
    Bbox West Long -180
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Harvest Object Id 10ea682f-15bb-4dab-a782-a24caf73014b
    Harvest Source Id b7024f56-a531-4a4f-b381-12ebd50fe703
    Harvest Source Title NOS OCS
    Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-180.0, -90.0], [180.0, -90.0], [180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, -90.0]]]}
    Progress underDevelopment
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 1747
    Temporal Extent End 2024

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