Navigational chart collection

Collection

Identifier: GLMS-0104

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

Included are c.2,600 navigational charts for the years 1849-2002. The charts in this collection were primarily published by the United States and Canada, with occasional examples from state and provincial sources. General charts of the Great Lakes region appear along with those for individual lakes, and harbors. Connecting rivers and canals are also represented. Although most charts apply to waterways in the Great Lakes basin, a small number of charts for the Atlantic Coast and the Mississippi Valley are present.

Dates

Creation: 1828-2002
Creation: Majority of material found within 1865-2002

Extent

127 Cubic Feet (52 flat file drawers)

Creator

U.S. Lake Survey (Organization)
United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Organization)
Canadian Hydrographic Service (Organization)
United States. Army. Corps of Engineers (Organization)

Scope and Contents

The Navigational Charts Collection documents the history of this form of cartographic aid to mariners on the Great Lakes. Approximately 2,600 items in the collection date from 1849 to 2002. These charts were produced by a variety of sources in the United States and Canada. Most items were drafted by the United States Lake Survey, the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Canadian Hydrographic Service, and the Canadian Department of Fisheries.

Included in this collection are charts for entire lakes for each Great Lake, for connecting waterways, and for subregions (Lake Erie-West End) in the lakes. Individual harbors are charted, as is the St. Lawrence River. Other locations within the Great Lakes Basin are also represented through charts for the Border Lakes between Ontario and Minnesota. Charts for the New York State Barge Canal system are also present. Scattered Atlantic Coast and Mississippi Valley charts appear in small quantities.

Most collection charts were designed for standard navigational purposes. Others were prepared as bathymetric or morphometric guides to the underwater geology of the lake floors. Some charts focus on shoreline development patterns

The charts are arranged numerically by catalog number under each lake, river or canal. When searching for charts on an area on the boundary between two bodies of water, researchers should consult the list of charts for both areas to see all potentially useful charts. For example, the mouth of the Detroit River is covered by both Detroit River and Lake Erie charts. Items in this chart collection reflect polyconic and mercator projections. Variations on these two main projections include universal transverse mercator, transverse mercator, and Lambert conformal conic formats.

A complete list of individual charts, including number, date, and issuing agency is linked to this finding aid in the External Documents section.

Historical Note

Though not the sole producer of charts in this collection, the United States Lake Survey was instrumental in preparing navigational aids for Great Lakes transportation. On March 3, 1841 Congress authorized funding for a survey of the Great Lakes and connecting waterways. The Corps of Topographical Engineers created a new service, the US Lake Survey (USLS), to meet the demand for improved navigational information on the Great Lakes. The US Lake Survey was later transferred to the US Army Corps of Engineers. Currently the functions of the former US Lake Survey are performed by the National Ocean Service within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

By 1882, the Lake Survey had charted the lakes and had drafted 76 charts showing depths in waterways to eighteen feet. Chart corrections were completed over the period up to 1900. Rapid increases in the size of lake vessels made the eighteen foot depth noted on charts obsolete. The need to chart deeper water to accommodate larger vessels began a new round of complete surveys with subsequent corrections. This cycle of surveys and updates continues today as an activity of the National Ocean Service.

Responsibility for charting additional related waterways developed in the early twentieth century. Today, the USLS provides charts for rivers leading into Green Bay from central Wisconsin, for the New York State Barge Canal system, and for the Border Lakes on the Minnesota-Ontario boundary. The region of jurisdiction for USLS extends from Vermont to Minnesota, with the Great Lakes portion alone covering 61,000 square miles of water and 5,500 miles of coastline.

The Great Lakes Pilot is published as a supplement for chart information. When physical conditions in a charted area are not easily represented on a chart, extended commentary on the location or phenomenon can be found in the Great Lakes Pilot.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

The collection is in the public domain.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Related Materials

For current U.S. charts, see NOAA's Chart Locator tool.

For digitized version of past charts produced by NOAA and its predecessor agencies, see the Coast Survey's Historical Map & and Chart Collection.

Current Canadian charts are available from the Canadian Hydrographic Service's Chart Index.

Digitized Canadian charts from 1815-1900 are available from the site Maritime History of the Great Lakes.

For an extensive history of the U.S. Lake Survey, researchers should consult the book Charting the Inland Seas: A History of the U.S. Lake Survey by Arthur M. Woodford.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection of navigational charts has been acquired over many years, primarily from the government documents collection of Jerome Library at Bowling Green State University. A number of other charts came from scattered individual donations.