Navigational chart collection
Collection Organization
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.
Lake Erie Charts, 1849-1985
- Dates
- Creation: 1849-1985
Lake Erie Charts, 1909-1974
- Dates
- Creation: 1909-1974
Lake Erie Charts, 1926-1971
- Dates
- Creation: 1926-1971
Lake Erie Charts, 1931-1983
- Dates
- Creation: 1931-1983
Lake Erie Charts, 1948-1992
- Dates
- Creation: 1948-1992
Lake Erie Charts, 1975-1992
- Dates
- Creation: 1975-1992
Lake Huron Charts, 1828-1974
- Dates
- Creation: 1828-1974
Lake Huron Charts, 1913-1973
- Dates
- Creation: 1913-1973
Lake Huron Charts, 1913-1974
- Dates
- Creation: 1913-1974
Lake Huron Charts, 1941-1992
- Dates
- Creation: 1941-1992
Lake Huron Charts, 1976-1993
- Dates
- Creation: 1976-1993
Lake Michigan Charts, 1864-1972
- Dates
- Creation: 1864-1972
Lake Michigan Charts, 1878-1972
- Dates
- Creation: 1878-1972
Lake Michigan Charts, 1927-1972
- Dates
- Creation: 1927-1972
Lake Michigan Charts, 1931-1993
- Dates
- Creation: 1931-1993
Lake Michigan Charts, 1924-1973
- Dates
- Creation: 1924-1973
Lake Michigan Charts, 1922-1972
- Dates
- Creation: 1922-1972
Lake Michigan Charts, 1906-1972
- Dates
- Creation: 1906-1972
Lake Michigan Charts, 1892-1993
- Dates
- Creation: 1892-1993
Lake Michigan Charts, 1975-1992
- Dates
- Creation: 1975-1992
Lake Michigan Charts, 1975-1992
- Dates
- Creation: 1975-1992
Lake Ontario Charts, 1925-1985
- Dates
- Creation: 1925-1985
Lake Ontario Charts, 1914-1971
- Dates
- Creation: 1914-1971
Lake Ontario Charts, 1942-1976
- Dates
- Creation: 1942-1976
Lake Ontario Charts, 1974-1990
- Dates
- Creation: 1974-1990
Lake Superior Charts, 1859-1973
- Dates
- Creation: 1859-1973
Lake Superior Charts, 1918-1973
- Dates
- Creation: 1918-1973
Lake Superior Charts, 1908-1973
- Dates
- Creation: 1908-1973
Lake Superior Charts, 1905-1973
- Dates
- Creation: 1905-1973
Lake Superior Charts, 1871-1991
- Dates
- Creation: 1871-1991
Lake Superior Charts, 1976-1990
- Dates
- Creation: 1976-1990
Lake St. Clair and St. Clair River Charts, 1867-2001
- Dates
- Creation: 1867-2001
Lake Huron Charts, 1995-2001
- Dates
- Creation: 1995-2001
Straits of Mackinac with Approaches from Lakes Huron & Michigan, 1874
- Dates
- Creation: 1874
St. Marys River Charts, 1896-1980
- Dates
- Creation: 1896-1980
Straits of Mackinac Charts, 1926-1974
- Dates
- Creation: 1926-1974
St. Marys River Charts, 1931-1973
- Dates
- Creation: 1931-1973
Straits of Mackinac Charts, 1939-1943
- Dates
- Creation: 1939-1943
St. Marys River Charts, 1825-1896
- Dates
- Creation: 1825-1896
Straits of Mackinac Charts, 1973-1990
- Dates
- Creation: 1973-1990
St. Marys River Charts, 1976-1999
- Dates
- Creation: 1976-1999
New York State Canals; Line of Barge Canal Showing Maximum Speed, 1920
- Dates
- Creation: 1920
Welland Canal, Port Colborne and Approaches, 1939
- Dates
- Creation: 1939
New York State Canals Charts, 1917-1971
- Dates
- Creation: 1917-1971
Welland Canal Charts, 1939-1976
- Dates
- Creation: 1939-1976
New York State Canals Charts, 1974-1988
- Dates
- Creation: 1974-1988
Welland Canal Charts, 1974-1989
- Dates
- Creation: 1974-1989
Border Lakes Charts, 1964-1985
- Dates
- Creation: 1964-1985
St. Lawrence River Charts, 1851-1971
- Dates
- Creation: 1851-1971
St. Lawrence River Charts, 1926-1979
- Dates
- Creation: 1926-1979
St. Lawrence River Charts, 1926-1971
- Dates
- Creation: 1926-1971
St. Lawrence River Charts, 1922-1971
- Dates
- Creation: 1922-1971
St. Lawrence River Charts, 1931-1976
- Dates
- Creation: 1931-1976
St. Lawrence River Charts, 1944-1977
- Dates
- Creation: 1944-1977
St. Lawrence River Charts, 1935-2001
- Dates
- Creation: 1935-2001
Detroit River Charts, 1873-2000
- Dates
- Creation: 1873-2000
Chicago Waterways Charts, 1935-1940
- Dates
- Creation: 1935-1940
General Charts of the Northern & Northwestern Lakes, 1944
- Dates
- Creation: 1944
Chicago Waterways Charts, 1949-1951
- Dates
- Creation: 1949-1951
General Chart of the Great Lakes, 1960
- Dates
- Creation: 1960
Cape Canso to Liscomb Island, Nova Scotia, 1962
- Dates
- Creation: 1962
General Chart of the Great Lakes, 1970
- Dates
- Creation: 1970
Lake Champlain Charts, 1935-1971
- Dates
- Creation: 1935-1971
Burlington Harbor, Lake Champlain, Vermont, 1942, 1971
- Dates
- Creation: 1942, 1971
Chicago Waterways Charts, 1941-1950
- Dates
- Creation: 1941-1950
Rideau Waterway Charts, 1967
- Dates
- Creation: 1967
Horizontal and Vertical River Clearances of Chicago Bridges, 1942
- Dates
- Creation: 1942
Lake Champlain Charts, 1977-1988
- Dates
- Creation: 1977-1988
Lake Winnebago and Lower Fox River Charts, 1981-1987
- Dates
- Creation: 1981-1987
Calumet Area, Illinois and Indiana, 1931
- Dates
- Creation: 1931
General Chart of the Great Lakes, 1965
- Dates
- Creation: 1965
General Chart of the Great Lakes, 1990
- Dates
- Creation: 1990
Summerside Harbour and Approaches, Prince Edward Island, 1999
- Dates
- Creation: 1999
Hudson River, 1996
- Dates
- Creation: 1996
Lake Champlain to Lake of the Woods, 1995
- Dates
- Creation: 1995
Great Lakes, 1997
- Dates
- Creation: 1997
Lake Champlain Charts, 1990-2000
- Dates
- Creation: 1990-2000
Oneida Lake, New York, 1990
- Dates
- Creation: 1990
Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, 1992
- Dates
- Creation: 1992
North Lake, 1991
- Dates
- Creation: 1991
Minnesota Border Lake Charts, 1990
- Dates
- Creation: 1990
Lake Erie Charts, 1990-2002
- Dates
- Creation: 1990-2002
Lake Huron Charts, 1984-2002
- Dates
- Creation: 1984-2002
Lake Michigan Charts, 1981-2002
- Dates
- Creation: 1981-2002
Lake Ontario Charts, 1971-2002
- Dates
- Creation: 1971-2002
Lake Superior Charts, 1990-2000
- Dates
- Creation: 1990-2000