Map archive

About "Map archive"

The stories behind historical maps from Library and Archives Canada's vast collection.

(Map: University of Alberta Archives, 1995-166, Soper, J. Dewey Small Accessions)

University of Alberta Archives, 1995-166, Soper, J. Dewey Small Accessions

The Inuit map that helped a Canadian naturalist unravel an ornithological mystery

In 1929, J. Dewey Soper’s quest to find the breeding grounds of the blue goose ended, thanks in part to this marvelously detailed hand-drawn map

(Map: Paulus de Furlanis veronensis opus hoc ex. mi cosmographi d[omi]ni iacobi gastaldi pedemontani instauravit, et dicavit ex. ti iur. vt doct[iss] et aurato aequiti d[omi]no paulo michaeli vincentino, Paulo Forlani, 1560, Library and Archives Canada, E006581135)

Map: Library and Archives Canada, E006581135

A cartographic historian on the fascinating world of ancient maps and sea monsters

Chet Van Duzer, a cartographic historian and the author of Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps analyses Paolo Forlani's 1560 world map – the first known instance of the name "Canada" appearing on a printed map

This image, depicting the sinking of the Breadalbane in 1853 near what is today known as Beechey Island, is one of several artworks dating from the mid-1800s, when Arctic exploration and public fascination with the polar region were at their peak. (Image: Edward Augustus Inglefield Collection/Library and Archives Canada, accession number 1989-399, c000227k)

Nine artworks that reveal the history and perils of exploring Canada’s North

Notable works capture the danger and drama of Arctic exploration

(Map: Saskatchewan. South part. Canada Land Inventory, Land Captability for Wildlife–Waterfowl, 1:1 000 000. Ottawa, Lands Directorate, 1976, Library and Archives Canada, R653, E011177875)

The maps that revolutionized how Canadians profited from the land

Before the Canada Land Inventory, farmers had to rely on instinct and chance to find the best land

Edward A. Smith, A plan of the town, and adjacent fortifications, of, Kingston, 1816, Library and Archives Canada

Edward A. Smith, A plan of the town, and adjacent fortifications, of, Kingston, 1816, Library and Archives Canada, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke fonds, e011081077. (Map courtesy Library and Archives Canada)

Map courtesy Library and Archives Canada

A 200-year-old map offers a glimpse at Kingston's military past

Kingston, Ont. had tremendous military and strategic importance during and after the War of 1812

New map showing the line of the electric cable and other short lines of communication between the continents of Europe and America, Montreal, Roberts & Reinhold, 1866. (Library and Archives Canada, NMC 6906, e011154799)

Map: Library and Archives Canada, NMC 6906, e011154799

Mapping the first transatlantic cable

Looking back 150 years at a watershed moment in global communication

Map: Carte des variations de la boussole et des vents généraux que l'on trouve dans les mers les plus fréquentées, Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, 1765, Library and Archives Canada, NMC 27703, E0027703K

Map: Carte des variations de la boussole et des vents généraux que l'on trouve dans les mers les plus fréquentées, Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, 1765, Library and Archives Canada, NMC 27703, E0027703K

Magnetic maps helped 18th century mariners

How navigators kept track of an unseen force that could affect their course