Chart of the coast of America and the N E coast of Asia, 1779
By Cartographers, 1779
This historical map traces the ambitious voyages of Captain James Cook during the 1770s, charting the northwestern coast of America and the northeastern shores of Asia. The colored lines winding through the Pacific reveal Cook's actual routes as he explored these distant waters, searching for the fabled Northwest Passage and mapping territories largely unknown to Europeans at the time. Notice how Alaska's coastline appears quite different from modern maps, reflecting the uncertainties and discoveries of 18th-century exploration.
What makes this chart particularly fascinating is how it captures a moment when vast portions of the world were still mysterious to Western cartographers. The map shows both what was known and what remained to be discovered, with carefully drawn coastal features giving way to blank spaces further inland. Created in 1779, this would have been among the most current geographical information available, used by navigators, merchants, and other explorers planning their own ventures into these remote Pacific regions. It's a reminder of how recently these waters were charted and how dangerous and difficult such voyages were for the sailors who undertook them.