Mapping the Interior, 1630-1870

Contained within the 3rd Edition (1957) of the Atlas of Canada is a plate that shows a series of redrawn reproductions of historical maps. The first three maps deal with the eastern interior of Canada, the first of them showing the work of Champlain, Canadas first great explorer. His work was extended into the Great Lakes, often by missionaries such a Dollier and Galinee, and later recorded by Franquelin, the first great map compiler of Canada. The next three maps are concerned with the western interior where, at first, geographical knowledge was very conjectural. This is indicated on the combined maps of Delisle and Buache - the western portion being the work of Delisle and the eastern portion and the inset the work of Buache. But gradually, as the fur-trading companies extended their operations, more precise knowledge was obtained of the area between Hudson Bay, the Rocky Mountains and the Beaufort Sea, as the Pond map of 1787 illustrates. Later, geographical knowledge was gained of the Cordillera itself which extended to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The map of 1814 is a faithful portrait of the west by the great pioneer surveyor David Thompson. By Confederation, what is now Canada was mapped from sea to sea, although to show this adequately, two maps of the period have been combined. But while broad outlines of Canada were being drawn, detailed topographical surveys were also being made in the settled areas. The last two maps on this plate are examples of this. The Delabat map is part of the Plan du Cours de la Riviere du Dauphin, et du Fort du Port Royal a la Cadie, that is, the area around Annapolis Royal and Annapolis River, Nova Scotia, of today. The Duberger map is part of a Plan of the Town and Fortifications of Quebec.