"Preliminary Chart of Savannah River Georgia from a Trigonometrical Survey...", U.S. Coast Survey

The Office of Coast Survey is the oldest U.S. scientific organization, dating from 1807 when Congress directed that a "survey of the coast" be carried out. By 1836, it was called the U.S. Coast Survey and in 1878, the name was changed to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Today the Office of Coast Survey is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA.

The survey teams, composed of civilians as well as Army and Naval officers, charted the nation's waterways and produced a wide array of reports, survey charts, hydrographic studies of tides and currents, astronomical studies and observations, and coastal pilots. These charts are an important record of the changing nature of the nation's coastlines. In additional to coastal charts, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey produced land sketches, Civil War battle maps, and the early aeronautical charts.

This chart of the Savannah River extends from the city of Savannah, shown with its street grid pattern, to the Atlantic Ocean. It names several islands in the river including Hutchinson’s Island, Elba, Jones and Cockspur. An inset at lower left shows the continuation of the river to Argyle Island. The chart is filled with navigational detail including numerous soundings, ground types, beacons, buoys, lighthouses, and more. Produced under the direction of A.D. Bache.

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Condition: B+

Issued folding with light toning along a few folds and a couple of small spots. Trimmed to the border at lower left by the binder.