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 large and detailed chart covers the northern Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis south through Kent Island, Easton and Cambridge. Presents a surprising amount of topographical detail along the coast along with scores of soundings, bottom types, and magnetic variation in the Bay. Accompanying notes at lower right include sailing directions, tidal currents, lighthouses, and more. This is the second (middle) sheet of a three sheet map depicting the entire Chesapeake Bay. Drawn under the direction of F.R. Hassler and A.D. Bache.

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Condition: B+

Issued folding and now flattened and backed with tissue. There is light toning along the fold lines and a hint of offsetting.