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A portolan nautical chart of the Mediterranean Sea, second quarter of the 14th century. Kept in the Library of Congress, where it is the oldest original cartographic artifact. Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include
On nautical charts, the top of the chart is always true north, rather than magnetic north, towards which a compass points. Most charts include a compass rose depicting the variation between magnetic and true north. However, the use of the Mercator projection has drawbacks. This projection shows the lines of longitude as parallel.
Depths were shown by individual soundings while hills and mountains were shown by hatch marks. Printing was in black and white, but some charts were hand-coloured, either to emphasise water depth or terrain, or to indicate specific features such as lighthouses. Part of an 1872 Admiralty chart of Sicily showing Mount Etna and the port of Riposto.
The oldest sailing directions, dating back to the middle ages, descended directly from the Greek and Roman periplii: in classical times, in the absence of real nautical charts, navigation was carried out using books that described the coast, not necessarily intended for navigation, but more often consisting of reports of previous voyages, or celebrations of the deeds of leaders or rulers.
Before the advent of nautical charts in the 14th century, navigation at sea relied on the accumulated knowledge of navigators and pilots.Plotting a course at sea required knowing the direction and distance between point A and point B. Knowledge of where places lay relative to each other was acquired by mariners during their long experience at sea.
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The Office of Coast Survey is responsible for preparing and maintaining over a thousand nautical charts covering the exclusive economic zone off the coast of the United States and its territories, extending 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) offshore and covering a total area of 3,400,000 square nautical miles (12,000,000 km 2; 4,500,000 sq mi ...
English: Nautical chart of Port Said and the approaches to the Suez Canal. From surveys by Commander F.A. Reyne, and the officers of H.M. Survey Ship Endeavour, 1919, and by the Compagnie Universelle du canal Maritime de Suez to 1953. Not current - not to be used for navigation!