Search

Chart of maritime Southeast Asia, showing bathymetry (sea depth), islands, shoals, reefs, landmarks, and notes (‘Rock seen at Low Water’), all to aid navigation. A rhumbline network has been drawn on the map in pencil. Only one sheet is present.

Chart of maritime Southeast Asia, showing bathymetry (sea depth), islands, shoals, reefs, landmarks, and notes (‘Rock seen at Low Water’), all to aid navigation. A rhumbline network has been drawn on the map in pencil. Only one sheet is present.

Nautical charts like this are detailed around the coasts and on the seas (e.g. river mouths, islands, shoals and reefs) while the interiors are blank. The web of lines is a rhumbline network, while the numbers indicate sea depth (bathymetry).

This map was intended for navigation purposes, with bathymetry (sea depth), reefs, shoals and anchor points marked. One island is labelled ‘like a sugar loaf’, another ‘like a turtel [turtle]’. Oedong Sallang is the island of Phuket, Thailand.

Early navigation map of the South China Sea. The web of lines is a rhumbline network, while the numbers indicate sea depth (bathymetry), both used to aid navigation. A route around the Gulf of Thailand is marked with text and the dates 1643 and 1644.

A brightly-coloured hand-drawn map of the South China Sea. The compass is at the centre of a rhumbline network, a web of lines to aid navigation. Bathymetry (sea depth), islands, anchor points, shoals and reefs are also marked.