CARTE GEOGRAPHIQUE DE LA NOVVELLE FRANSE . . . faict len 1612
Facsimile of hand-colored engraving, 43.0 x 77.6 cm
Smith Collection"These are the four large-scale maps produced by Champlain's detailed surveys of Maine river estuaries . The two St. Croix plans were produced during the winter of 1604-05, as de Mons' expedition wintered on the island. The highly accurate maps of the mouths of the Kennebeck and Saco rivers, complete with soundings and sand bars, were made in July 1605. Two more of Champlain's large-scale estuary maps depict sites in Massachusetts, including an attack on a later French expedition to the Cape Cod area . Unlike Champlain's charts and regional maps, which were constructed rather abstractly from the distances and directions of his voyages, these large-scale maps were made from Champlain's direct observation and sketching of the landscape itself. The results were highly accurate for such small areas.
Champlain merged his general information regarding the New England coast with his later explorations of the St. Lawrence valley (to 1612). The result is his large and ornate general map of New France . Even on this map, however, Champlain refers to the manner in which he himself had seen this entire region by including the ethnographic and botanical drawings. "
From: University of Southern Maine
