- Title: Galveston Entrance | Texas
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Author: United States Coast & Geodetic Survey
- Date: 1888
- Condition: Very Good - Evidence of numerous former tears now expertly mended throughout, and only minimal loss of paper
- Inches: 18 1/4 x 15 3/4 [Image]
- Centimeters: 46.35 x 40.00 [Image]
- Product ID: 308635
This finely executed nautical chart depicts the entrance to Galveston Bay, including the city of Galveston, Bolivar Peninsula, and the surrounding coastal approaches, with soundings, shoals, and channels rendered in meticulous detail. The chart presents dense hydrographic information in the form of soundings, bottom characteristics, and delineated shoal areas, designed to guide mariners safely through the bar and into the harbor. Terrestrial features such as the urban street grid of Galveston, coastal fortifications or batteries, and key landmarks along the shoreline are carefully engraved to provide visual aids for coastal navigation.
The composition reflects the technical standards of mid‑nineteenth‑century U.S. Coast Survey work, combining precise coastal geometry with systematic depth measurement to produce a scientifically authoritative image of one of Texas’s principal maritime gateways.
Background on Creator
The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey was the federal government’s first permanent scientific agency, originally created in 1807 as the Survey of the Coast to chart U.S. shorelines and improve maritime navigation safety. Over the 19th and early 20th centuries it expanded from purely coastal hydrographic work into geodetic surveying, topographic mapping, and oceanographic research, establishing national mapping standards and contributing fundamentally to modern American earth science and cartography. In 1878 it adopted the name United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, under which it continued until 1970, when its functions were incorporated into the newly formed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).