NAUTICAL CHART MANUAL 



INTRODUCTION 



In the early 1800's some interior territory and 16 States along the eastern seaboard 

 comprised our Nation. Commerce between the States was mostly waterborne. Foreign 

 trade, necessary for the survival and expansion of our national economy, was entirely by sea. 



Lack of nautical charts — the most fundamental of navigation instruments — made navi- 

 gation dangerous in the unknown waters of our coasts and harbors. Inadequate sketches of 

 a few isolated areas, and written descriptions such as Blunt's Coast Pilot, were the only 

 information available. Shipwrecks were common, insurance rates high, and products corre- 

 spondingl}' overpriced. Maritime commerce, as a means for the development of our natural 

 resources, was deterred by these unknown dangers. Safe navigation of our coastal areas and 

 harbors became a serious, urgent problem. 



Thomas Jefferson, among others, had foreseen the need for comprehensive, reliable 

 nautical charts to safeguard shipping, and considered the Government responsible for pro- 

 ducing them. On February 10, 1807, Congress passed an act authorizing President Jefferson 

 to start a national hydrographic survey ... "to cause a survey to be taken of coasts of the 

 United States, in which shall be designated the islands and shoals and places of anchorage. . . ." 



The "Survey of the Coast" (name changed to "Coast Survey" in 1836, and to today's 

 "Coast and Geodetic Survey" in 1871) began making hydrographic surveys in 1834. The 

 earliest nautical chart, a black and white print made in 1839 from a stone engraving, showed 

 Newark Bay, but gave little detail. Although lacking detail, this first chart established the 

 policy of exceptional cartographic accuracy that is a continuing characteristic of the Coast 

 and Geodetic Survey's modern detailed nautical charts. 



Today, the activities of the Coast and Geodetic Survey in the field of engineering, science 

 and higher mathematics provide data vital to the development of navigation, industry and 

 national defense. Remaining high among the varied functions of this technical Bureau is the 

 responsibility of conducting surveys and publishing nautical charts of the 2^ million square 

 miles of coastal waters of the United States and its possessions in order to provide navigational 

 safety. 



One of the most important aids the mariner needs for safe navigation is the modern nautical 

 chart. It is constantly used to plot positions and courses and is considered so indispensable 

 in the United States that the Code of Federal Regulations requires vessels to have charts of 

 the waters on which they operate available for convenient reference at all times. 



Ajiiong the more important improvements made in compilation and reproduction methods 

 and materials in recent years are: generalization of hydrographic and topographic detail for 

 greater legibility; addition of selected topographic detail to aid navigation by radar; plotted 

 Loran lines for more accurate position determination; detailed fine-line depth curve develop- 

 ment of submarine relief; development of three types of folded charts for small-craft use; 

 extensive use of dimensionally stable plastics; and the standardization of syinbols and use of 

 accentuating colors. 



Illustrations in Chart No. 1, "Nautical Chart Symbols and Abbreviations," and Figures 

 in the Appendix are referred to parenthetically throughout this Manual. 



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