The following is a list of notable extant historical maps.

Early world maps

Babylonian Map of the World The Babylonian Map of the World (or ''Imago Mundi'') is a Babylonian clay tablet written in the Akkadian language. Dated to no earlier than the 9th century BC (with a late 8th or 7th date being more likely), it includes a brief and partially los ...

(flat-earth diagram on a clay tablet, c. 600 BC) *''

Tabula Rogeriana The ''Nuzhat al-mushtāq fī ikhtirāq al-āfāq'' ( ar, نزهة المشتاق في اختراق الآفاق, lit. "The Book of Pleasant Journeys into Faraway Lands"), commonly known in the West as the ''Tabula Rogeriana'' (lit. "''The Book of ...

'' (1154) *

Psalter world map The Psalter World Map or the Map Psalter is a small ''mappa mundi'' from the 13th century, found in a psalter. No other records of psalters found from the middle ages have a mappa mundi. The Psalter mappa mundi was likely used to provide context ...

(1260) *'' Tabula Peutingeriana'' (1265, medieval map of the Roman Empire, believed to be based on 4th century source material) * Hereford Mappa Mundi (c. 1285; the largest medieval map known still to exist) *Map of

Maximus Planudes Maximus Planudes ( grc-gre, Μάξιμος Πλανούδης, ''Máximos Planoúdēs''; ) was a Byzantine Greek monk, scholar, anthologist, translator, mathematician, grammarian and theologian at Constantinople. Through his translations from La ...

(c. 1300), earliest extant realization of

Ptolemy's world map The Ptolemy world map is a map of the world known to Greco-Roman societies in the 2nd century. It is based on the description contained in Ptolemy's book ''Geography'', written . Based on an inscription in several of the earliest surviving manusc ...

(2nd century) * Gangnido (Korea, 1402) *

Bianco world map The Bianco World Map is a map created by ''Andrea Bianco'', a 15th-century Venetian sailor and cartographer. This map was a part of a nautical atlas including ten pages made of vellum (each measuring 26 × 38 cm). These vellum pages we ...

(1436) * Fra Mauro map (c. 1450) * Map of Bartolomeo Pareto (1455) * Genoese map (1457) *

Map of Juan de la Cosa The map of Juan de la Cosa is a world map that includes the earliest known representation of the New World and the first depiction of the equator and the Tropic of Cancer on a nautical chart. The map is attributed to the Castilian navigator and ...

(1500) *

Cantino planisphere The Cantino planisphere or Cantino world map is a manuscript Portuguese world map preserved at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, Italy. It is named after Alberto Cantino, an agent for the Duke of Ferrara, who successfully smuggled it from Portugal ...

(1502) *

Piri Reis map The Piri Reis map is a world map compiled in 1513 by the Ottoman admiral and cartographer Piri Reis. Approximately one third of the map survives; it shows the western coasts of Europe and North Africa and the coast of Brazil with reasonable accu ...

(1513) * Dieppe maps (c. 1540s-1560s) * Mercator 1569 world map *''

Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'' (, "Theatre of the Orb of the World") is considered to be the first true modern atlas. Written by Abraham Ortelius, strongly encouraged by Gillis Hooftman and originally printed on 20 May 1570 in Antwerp, it consist ...

'' (Ortelius, Netherlands, 1570–1612) *''

Kunyu Wanguo Quantu Kunyu Wanguo Quantu, printed in Ming China at the request of the Wanli Emperor in 1602 by the Italian Catholic missionary Matteo Ricci and Chinese collaborators, the mandarin Zhong Wentao, and the technical translator Li Zhizao, is the earliest ...

'' (1602)

Notable atlases

*''

Atlas Maior The ''Atlas Maior'' is the final version of Joan Blaeu's atlas, published in Amsterdam between 1662 and 1672, in Latin (11 volumes), French (12 volumes), Dutch (9 volumes), German (10 volumes) and Spanish (10 volumes), containing 594 maps and a ...

'' (Blaeu, Netherlands, 1635–1658) *''

Klencke Atlas The ''Klencke Atlas'', first published in 1660, is one of the world's largest atlases.

'' (1660) *''

'' (Blaeu, Netherlands, 1662–1667) *'' Cary's New and Correct English Atlas'' (London, 1787) *''

Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas ''Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas'' was a major cartographic work (general atlas) published in several German and foreign editions 1881–1937. It was named after Richard Andree (1835–1912) and published by Velhagen & Klasing, Bielefeld and Lei ...

'' (Germany, 1881–1939; in the UK as '' Times Atlas of the World'', 1895) *'' Times Atlas of the World'' (United Kingdom, 1895) *'' Rand McNally Atlas'' (United States, 1881–present) *'' Stielers Handatlas'' (Germany, 1817–1944) *'' Atlante Internazionale del Touring Club Italiano'' (Italy, 1927) *'' Atlas Mira'' (Soviet Union/Russia, 1937)

Early regional maps

* Ancient Egypt **

Turin Papyrus Map The Turin Papyrus Map is an ancient Egyptian map, generally considered the oldest surviving map of topographical interest from the ancient world. It is drawn on a papyrus reportedly discovered at Deir el-Medina in Thebes, collected by Bernardino ...

(c. 1150 BC) *

Cartography of Europe The earliest cartographic depictions of Europe are found in early world maps. In classical antiquity, ''Europe'' was assumed to cover the quarter of the globe north of the Mediterranean, an arrangement that was adhered to in medieval T and O maps. ...

**''

Carta Pisana The ''Carta Pisana'' or ''Carte Pisane'' is a map probably made at the end of the 13th century, about 1275–1300, currently conserved in the Département des cartes et plans at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. New research suggests that i ...

'' (13th century) ** Corbitis Atlas (late 14th century collection of portolan charts) *

Early Chinese cartography Chinese cartography began in the 5th century BC during the Warring States period when cartographers started to make maps of the Earth's surface. Its scope extended beyond China's borders with the expansion of the Chinese Empire under the Han dyn ...

**'' Da Ming Hunyi Tu'' (late 14th century

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

Chinese map) *

Maps of Russia A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Althou ...

**''

Godunov map The Godunov map was an ethnographic map of Siberia commissioned by Alexis of Russia on 15 November 1667. The original is no longer extant, but two copies were made: one by Claes Johansson Prytz and the other by Fritz Cronman. It is named after ...

'' (1667) * Maps of Scandinavia **

Carta marina ''Carta marina et descriptio septentrionalium terrarum'' (Latin for ''Marine map and description of the Northern lands''; commonly abbreviated ''Carta marina'') is the first map of the Nordic countries to give details and place names, created by S ...

(c. 1530) **

Det Kongelige danske Søkortarkiv The Royal Danish Nautical Charts Archive () was a Danish Navy department, responsible for making accurate nautical charts for the Danish government, primary the Navy, for nearly 200 years. Its former building at Toldbodvej, now Esplanaden, was als ...

(1784) *

French cartography The history of French cartography can be traced to developments in the Middle Ages. This period was marked by improvements in measuring instruments and also by an upgrade of work in registers of all types. What is thought to be the oldest land map ...

: **Cassini maps (1756–1789) *

Cartography of India The cartography of India begins with early charts for navigation and constructional plans for buildings.Gole (1990) Indian traditions influenced TibetanSircar, 329 and Islamic traditions,Pinto (2006) and in turn, were influenced by the British ca ...

Survey of India The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of Cartography, mapping and surveying.

(1767) ** Great Trigonometrical Survey (1802–1858) * Maps of Korea ** Haedong Samgukdo *

Cartography of Switzerland The cartography of Switzerland is the history of surveying and creation of maps of Switzerland. Switzerland has had its current boundaries since 1815, but maps of the Old Swiss Confederacy were drawn since the 16th century. The first topographical ...

** Dufour Map (1863) **

Siegfried Map Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

(1895–1926) * Cartography of the United States **''

Americae Sive Quartae Orbis Partis Nova Et Exactissima Descriptio ''Americae Sive Quartae Orbis Partis Nova Et Exactissima Descriptio'' (Latin: ''A New and Most Exact Description of America or The Fourth Part of the World'') is an ornate geographical map of the Americas, made in 1562 by Spanish cartographer Die ...

'' (1562) **New and Correct Map of the United States of North America

Abel Buell Abel Buell (1742–1822), born in Killingworth, Connecticut, was a goldsmith, silversmith, jewelry designer, engraver, surveyor, printer, type manufacturer, mint master, textile miller, and counterfeiter in the American colonies. In 1784, Buell ...

(1784) ** Samuel Augustus Mitchell (1867) **

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

, ''National Program for Topographic Mapping'' (1884) **''

War of the Rebellion Atlas The ''Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' (also referred to as the ''War of the Rebellion Atlas'') was published as a companion piece to the ''Official Records of the American Civil War''. It contains maps ...

'' (1895) *

Maps of the United Kingdom A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

**''The Brittania'' (

John Ogilby John Ogilby (also ''Ogelby'', ''Oglivie''; November 1600 – 4 September 1676) was a Scottish translator, impresario and cartographer. Best known for publishing the first British road atlas, he was also a successful translator, noted for publishi ...

, 1670–1676) **

Principal Triangulation of Great Britain The Principal Triangulation of Britain was the first high-precision triangulation survey of the whole of Great Britain (including Ireland), carried out between 1791 and 1853 under the auspices of the Board of Ordnance. The aim of the survey was ...

(1784–1853)

Early world maps

Notable atlases

Early regional maps

See also