This map of North and South America appeared as part of a seven-volume historic atlas published in Paris between 1705 and 1720. It was also issued separately, and its large size together with its companion lower half suggest its use as a wall chart. Only a detail is shown here. Circular portraits identify nine great explorers, including Columbus, Magellan, and Vespucci. Five voyages of discovery are marked on the Pacific Ocean, the southern ocean of the title.
Elaborate engraved vignettes depict beavers building a dam, Native Americans hunting and fishing, and other men salting and drying codfish. Niagara Falls is pictured, and California is shown as an island, although the growing belief that it was part of the continent is noted.