South America

Patagonia, Chile, Tierra del Fuego and The Falklands, with inset map showing the South Shetland Isles, Orkneys and South Georgia in Antarctica.



The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was created with the laudable aim of providing the finest available maps at a price that would be within the reach of the majority of the reading population. Enjoying the support of luminaries in the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society, the SDUK maps frequently show the very latest discoveries ahead of other contemporary maps, as with this map of Patagonia. It is the inset map of the recent discoveries on and around the Antarctic Peninsula that make this map significant.



The large inset shows the South Shetlands, South Orkneys and mountains named in Graham Land and Trinity or Palmer Land. A comment in relation to Trinity or Plamer Land: "Probably a chain of islands", reflects the uncertainty at the time. The SDUK scrupulously avoid giving primiacy to either of the claims for discovery by using both the English name ("South Shetlands") and the American name ("Palmer Land") for the tip of the Antarctica Peninsula.



[Pedersen & Curtis "The Mapping of Antarctica": 8]


Original Colour [SAM3363]