Map of San Juan Bay (1785)

Milhaud 2025-03-23
Map of San Juan Bay (1785)

This map, created by José Montero de Espinosa in 1785, shows San Juan Bay in Puerto Rico, with south at the top.

San Juan Bay is the most important bay in Puerto Rico and is where one of the first European ports was established upon their arrival in America. On the map, you can see how Old San Juan, the historic part of San Juan, dominates the entrance to the bay, shown in pink at the bottom.

The main objective of this map is to chart the bay itself, as it includes measurements taken from José Montero de Espinosa's surveys during November 1785. In addition to bathymetric contours, which indicate the depth of the sea, the map also incorporates three colours to facilitate navigation in the bay.

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