New and accurate map of the Arctic (1690)

This map of the North Pole is part of the Minor Atlas, published by Nicolaes Visscher II in 1690.

The map shows the Arctic as it was known at the end of the 17th century. Unlike the Mercator map of the North Pole, This map does not speculate on what the unexplored areas might be like and leaves them uncharted.

It is interesting how Greenland appears as a continuation of Canada, although Baffin Island is shown as an island. Similarly, Novaya Zemlya also appears as a peninsula of northern Russia. Both errors may be related to the existence of permanent ice sheets when explorers approached these regions.

The Bering Strait does not appear on this map, as it was not discovered by Europeans until 1728, when it was explored by Vitus Bering.

Sources

• New and accurate Poly Arctici