This work, drawn by British cartographer John Emslie and published by James Reynolds in 1850, is part of a series of 44 maps and charts published between 1850 and 1860 in England in response to popular demand for information on new advances in science and technology.

The illustration includes the world's major rivers and lakes, making it easy to compare the lengths of different rivers and the sizes of different lakes. At the bottom, all the rivers and lakes shown are listed, grouped by continent. In the case of lakes, their area is also included, with measurements from that period.

It should be noted that the map shows the Mississippi as the longest river in the world, with a significant lead over the three rivers shown below: the Amazon, the Nile and the Yangtze. Since the early 20th century, the Nile has been considered the largest river, although in recent years several studies have been published suggesting that the Amazon may be slightly longer. The Yangtze follows these two rivers closely in third place, while the Mississippi would be in seventh place, behind the Yellow River, the River Plate and the Niger.

In the case of lakes, perhaps the most surprising fact is that Lake Chad was estimated to be twenty times larger than it is today. Even so, far from its prehistoric size.

Sources

• Panoramic plan of the principal rivers and lakes
• Vintage Viz: The World’s Rivers and Lakes, Organised Neatly