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Fascinating map of the United States, highlighting two of the major continental concepts of the mid-19th Century, the "Great American Desert" and William Gilpin's "Basin of the Mississippi."
The map provides a nice topographical look at the Transmississippi West and Mississippi Valley, immediately before the reports of Fremont and Nicollet would reshape these respective regions. The Two Great Salt Lakes (Timanagos and Teguayo) still appear, as do several of the mythical rivers of the West. The Basin of the Columbia follows the information learned from Lewis & Clark, while much of Upper California is still referred to as "Unexplored Country."
One of the most ineresting features is a massive river flowing from Mt. San Bernard (San Bernardino) to San Francisco By, the only map which we have seen which shows this curious feature.
William Gilpin was one of the most important men in early Colorado History. Gilpin was a land speculator, promotor, and important political figure, serving as the first Governor of Colorado. He was an eloquent booster of western settlement, but he also originated a concept that was foundational to economic geography.
Gilpin's concept is perhaps best illustrated by this map, which provides a self-serving, Colorado-centric, but conceptually important depiction of the importance of the River Systems of the Transmississippi and Trans-Alleghany west. While relatively unassuming at first glance, the map conveys a powerful thematic message, one which would define the expansion of the region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains for the rest of the 19th Century.
Gilpin's This map of the US focuses on the watershed regions of the country, dividing it into regions, and in doing so shows the great potential of the West. Here divided into territories, the map shows the "Region of the Gold Fields" in Utah and New Mexico, just at the edge of the Kansas Territory. Shows the "Geographical Center" of the nation, where Gilpin saw the future balance of the population to live, (also near to where he owned land). A rare map with a innovative look at the nation.
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