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This 1881 map of the "Depths and Sea Temperatures of the Bering Strait," was produced by Justus Perthes in Gotha and is based on measurements taken by William Healy Dall during the United States Coast Survey aboard the Yukon on September 5, 1880. The map offers a comprehensive depiction of the Bering Strait's hydrography and oceanographic features, combining cartographic precision with scientific data.
The map illustrates the narrow passage of the Bering Strait, which separates the continents of Asia and North America, connecting the Arctic Ocean to the north with the Bering Sea to the south. The eastern shore highlights Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, the western shore shows the Chukotka Peninsula in Siberia, and the central Di
The central focus of this map lies in its scientific documentation of water depths and sea temperatures, marked by isothermal lines. The lower portion of the map includes a "Hydrothermales Profil der schmalsten Stelle der Bering-Strasse" (Hydrothermal Profile of the Narrowest Point of the Bering Strait), providing a cross-sectional view of the strait’s vertical temperature gradients and seabed configuration. This data is critical for understanding ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, and the physical characteristics of the strait.
Additionally, the map integrates a visual profile titled "Ansicht des Ost-Caps und der Diomedes Inseln" (View of the East Cape and the Diomedes Islands), offering a perspective of the landforms and their relative positions. These features provide both navigational and scientific insights.
Produced at a time when scientific exploration of polar regions was gaining momentum, this map represents a significant contribution to the understanding of the Bering Strait's hydrography. William Healy Dall, a leading American scientist and explorer, conducted the survey as part of broader efforts to map and study the Arctic. The data provided by this map were crucial for navigators, oceanographers, and naturalists, reflecting the increasing intersection of cartography and marine science in the late 19th century.
William Healey Dall was an American naturalist, malacologist, and scientific explorer whose work encompassed a broad range of disciplines, including malacology, paleontology, oceanography, anthropology, and zoology. As one of the first explorers of interior Alaska and a pioneering malacologist, Dall became one of the foremost authorities on living and fossil mollusks in the United States. Over the course of his career, he contributed more than 1,600 scientific papers and described hundreds of mollusk species, many of which remain cornerstones of the field.
At the age of 18, Dall became a pupil of Louis Agassiz at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, where he studied under Agassiz’s mentorship and developed a particular fascination with mollusks, a nascent field at the time. In 1865, Dall joined the Western Union Telegraph Expedition to find a telegraph route between North America and Russia. During this journey, he explored Alaska’s coastline and interior while collecting specimens of the region's flora and fauna. Following the death of his mentor, Robert Kennicott, Dall took over Kennicott’s work, extending his studies along the Yukon River. His explorations coincided with the U.S. purchase of Alaska in 1867, and Dall became one of the first scientists to document its geography, natural resources, and native cultures.
Between 1871 and 1874, Dall conducted surveys of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska’s coast as part of the United States Coast Survey. During these missions, he collected extensive biological, geological, and ethnographic specimens, many of which were sent to institutions such as Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology and the Smithsonian Institution. Dall published his findings in Alaska and Its Resources (1870), an influential account of the region’s geography, ecology, and indigenous peoples.
After decades of exploration, Dall transitioned to a position with the United States Geological Survey in 1885, where he worked as a paleontologist. At the same time, he served as honorary curator of invertebrate paleontology at the U.S. National Museum (now the Smithsonian Institution), where he conducted groundbreaking studies on fossil and modern mollusks. Dall also participated in the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition, a multidisciplinary scientific survey of Alaska’s glacial coasts, alongside luminaries such as John Muir.
Dall’s scientific expeditions extended beyond Alaska. He conducted fieldwork in the Pacific Northwest, Georgia, Florida, and Hawaii, producing comprehensive analyses of mollusk fauna and contributing to a deeper understanding of North America’s geology and paleontology.
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