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A finely engraved hydrographic chart of the Pacific coast of western Panama, extending from the border near Burica Point eastward along the Chiriquí and Veraguas coastlines to Morro Puercos. Originally published in 1888 by the Hydrographic Office of the U.S. Navy, the map incorporates corrections through April 1915, as noted by red stamp and marginal annotation from Notices to Mariners.
This chart offers a navigational rendering of the region at a scale suited to coastal transit. Soundings are given in fathoms, with shoreline elevations in feet. The coastal region is sparsely developed but marked with extensive hydrographic features (rivers, headlands, inlets, shoals, reefs, and islets) plotted from compiled surveys. Key geographic and maritime references include David Bay, San Pedro Island, Isla Coiba (Coiba Island), and the Islas Secas and Islas Ladrones groups. The Gulf of Chiriquí is rendered in full, with its many coral heads, channels, and anchorages precisely noted.
Harbors such as Boca Chica, Pedregal, and Punta Muertos are shown with inland access via estuaries or rivers, while soundings across the shelf illustrate variable depth gradients offshore. Two large compass roses assist with bearings, and symbology identifies bottom types (mud, sand, shells, rock).
The chart is clearly presented, with minimal ornamentation and an emphasis on utility. It reflects the U.S. Navy’s expanding hydrographic efforts in the Pacific during a period of growing commercial and naval interest in Central American waters, just before and after the completion of the Panama Canal. The underlying hydrography is compiled from both British Admiralty and American sources, integrated into a unified navigational reference that would have served American vessels operating off the Pacific coast of Panama in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
