THE EARLY HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYS OF THE BRITISH ISLES

Abstract

The 200th anniversary of the publication by Murdoch Mackenzie (Senior) in May 1750 of his “Orcades, or a Geographic and Hydrographic Survey of the Orkney and Lewis Islands, in 8 maps”, is an opportune moment for a brief résumé of the contribution made by Mackenzie and his successors in the field of nautical surveying. The appearance of this work ushered in a new era in marine survey, for it was the first charting carried out in this country based on a rigid triangulation framework. The importance of this fact can further be appreciated when it is remembered that a contemporary topographic map like General Roys' famous “Map of the Highlands” begun in 1747 was little more than an elaborate compass sketch; thus under Mackenzie's influence, marine surveying at this period was ahead of its topographic counterpart.

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