Map Sources

The Atlas maps are composed of several layers of which there are two broad categories: thematic and base layers. Find below a description of each of the map layers. The layer source is included in the metadata.

Thematic Map Layers

Historical Boundaries circa 1740

The boundaries represent the extent of international territorial claims in North America circa 1740 made by the British and French. The territorial claim boundaries are based on the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. The treaty did not specify definite boundaries, and though a commission was held to negotiate these boundaries, the territorial claims could not be reconciled, until the 1764 Treaty of Paris. Known internal divisions are also mapped, based on the historical interpretation of primary documents and maps. Much of the interior of North America was unknown to Europeans at this time, therefore most of the internal division boundaries are not enclosed. Research: Conrad E. Heidenreich,Department of Geography, York University, Toronto, Ontario.

Populated Settlements circa 1740

The population and distribution of settlement in New France and British North America circa 1740. Research: Conrad E. Heidenreich,Department of Geography, York University, Toronto, Ontario.

Recognition of Territorial Claims circa 1740

The approximate areal extent of territory claimed and recognized by the French and English circa 1740. All other areas outside these areas were areas of dispute, where neither the English nor the French recognised the territorial claims of the other power. Research: Conrad E. Heidenreich,Department of Geography, York University, Toronto, Ontario.

Base Map Layers

Atlas of Canada Framework Layers

Base map components are features that provide a geographic context for the thematic data shown on Atlas of Canada maps. These features include rivers, lakes, administrative boundaries, populated places, roads and rail lines. All of the Atlas of Canada base map components are available for immediate free download in five scales and in a number of data exchange formats. The 1:7 500 000 and the 1:1 000 000 scale data are the primary base frameworks used for all Atlas of Canada 6th Edition online maps. You can download Atlas of Canada data from this Web page on GeoGratis.

References

Canada. Department of Agriculture. 1876. Census of Canada 1871. Vol. 4. Ottawa.

Clark, A.H. 1968. Acadia, The Geography of Early Nova Scotia to 1760. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Harris, R.C. 1966. The Seigneurial System in Early Canada: A Geographical Study. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Harvey, D.C. 1926. The French Regime in Prince Edward Island. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Head, C.G. 1976. Eighteenth Century Newfoundland: A Geographer's Perspective. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.

Lounsbury, R.G. 1934. The British Fishery at Newfoundland, 1634-1763. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Morton, A.S. 1973. A History of the Canadian West to 1870-71. 2nd ed., L.G. Thomas. ed. Toronto: University of Toronto.

United States, Bureau of the Census. 1960. Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957. Washington, D.C., United States.

Web Sites