<p>An excellent copy of a very desirable antique map showing the course of the lower Colorado River. The map was issued in 1858 as part of the of the Ives expedition's Report upon the Colorado River. The expedition was tasked with determining the navigability of the lower Colorado and exploring points east. Ives's expedition started at the mouth of the Colorado River, where the small steamboat Explorer was reassembled after having been shipped by boat and rail from New York through the Isthmus of Panama, and in three months traveled as far as the Black Canyon, where the ship had to be abandoned.</p>
<p>The map's four panels show the ~100 stretch of the Colorado explored by boat from the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) to Fortification Rock/Black Canyon (~15 miles from the Hoover Dam/Lake Mead). Many place names are identified: Pt. Invincible, Ogden's Landing, Fort Yuma, Lighthouse Rock, The Needles, Beale's Crossing, Bullshead (today's Bullhead City), Painted Canyon, Fortification Rock, etc. Numerous rapids are also indicated, with descriptions of perils.</p>