John Smith-Map of Virginia, d. 1606

This map is attributed to Captain John Smith (1580-1631) and is one of the earliest representations of Virginia. Smith began exploring the bay and its rivers in June 1608. While he and his exploring party never found gold, the lost colony, or a passage to the Pacific, they did gather enough information to produce a map that accurately delineated the Chesapeake Bay and the Tidewater region of Virginia. It was one of the first maps to be published in Europe that accurately depicted the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic coastline. The map shows the Chesapeake Bay and four major rivers: the Powhatan, Pamunk, Tappahannock, and Patowomec (now the James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac, respectively).