BRN 9-2 (uncompressed) - Flipbook - Page 42
Map of Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco
Nicholas SansonÕs map
to what is now known as CookeÕs Peak. (CookeÕs Peak Pasaron Por Aqui - A Focus on United States History in
Southwestern New Mexico, p. 19. )
1771. JosŽ Ram—n de Urrutia y las Casas was a
cartographer during the period when he was in New
Mexico and crafted several maps, including the Primera
Parte map of 1771 which is shown at the bottom right,
with detail.
As with many maps of this era, it takes a bit of orienting to
understand what is being shown, because the geographic
knowledge of the mapmakers was imprecise. Note,
however, that there is much which is right about this map.
The map shows a river ßowing across the top of the map,
labeled as the Rio Gila, and it ßows into another larger
river before entering the Gulf. Turning to the detail, the
headwaters of the Gila are shown originating from the
Sierra de Gila, just north of the Sierra del Cobre and Sierra
Florida. The Rio Grande and the San Diego crossing are
shown correctly, as is the Jornada del Muerto. Laguna de
Guzm‡n in Chihuahua is also shown.
UrrutiaÕs Map
Of interest to us are the rivers ßowing into the Rio Grande
from the west, one of which is named the S. Bernardo.
Paso del Rio del Norte is placed too far north. Many things
seem right once it is moved farther south.
1804: The map on the following page, and the detail on
the page after that, is named after Alexander von
Humboldt because he was a contributor of information. It
shows ÒThe Sierra del MimbresÓ, the Diego crossing of the
Rio Grande, the source of the Rio Gila and the Valley of
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