Florida et Apalche

Shows southeastern United States and Gulf Coast. The map is drawn from Geronimo de Chaves's map, which was copied by Ortelius in 1584. Wytfliet expands the coverate to include more of the Gulf Coast, as well as extending the map north to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and south to Cuba. The inland details are derived from the reports of Hernando de Soto, during his explorations of 1539-1542, making it one of the few 16th Century maps of North America to include significant inland detail from first hand European accounts. The Florida Peninsula is altered in shape from Ortelius, in that it is more rectangular and has a pronounced neck. The Rio del Spirito Santo shown here is the Mississippi River. Water areas have the moire wavy pattern characteristic of Flemish maps of this time period. Geographic coordinates converted to Greenwich.