Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia: Early British Columbia Maps

This digital collection includes scans of a selection of maps, sketches, tracings and notes created between 1846 and 1895 and held by the Surveyor General of BC. All relate to land use, landforms, and surface cover across the province of BC and record geographic features, land reserves, settlements, burial grounds, roads, railways, parks, and other aspects.

The genesis of this collection is a finding aid project initiated by the Historical Map Society of BC: Early Maps of the British Columbia Area, compiled by Bruce I. Ward and the late R.C. (Bob) Harris and last updated in August 2001 (historicalmapsbc.ca). This project documented 2,400 pre-colonial and colonial maps housed in major BC libraries and archives, with the goal of increasing interest and research in BC history. The compilers visited the Surveyor General of BC Legal Surveys vault and selected maps for inclusion in the project. A subset of this selection was digitized by the LTSA and then expanded in 2011 in consultation with staff at the University of Victoria. All materials are identified by their LSV or other identifier used by the LTSA and its predecessors. The catalogue record also indicates the Historical Map Society of BC map number.

Related materials:
See also Land Title and Survey Authority of BC: Indian Reserve Maps, accessible through the University of Victoria’s Digital Collections’ Vault.

For a history of the Surveyor General of BC, see: History of the Surveyor General - LTSA.

Resource type

• Collection

Subject

• Local History

Genre

• historical maps
• maps (documents)

Location

• Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada

Rights

• Records in this collection must not re-sold or redistributed for profit. To purchase high-resolution digital files of these materials and request permission to publish or otherwise reproduce, contact orderdesk@ltsa.ca. Requests must cite the Surveyor General Vault map number or other unique identifier listed on the catalogue record.

Permalink: https://vault.library.uvic.ca/collections/505a74f4-d7bf-44d2-a5d0-96b2c6ddf2a8