A Map from 1746 and the Unknown of North America

This map of North and South America with parts of Europe and Africa, engraving with outline hand-coloring. A large cartouche (a decorative emblem on a globe or map) at lower left depicts Native American Indians, one appears to be a chief holding his spear while being shaded under an umbrella.

California is shown as an island separated by the Colorado River and most of what is today the Western United States and Canada is not accounted for.

The prominent label of Quivira, a legendary Indian province rumored to be rich in gold sits on the map where Seattle is today. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado’s expedition found it to be a province of Wichita Indians in central Kansas with no gold, debunking the myth.

South America is well defined because of the feedback from the European explorers and conquistadores from the previous 250 years.