Chile Maps

Maps are an important source for locating the places where your ancestors lived. They help you see the neighboring towns and geographic features of the area your ancestor came from.

Maps show places, proximity to other towns, transportation routes, parishes or churches, and geographical features. Historical maps are especially useful for understanding boundary changes.

Maps are published individually or as part of an atlas, a bound collection of maps. Maps may also be included in gazetteers, guidebooks, local histories, and history texts.

Different types of maps will help you in different ways. Historical atlases describe the growth and development of countries. They show boundaries, migration routes, settlement patterns, military campaigns, and other historical information. Road atlases are useful because of the detail they provide about the country you are searching. They also usually include an alphabetical index to town names.

Using Maps
Maps must be used carefully for several reasons:


 * There could be more than one place with the same name.
 * The names and spelling of some towns may have changed since your ancestors lived there.
 * Place-names are often misspelled in foreign sources. Difficult names may have been shortened and important diacritic marks omitted.
 * Political boundaries are not clearly indicated on all maps.

Different types of maps will help you in different ways. Historical atlases describe the growth and development of countries. They show boundaries, migration routes, settlement patterns, military campaigns, and other historical information. Road atlases are useful because of the detail they provide about the country you are searching. They also usually include an alphabetical index to town names.

Finding the Specific Town on the Map
To do successful research in Chile, you must identify the town where your ancestor lived. Because more than one town may have the same name, you may need additional information before you can locate the correct town on a map. You will be more successful if you have some information about the town. Search gazetteers, histories, family records, and other sources to learn all you can about the following:


 * The governmental jurisdiction your ancestor’s town was in.
 * The province your ancestor came from.
 * Name of the parish where your ancestor was baptized or married.
 * Towns where related ancestors lived.
 * The size of the town.
 * The occupation of your ancestor or his or her relatives (this may indicate the size or industries of the town).
 * Nearby localities, such as large cities.
 * Nearby features, such as rivers and mountains.
 * Industries of the area.
 * Dates when the town was renamed.
 * Dates the town existed.
 * Other names the town was known by.

Use gazetteers to identify the governmental juris-diction your ancestor’s town was in. This will distinguish it from other towns of the same name, and help you locate it on a map. (See Chile Gazetteers)

Online Maps
Many historical maps are available at Old Maps Online. A few particular maps found in this and other collections include the following:


 * Chile in the early 21st century
 * Chile in 1914
 * Chile in 1823
 * Chile in 1736
 * Chile in 1656

Other Maps and Atlases
Collections of maps and atlases are available at numerous historical societies and at public and university libraries.

The Family History Library has a small collection of Chilean maps and atlases. These are listed in the Family History Library Catalog under:

Maps are an important source for locating the places where your ancestors lived. They help you see the neighboring towns and geographic features of the area your ancestor came from.

Maps show places, proximity to other towns, transportation routes, parishes or churches, and geographical features. Historical maps are especially useful for understanding boundary changes.

Maps are published individually or as part of an atlas, a bound collection of maps. Maps may also be included in gazetteers, guidebooks, local histories, and history texts.

Collections of maps and atlases are available at numerous historical societies and at public and university libraries.

The Family History Library has a small collection of Chilean maps and atlases. These are listed in the Family History Library Catalog under:

CHILE - MAPS

A helpful map at the Family History Library is:

Chile. Scale 1:50,000. 1a. ed. Santiago, Chile: Instituto Geográfico Militar, 1970. (FHL map case 983 E7c.)

A helpful atlas for Chile is:


 * Atlas escolar de Chile con la nueva regionalización del país (Scholar Atlas of Chile with the New Regional Division of the Country). Santiago, Chile: Instituto Geográfico Militar, 1975. (FHL book 983 E7i 1975.)

An excellent national historical atlas is:


 * Cunill Grau, Pedro. Atlas histórico de Chile (Historical Atlas of Chile). Santiago, Chile: [Empresa Editora Zig-Zag, 1961?]. (FHL book 983 E7cg.)

You can purchase maps or atlases of Chile from:

Instituto Geográfico Militar de Chile Dieciocho N

° 369 Santiago Chile Tel: +56 4606800 Fax: +56 4608294 E-mail: planificacion@igm.cl