[Salou] Plan de la Baye de Salo en Catalogne

This nautical plan forms part of the work of the cartographer Jacques Ayrouard, a French sailor and engineer of the first half of the 18th century. Ayrouard is known for his maritime atlas titled Recueil de plusieurs plans des ports et rades de la mer Méditerranée (published around 1730), which included detailed plans of numerous ports of the western Mediterranean. The author made it based on direct observations carried out during his voyages as a royal pilot.
This plan represents the bay and cape of Salou, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia. It is a strategic natural harbour and a notable anchorage area of Mediterranean navigation. On the map appear the nautical roadstead of Salou and, on the other side of the cape, the roadstead of Tarragona. It shows seabed levels with clear indications of safe areas for anchoring; it marks the coastal infrastructure, such as the watchtower of Cape Salou or the remains of the old fishing village and of the castle destroyed after the War of the Spanish Succession; and, in addition, the long sandy beaches, useful for flat landings, are clearly delineated. The plan includes a compass rose and orientation lines, as well as an explanatory text in a box on the left side of the map, where the quality of the bay of Salou as an anchorage is praised.
Excellent state of preservation.