Historical GEBCO charts

The GEBCO chart series was initiated in 1903 by Prince Albert I of Monaco - providing information on the shape and depth of the global seafloor. Through the 20th Century, there were five paper editions of the charts series before GEBCO released its first digital products in the early 1990s.

The GEBCO chart archive, for additions 1 - 5, is available to view online:

• GEBCO First Edition (1903)
• GEBCO Second Edition (1910 - 1930)
• GEBCO Third Edition (1932 - 1966)
• GEBCO Fourth Edition (1958 - 1973)
• GEBCO Fidth Edition (1973 - 1982)

Further information about GEBCO's history and the history of seafloor mapping during the 20th Century can be found in the History of GEBCO book.

Access a poster, from the Forum for Ocean Floor Mapping, showing the progression of how the Mid-Atlantic Ridge was portrayed on GEBCO's charts through the 20th Century to GEBCO's digital bathymetric grid in 2014.

Author: A. Pharaoh, International Hydrographic Organization, Monaco (5.4 MB)