First Recorded Region Name

Timeline label

First Recorded Region Name

Image caption

Avacal is the earliest recorded place name for the Adirondack region. This name was first recorded on a map titled: Americae Sive Quartae Orbis Partis Nova Et Exactissima Descriptio. A collaboration by Spanish cartographer Diego Guitérrez and Belgian engraver Hieronymous Cock, this 1562 map depicts what was then called the fourth part of the world. This map of America labels the Adirondacks as Avacal. This means that the very first time that the region was mapped, it was given a new name. Instead of preserving the original name, the invention of a new name erases the cultural significance of the native name.

Timeline date

1562