Charting Northern Waters celebrates the achievements and history of the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) and examines a wide range of topics relating to the origins of the CHS and to its subsequent development. Topics include the colonial heritage of hydrography in Canadians waters, the politics behind the creation of the service, and the work of the agencies that were amalgamated with the Georgian Bay Survey to create the new national body.

Charting Northern Waters also offers a detailed review of Russian hydrography on their northern coast from 1900 to 1940 and an in-depth discussion of American oceanographic work in the north in 1951. Other topics include the Labrador survey of HMS Challenger in 1932-34, German hydrographic and oceanographic support of the U-boat campaign in Canadian waters during World War II, and Canadian technical developments over the past fifty years.

Contributors include Christopher Andreae (Historica Research), Andrew Cook (British Library), Andrew David (retired, Hydrographic Branch, Royal Navy; Hakluyt Society), Richard Gimblett (Dalhousie University), David Gray (Canadian Hydrographic Service), Michael Hadley (University of Victoria), James Pritchard (Queen's University), Rear Admiral G.S. Ritchie (retired, Hydrographer of the Navy -UK), Vladimir Sergeevich (Russian State Archives of the Naval Fleet), and Gary Weir (US Naval Historical Center)