Philippe Buache's 1754 map of the region west of Lake Superior attempts to show the two conflicting theories about the nature of the country that were prevalent at the time: the east-west flow of rivers mapped by the Cree Auchagah for La Vérendrye (top map) and the northwest-southeast flow (bottom map) reported by some French adventurers. Together, the two maps hint at some of the theoretical problems European map makers faced as they tried to unravel sight unseen the mysteries of Canada's western landscape.