The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. The 1862 volume focuses on the Asia-Pacific region, with articles on Micronesia and on voyages from Singapore to Saigon and Melbourne. It also features telegraph projects in the Crimea and the Bering Strait, a proposed cable from Ireland to Newfoundland and a planned trans-Canadian transport link which would use inland waterways for most of the way. The volume reports on the Slave Trade Treaty between Britain and the United States, and the new Merchant Shipping Act. Particularly unusual is a description of a balloon ascent to a height of five miles by a staff member of the Royal Observatory.