We all know we live in ever-changing world, but have you ever considered how much even the maps of our world have changed?

“Envisioning the World,” an exhibition featuring world maps from 1450 through 1700, runs from Friday, Oct. 2, through Jan. 17 at Santa Rosa’s Sonoma County Museum.

One woodblock print map from the late 1400s  shows the continents of Europe, Africa and Asia, and way over one side, a tiny sliver of land. That was the part of North America that European explorers had found so far.

The nearly 30 maps in the show are from the collection of Henry and Holly Wendt, former owners of Quivira Vineyards in Healdsburg. For more than 40 years,  the Wendts have combed the world in search of ancient navigational maps.

“This exhibit is an intellectual history. It’s geography, but it’s a lot more. It’s the evolution of man’s understanding of the planet Earth,” Wendt explained.

“Maps display intellectual history in a way that I think is uncommon,” he said. “I cannot suggest another format that would be equivalent. Maybe there is one, but I can’t.”

The details: Sonoma County Museum, 425 Seventh St., Santa Rosa. 579-1500, sonomacountymuseum.org. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. $5; $2 for students, seniors and disabled; free for children 12 and under.