The national atlas: Its problem solving utility

Summary

Arch C. Gerlach describes the planning, practical uses, and production problems of The National Atlas of the United States of America, then being prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey following a National Academy of Sciences recommendation. Planning drew on international and national committee recommendations, a review of existing national atlases, advice from seven cartographers, and more than 7,700 responses to a user questionnaire; 84% preferred solid binding. The projected roughly 500-page volume would combine general reference and urban maps with extensive physical, historical, economic, and socio-cultural themes, over 60 types of administrative divisions, and indexes to federal maps, charts, and aerial photographs. Its gazetteer-like index of over 40,000 names would provide precise coordinates and electronically coded data for further use. Gerlach documents existing applications of atlas materials in regional development and commercial map compilation, alongside requests and anticipated uses in housing assessment, education, public-land policy, urban planning, and market analysis. He discusses reliable data, scale-sensitive generalization, paper requirements, binding alternatives, and index organization, describing the planned adhesive binding for flat-opening double-page maps. About 60 organizations would contribute, with the Geological Survey responsible for scribing, reproduction, and sales. Plans called for decennial editions coordinated with censuses and separately sold revised sheets as new data became available. Gerlach also considers how satellite sensing and computerized data storage might change future atlas production.