Committee on a National Atlas of the United States

Summary

In December 1954, the Earth Sciences Division of the National Academy of Sciences' Research Council established the Committee on a National Atlas, chaired by Carleton P. Barnes and composed of representatives from federal agencies and scientific organizations. Its purpose was to explore ways to produce a national atlas comparable to those of France and the forthcoming Canadian atlas. Earlier investigations had concluded that a looseleaf format was the only feasible approach at the time. This initiative represented a coordinated effort to advance American national cartographic reference.