Cartographical Progress: National Atlas of the United States

This notice reports the establishment of the National Atlas of the United States project. A National Academy of Sciences committee recommended production by a federal mapping agency, preferably the Geological Survey, following earlier consideration by the Department of State and the American Geographical Society. The recommendation was officially accepted, and a National Atlas Project was established in the Survey’s Washington, D.C. office. Arch C. Gerlach of the Library of Congress Map Division was seconded for two years to direct it; he had previously served as cartographer and geographer in the Office of Strategic Services and as Acting Chief of the State Department’s Division of Maps.