MAP RESEARCH BULLETIN MR - 25S

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01005A000100210003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 45
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 29, 1999
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: May 1, 1951
• Content Type: BULL

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P RESEARCH BULLETIN
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MR-255
May 1951
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AlEXTREOL V Q A T E
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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SECRET
MR-25S
May 1951
SECRET
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Page
I. Map Coverage of Turkish International Boundaries ................... 1
II. The Inter American Geodetic Survey ................................. 12
III. The Israel-Jordan Yarmuk Reservoir Area Boundary Dispute........... 23
IV. Unusual Territorial-Administrative Changes in the Tadzhik SSR...... 31
Y. Brief Notices ...................................................... 34
A. An Aerial Survey of Thailand ................................ 34
B. Soviet Map of a Coastal Area of Norway ........................ 35
C. Transportation Map of Turkey .................. ................. 36
Following Page
Map Coverage of Turkish Boundaries (CIA 11736) .......................... 1
Completed and Projected First- and Second-Order Geodetic
Triangulation in Mexico and Caribbean Area ........................... 11
Completed and Projected First-Order Geodetic Triangulation
in South America ..................................................... 11
Israel-Jordan: Yarmuk Reservoir Area Boundary Dispute
(CIA 11817). ......................................................... 23
Note: This Bulletin has not been coordinated with the intelligence
organizations of the Departments of State, the Army, the Navy, and the
Air Force.
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I. MAP COVERAGE OF TURKISH INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES
Turkey is of interest today less because of its resources than because
of its strategic position. In the northwest, Turkey straddles the Bosporus
and the Dardanelles, the only exit for the Soviet ports on the Black Sea.
It also occupies a position between Europe and the rich oil fields of Iran,
Iraq, and Arabia. In spite of its long coastline on the north, west, and
south, Turkey has land frontiers with six other countries. In the north-
east, Turkey borders directly upon the USSR; in the northwest it has land
boundaries in common with Bulgaria and Greece; and Iran, Iraq, and Syria
lie to the east and south.
Demarcation maps are not available for all of the boundaries. In some
cases, several series of maps of uneven quality are required for adequate
coverage. Some boundaries are completely described by treaties, protocols,
or agreements but are plotted on old and inaccurate bases. The best medium-
and large-scale maps of the land boundaries of Turkey have been selected
and are discussed in this report on the basis of their relative merits.
GREECE
The boundary between Turkey and Greece is completely covered by an
official boundary series at 1:25,000.
1. Carte de la Fronti~re Greco-Tur ue; 1:25,000; Greek-Turkish
Delimitation Commission of 1925-26; in French; marginal geographic coordinate
divisions; CIA Call No. 24714.
This is a 10-sheet monochrome series that shows detail for a strip
approximately 6 miles wide along the border. No printed index is avail-
able. The Greek-Bulgar boundary is not plotted on the map; it follows the
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right bank of the Maritza River and joins the Greek-Turkish and Bulgar-Turkish
boundaries just north of the point; 320A on Sheet 1.
BULGARIA
An official boundary series covers the area immediately adjacent to
the frontier but gives so little supporting data that four other series are
recommended.. The very old map at 1:200,000, Item 2, which was used in
writing the convention, agrees with the official 1921 boundary series. A
series at 1.:100,000 and two detailed series at 1:25,000 are more recent and
accurate. On the three more recent sets, the boundary alignment differs
slightly from that on the two older maps, but the alignment in relation to
terrain, drainage, and population centers is shown consistently on all of
the maps.
2. LA.ustrian General Staff Map, 1:200,0027; Vienna cartographic Institute;
reprints dated 1915 to 1936; in German; geographic coordinates with longitude
based on Ferro; AMS Call No. 6 23?-30.5-19005-200.
This is the official series used for boundary definition in the con-
sventions of' 1879, 1913, and 1915. The entire boundary is covered by sheets
Midia 16? 420)-, Burgaz (4+5? 42?) , and Adrianopel (440 4;20). Although the
maps are clear and detailed, boundary alignment is generalized. An index
is available at ANS and in Notes on Maps of the Balkans, Directorate of
Military Survey, War Office, London, 1911, Appendix H.
The maps agree with the conventions except in two areas. In the area
between Hills 130 (11?19'29"N-26?32'25"E) and 253 (11?19'26"N-26?22'53"E),
the convention signed at Sofia, 21 August 1915, states that the boundary
"'turns toward the west in a straight line," whereas on this series it dips
COMP IDENTIAL
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slightly to the south in order to pass "south of Hadji-keuy and R. Sukun."
This part of the boundary is not shown as a due east-west line even on. the
official boundary series, Item 6. On Items 3, 4, and 5, also, the boundary
is not a due east-west line but is parallel to the northing lines of the
military grid; this is probably a coincidence. Near the Turkish village
of Rodoslavci, the boundary alignment on Item 2 agrees fairly. well with
the convention but differs from that on larger-scale maps for a distance of
about 6 kilometers. Some of these discrepancies may be the result of
changes made by the delimitation commissions.
3. Bulgarien 1:100,000; High Command, L75erman7 Army General Staff;
second edition, 19+4; in German and Bulgarian, with three separate legends
for features in Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria, and a translation of each
legend into German; marginal geographic coordinate divisions and military
grid; CIA Call No. 65610.
For general use, this is the most convenient map because it is
recent, multicolored, and legible. The boundary is completely covered on
five sheets: VII 7, VII 8, VII 9, VIII 8, VIII 9. An index is generally,
available in Washington map libraries. Some of the place names in Greece
and all those in Bulgaria have been romanized. Turkey is mapped in less
detail than other countries, using blow-ups of the Turkish 1:200,000 maps.
4. Bulgaria 1:25,000; Bulgarian War Ministry, after National
Geographical Institute, Sofia; 1936; in Bulgarian; marginal
geographic coordinate divisions and military grid; CIA Call No. 24724.
This is a detailed, multicolor series, but no data for Turkey
are plotted on it. The boundary is completely covered by 17 sheets
numbered from west to east: 1951, 1907-09, 1865-1867, 1824-1828,
and 1872-1876. Sheets 1866 and 1867 are missing from the CIA series?
CONFIDEI IAL
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Aprinted index is generally available at map libraries. The series is not
specifically a "boundary map" but is the most legible and nearly complete of
the three detailed series recommended for the area. of Bulgaria. It should
be used in conjunction with the German series (Item 5).
5. Bul arien 1:25 000; German Army General Staff, Division of War
Maps and Surveying; 19 0; in German and Bulgarian; marginal geographic
coordinate: divisions and military grid; CIA Call No. 68920.
This is an excellent monochrome copy of Bulgaria 1:25,000, with names
of towns and many physical features romanized. The area of Turkey has been
filled in from blow-ups of Greek maps at 1:100,000 and Bulgarian maps at
1:126,000, with corrections from smaller-scale maps. The series available
includes sheets 1866 and 1867, which are missing from Item 4.
6. /Turk-Bulgar Boundary; 1:25,000; Greek-Bulgar Boundary Delimitation
Commission.; 1921; in French, Sheet 10c in Russian; geographic coordinates,
with longitude based on Paris; AMS Call No. 50M 23-30-55802-25.
According to the terms of the Treaty of Sevres of 10 August 1920,
the present area of Turkey immediately south of the Turk-Bulgar boundary
was ceded to Greece. The area was returned to Turkey by the Treaty of
:Lausanne of 21- July 1923. The present Turk-Bulgar boundary was demarcated
by the Greek-Bulgar Boundary Delimitation Commission in 1921 and was
confirmed as the authentic Turk-Bulgar boundary by the Treaty of Lausanne.
The boundary is shown on 14 sheets of this series (1-C through 14-C).
Alignment as given follows the old Austrian 1:200,000 series (Item 2)
rather than the more recent Bulgarian and German maps (Items 4 and 5).
This series is superior to others because of the combination of its
official character and clarity, but it is not as detailed as Items 4 or 5.
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Little is shown other than contours and the 320 numbered boundary ca:Lrns;
in some places data are plotted for no more than 500 meters on each side
of the boundary. On Sheet l-C the longitude is marked 10' too far west.
An index is included in the series.
USSR
The boundary is completely covered by only one map, a mediocre series
in old Turkish (Arabic) script.
7. ffurkish-Russian B orde7; 1:25,000; authority in doubt, index
sheet gives Council of Peoples Commissariat of the SS Republics of the
Caucasus; 1925; in Turkish script with place names romanized in manu-
script; marginal geographic coordinate divisions; multicolor originals,
AMS Call No. 1K 23-30-57387-25; photostat copies, CIA Call No. 60877.
The boundary is completely covered by the 49 sheets of this official
boundary series, which is based on the field work of the Turk-Soviet
mixed boundary demarcation commission. An index is available at AW and
CIA. Data are plotted for a strip about 2 miles wide along the border.
The 450 boundary pillars are numbered, some in Turkish script. The
southern end of the boundary is located at the confluence of the Ninji-
Kara Su and Aras rivers, but this point is not included on the map and,
consequently, the Turkish boundaries with Iran and the USSR appear to
end about 175 yards apart. The maps are moderately clear and the lack of
a legend sheet is not a great handicap.
Boundary alignment agrees with the detailed description in the protocol
of the mixed Turkish-Soviet boundary demarcation commission signed
9 September 1926. As far as is known, this protocol is available in the
CONFIDENTIAL
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United States only as enclosure 2 to despatch No. 1813 of 27 August 1947
from the American Embassy, Ankara (CIA No. 110646).
IRAN
Three map series are necessary to cover the border adequately. The
official boundary map (Item 8) is out of date and incomplete, and two sheets
of the only up-to-date large-scale series are missing from the series avail-
able in Washington. The largest-scale map that shows the entire boundary
correctly is the Quarter Inch Series (1:253,440).
Two of the well-known map series are not recommended. Neither is
sufficiently detailed or accurate to permit more than a rough interpretation
of the accords. The first, the 1:84,000 series issued by the General Staff
of the Red Army, gives complete coverage. It is the source of the topo-
graphic data on Item 8, an official boundary series, but does not agree
with it in all cases and is much less easy to read. The second, the Turkish
1:200,000 that covers all of the Iran boundary, is clearer and the sheets
were revised more recently than the Quarter Inch Series (Item 10).
Revisions, however, were limited to cultural features and the series
carries fewer of the place names mentioned in the accords than does the
Quarter Inch Series. On some sheets, no data for the area of Iran are
plotted. The Mazbicho rectification area falls approximately at the edges
of two adjacent sheets, but the boundaries do not match at the neat lines.
8. Prontilre Turco-Persane; 1:21,000 to 1:84,000; Survey of India
and Geographical Section, General Staff (GSGS 2806); 1915; in French;
geographic coordinates; CIA Call No. 62422.
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The complete series, which covers most of the Turkish-Persian boundary
of 1915, consists of 26 sheets. The present Turkish-Iranian boundary is
almost completely covered by nine sheets (numbered XVIII through XXV, and
XXIIa), including five insets. The extreme northern part of the boundary
north and east of 39?10'N-14+?30'E is not covered. The sheets show 111
numbered cairns and considerable other detail for a strip approximately
5 miles wide on each aide of the border. In spite of being out of date,
the series provides the most detailed information available for about
three-fourths of the present boundary. All 26 sheets of the set are
indexed on CIA 10+05.
9. Fran; 1:50,0027; Geographic Division of the Iranian Army General
Staff; 3 sheets dated 1947, 14+ sheets undated; in Persian script, with
some of the marginal information translated into English; geographic
coordinates; CIA Call No. 23865.
Nineteen sheets are required to cover the Turkey-Iran boundary com-
pletely, but only 17 are available. The missing sheets cover the eastern
and western parts of that portion of the boundary between 37?45'N and
38?00'N. Rectifications in the Ararat, Qutir, and Urmia (Rizaiyeh) sectors,
which were agreed to in the Turkish-Iranian Accord of 1932, are incor-
porated on the map. It seems probable that the minor rectification in the
Mazbicho sector (37?35?N-11.i?39'30"E), as given in the Turkish-Iranian
agreement of May 1937, has been included, but this cannot be verified.
For this sector, Sheet XIX of Frontiere Turco-Persane (Item 8) is of value:
for orientation purposes.
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Use of two or three colors instead of monochrome would have made
the series much easier to read. The sheet covering the junctions of the
Ninji Kara Su and Aras rivers does not carry a boundary symbol.
An index as well as the entire series is available at AMS under Call
No. 5K 3-30.5-25205-50.
10. Quarter Inch Series; 1:253,440; Survey of India and Geographical
Section, General Staff, (GSGS 3919); second edition, 1942; Grid C and
marginal geographic coordinate divisions; CIA Call No. 23870.
Three sheets (J-38 C, J-38 I, J-38 0) of this series cover all of the
border and include the three rectifications of 1932. The rectification
of 1937 is too small to be shown at this scale. (See Item 9.) Although
the sheets carry a large amount of detail and comprise the only series
showing the complete boundary correctly, the sheets themselves are not
accurate. For instance, in a strip several miles long extending west from
the boundary at 37?37'N, it was impossible to adjust the topographic data.
IBAQ
The boundary is covered completely by an official demarcation series.
11. FrontAre Turco-Irakienne; 1:50,000; Lritis7 Geographical
Section, General Staff GSGS 363),? 1933; in French, with English
equivalents of place-name spellings on four sheets; geographic
coordinates; CIA Call No. 25589.
Ten sheets cover the Turkey-Iraq boundary, and each sheet carries
a complete index. Information is detailed but is plotted for a strip
only about four miles wide on each side of the boundary. The 99 numbered
cairns are located on Sheets 2 to 10, inclusive; throughout Sheet 1, the
boundary follows the Habur and Hezil rivers. Although not so stated, the
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map embodies the work of the demarcation commission during March-September
1927. This frontier is discussed in League of Nations Publication
C.400.M.147.1925.VII, which includes 11 maps that show physical, economic,
and ethnographic features.
SYRIA
Five sets are cited for coverage of the Turkey-Syria boundary. The
pre-1939 boundary was defined by a convention of 30 May 1926 and by a
protocol of 22 June 1929 according to three sectors: (1) Mediterranean to
Choban Bey; (2) Choban Bey to Nusaybin; and (3) Nusaybin to the Tigris
River. In the first sector, the boundary was changed by the establishment
of the autonomous Sanjak of Alexandretta (20 May 1937) and its later
incorporation into Turkey as the vilayet of Hatay (23 June 1939). An
unofficial series at 1:50,000 shows the boundary from Choban Bey westward
to the Mediterranean Sea and supplements the official boundary set at
1:50,000 covering Hatay. There are official boundary series at 1:50,000
for the entire second and third sectors, but the series available in
Washington that covers the Tigris-Nusaybin sector has no boundary plotted
on it. For this sector, the largest-scale boundary coverage is at the
scale of 1:200,000.
12. Carte au 1:50,000 du 3eme Secteur de la frontiere Turco-
Syrienneade Nissibin a Djeziret ibn Omar; French Levant Army
Topographic Bureau; 1928; in French; unnumbered grid; CIA Call
No. 13856.
The map is printed in six sheets but indexed on each sheet as a
seven-sheet series. In printing, Sheets Nissibin and Kertouin, which
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cover the area from 41?05'E to 41?24'49"E, were combined. A Turkish-French
boundary commission checked the maps in the field in 1927, and the maps
were probably used in preparing the final protocol describing this sector,
signed at Ankara 22 June 1929, but the boundary line is not plotted on
the series available in Washington. Within scale limitations, all the
places mentioned in the protocol can be found on the maps. The protocol
is available in L'Europe Nouvelle, 12th year, No. 602, 24 August 1929,
pp. 1143.1144, LC Call No. AP 20 E88.
13. Levant 1:200,000; Geographic Service of the Free French Levant
Forces; November 1945; in French; geographic coordinates in grads,
Caucasus grid; AMS Call No. 2K 3-30-23601-200.
Sheets Qamichliye Sinnjar and Qaratchok Darh completely cover the
third sector, Nusaybin-Tigris. Since Item 12 carries no boundary, these
two sheets provide the largest-scale coverage on which the boundary of the
third sector is plotted.
14. T'urki e-Suri Hududunun, 2 Inci Kismi, Cobanbey-Nusaybin;
(Turkish-Syrian Boundary, Second Sector, Choban Be -Nusaybin ; 1:50,000;
Turkish-Syrian Boundary Delimitation Commission; April 1929; in
Turkish; no grid or coordinates; multicolor originals, AMS Call No.
1K 23-30-545-50; photostat copies, CIA Call No. 60876.
Fourteen sheets of this series cover the second sector of the boundary.
The sheens are numbered from west to east and are indexed roughly on Sheet 3.
In the vicinity of 14 railroad stations, the boundary and railroad tracks
are shown on insets at a larger scale. The 219 points plotted along
boundary have numbers between 481 and 1221.
15? Hatay-Suriye Hududu (Hatay-Syrian Boundary); 1:50,000;
Hatay-Syrian Boundary Delimitation Crymisaion and furkish7 General
Map Directorate; April 1939; in Turkish; military grid; multicolor
originals, AMS Call No. 1K 23-30.5-549-50; photostat copies, CIA
Call No. 60875.
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The entire Hatay boundary is covered by seven sheets, five of which
carry an index. Information is plotted for only a narrow strip up to
2 kilometers in width on each side of the border and cairns numbered
1 to 462 are located, but the alignment of the boundary between Sheets IV
and V does not match. In general, alignment agrees well with that on the
Levant 1:50,000 series (Item 16). The provisions of the French-Turkish
agreement of 23 June 1939, rectifying the Hatay boundary in three places,
have been incorporated on both sets, but the sets differ on the location
of cairns 235-281 and 285-287.
16. Levant 1:50,000; /ritish7 Middle East Command (MDR 1510);
1942-46; in French and English; Levant Lambert grid and marginal
geographic coordinate divisions; CIA Call No. 29418; AMS Call No.
K 23-30-66402-50.
The Turkish-Syrian border west of 38?45'E is completely covered
by 19 sheets of this set. It is the only large-scale coverage of the
border between Choban Bey and Meidan Ekbes (Sheets Tchobane Bey, Aazaz,
Aafrine, Bulbul, and Meidane Ekbes). The longitude lines on some copies
of the Aazaz sheet are numbered 15'. too far east. Part of the area of
Turkey has been left blank on the map. Indexes of the set are available
at CIA and AMS.
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II. THE INTER-AMERICAN GEODETIC SURVEY
The establishing of geodetic control for Latin America, an area 6,000
miles in length and in places as much as 3,000 miles in width, is an enormous
task. Yet this is the task that was undertaken five years ago by the
Inter-American Geodetic Survey (TAGS) -- an organization established in
19+6 to fulfill one of the basic requirements in the solution of some of
the mapping problems facing Latin America.
The lack of adequate maps had long been a serious handicap in the
settlement of political disputes and in the economic development of the
20 republics to the south. However, the strategic requirements of World
War II brought into dramatic focus--- from a hemispheric point of view --
the need for accurate knowledge of where things were. Where, precisely,
were deposits of strategic minerals located? Over what kind of terrain
did they have to be transported? Were there mountains to avoid, rivers
-to cross, towns with manpower available to expedite exploitation? What
military approaches and defense sites were of immediate concern? Countless
questions of this kind emphasized the fact that maps were few in number
and that t:tu?oughout Latin America facilities for producing more or better
maps were limited. It was estimated recently that one of the South
American government agencies responsible for the official mapping of its
country would require 250 years to complete a map series on which it had
already worked for more than 30 years, provided no changes were made in
the size of its staff or budget. In many countries no facilities were
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5-
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Figure 2
'AZ-
-COMPLETED AND PROJECTED FIRST ORDER
GEODETIC TRIANGULATION IN
SOUTH AMERICA
LEGEND
sss Completed Triangulation
sew Projected Triangulation
. Tide Gages
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available for training new technicians. Cartographic dilemmas of this sort
had been studied by the Pan American Institute of Geography and History
(PAIGH) and had contributed to the establishment of its Cartography Com-
mission -- an organization set up to stimulate surveying and mapping ac-
tivities in each of the American Republics according to its individual
mapping needs and following established international standards. However,
not until 19+6 did one of the member nations of the PAIGH set up an active,
operating unit that could collaborate with other nations in achieving
part of the over-all purposes of the Cartography Commission. At that time,
the LAGS was established by the United States Department of Defense to
implement a mapping and charting plan for Central and South America, and a
definite long-range program was inaugurated.
Scope of Activities
By broadest definition, it is within the scope of the LAGS to tie
together into a single integrated mapping effort all of the independent
national programs that had existed previously. The numerous datums that
had been established throughout Latin America not only required a tre-
mendous amount of mathematical adjustment but also called for expenditures
of effort and funds that would be greatly reduced in a coordinated program.
The clearly recognized advantages to be gained from a datum of high and
uniform accuracy for all of Latin America were (1) the establishment of
continuous triangulation arcs across international boundaries as a result
of collaborative endeavor -- an essential feature of the program and one
that would be impossible to achieve otherwise; (2) the creation of a
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sound foundation for all subsequent geodetic and topographic surveying,
ultimately expediting the mapping programs of each country and of the
area as a whole; and (3) the introduction of uniform geodetic control
values for the entire Western Hemisphere complex through the adjustment
of the new South American Datum to the already existing North American
Datum.
Currently LAGS activities include only first-order work, but some
second-order triangulation has already been completed in Central America.
There 113 a move at present, as the first-order work is completed, for the
LAGS to assist the local agencies in undertaking lower-order control as
well as in photomapping and map reproduction within the individual
countries. Momentum could thus be gained toward making the "end product"
become a reality.
Negotiations
The negotiation of agreements with the individual countries through-
out Latin America was a major problem in the early days of the LAGS. With
the aid of the diplomatic channels of the Department of State, however,
a series of bilateral agreements has been successfully executed. To date,
diplomatic agreements have been signed, or operations based on informal
agreements are in progress in 17 countries. Negotiations are underway with
Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. In the case of Mexico, a diplomatic
agreement was not signed because a program of limited cooperation in
geodetic work has been cleared through the long-standing Joint US-Mexican
Military Commission. Informal working arrangements with Chile and Brazil
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have been in force for about three years, and extensive effort, funds, and
equipment have already been expended in these countries. The Brazilian
problem is great because of the size of the country (estimated as one-sixth
larger than the US), and the length of the triangulation arcs required.
The work in Brazil alone is a large portion of the entire Latin American
program.
Agreements have also been established with the home governments of
the British, French, and Netherlands territories in Central and South
America, but no programs have been initiated in any of them, principally
because priority has been given to countries to which no other aid is
available.
The negotiations have been general in nature, leaving details of the
program to be worked out by the personnel concerned. In every country a
specific agency is named to collaborate with the LAGS, and that agency
is responsible for any coordination required within its own government.
Several countries had no governmental cartographic agency prior to the
signing of the agreements, but in all of these (except Panama) some sort
of cartographic institute has subsequently been established to carry out
the necessary collaboration. It is significant that in every country in
which the TAGS has worked, government appropriations for cartographic work
have been increased, in some cases as much as tenfold since 1945. Al-
though there are extreme variations in appropriations from country to
country, the total Latin American contribution, computed on a dollar
basis, is three to four times that of the United States.
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organizational Framework
The IAGS was created in 19+6 to carry out the US A: ny's responsibilities
in the "Caribbean, Central, and South American Mapping and Charting Program."
This program, established by a directive of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
implemented the broader objectives of JCS Memoranda of Policy, Nos. 60 and 65,
which respectively outline the coordination activities of the US Government
in photographic and cartographic programs and the allocations of responsi-
bilities smong the military services. Although the JCS monitors the LAGS
program, all directives resulting from the evolution or processing of policy
are channeled through the Map and Photo Branch, G-2, of the Army. Responsi-
bility for the over-all program is delegated to the Caribbean Command, which
maintains liaison for technical support with the Office of the Chief of
Engineers? LAGS Headquarters are in Panama, under the US Army, Caribbean
(the army element of the Caribbean Command), and all technical personnel
are ground-surveying forces. Of these, 26 are Army officers and 266 are
civilians, the majority of whom are assigned to one of the 17 Project
Headquarters located in an appropriate city in each of the countries partic-
ipating.
A typical Project Headquarters has an Officer-in-Charge, a secretary,
a supply clerk, a chief geodetic engineer, and two or more junior geodetic
engineers. This pattern varies, however, from place to place, depending
upon local requirements and support. Each Project Headquarters also main-
tains military vehicles, radios, and surveying equipment, which are lent to
the local government for work previously agreed upon. To provide aid where
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needed in the work carried on by each Project Headquarters, there is a Field
Operations Division based in Panama. Its branches -- Training, Vertical
Control, Horizontal Control, Data Collection, Photomapping, Geophysical, and
Engineer Services -- are completely equipped. In the event that some partic-
ular operation is beyond the capabilities of the collaborative effort
between any Project Headquarters and the local government, the appropriate
task force from the Operations Division can be sent in to complete the work.
Air support for ground forces and aerial photography are provided by
the USAF, usually through the Caribbean Air Command (CAirC) -- the air arm
of the Caribbean Command. Currently, no aerial photography is being flown
by the CAirC because of the removal of its photographic component, but light
aircraft are still being used to carry supplies and personnel to areas most
difficult to reach on the ground. Helicopters, which were available for a
short time, proved especially valuable, and it is hoped their use can be
resumed at a later date. The naval component of the Caribbean Command
cooperates fully in coordinating naval aerial photography and, on occasion,
Hydrographic Office surveys. Three Coast and Geodetic Survey officers lent
to the program as technical consultants have proved invaluable.
Accomplishments
The advances made by the program during the past five years are notable,
especially in view of the many handicaps that arose at every step along the
way. The basic first-order triangulation arc will be almost 20,000 miles.
long, not counting the many secondary arcs. Figures 1 and 2 show the completed
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and projected first- and second-order geodetic triangulation networks (as of
mid-1950) for all of Latin America, including areas where LAGS agreements are
still pending. To date, first-order control along the main north-south arc
has been completed throughout Central America and as far south as Turbo, Colombia.
Additional chains of the national networks within El Salvador, Costa Rica, and
Nicaragua have been completed. National networks in other countries are being
extended; those in Honduras will be completed in July and in Panama in August.
A. small sector in Guatemala will be completed soon, coincident with the ad-
justment of the entire network to the already established control in Mexico.
At that time, the completed Central American arc will become the southernmost
extension of the North American Datum. LAGS has recently set up an office in
Mexico City.
First-order triangulation in Cuba is completed; in the Dominican Republic
it will be finished during 1951. LAGS operations in Haiti are nearly complete,
and the Haitian government is filling in the second- and third-order stations.
The main arc of triangulation will be complete as far south as the
northern boundary of Ecuador by July 1951. The same completion date is esti-
mated for the stretch between Lime. and the Chilean border. By July 1952, the
entire are from Mexico to southern Chile will probably be filled in, as well
as the transcontinental arc which crosses Bolivia and Brazil. The latter is
now completed from the main west coast arc as far east as central Bolivia, and
is currently being continued by the Corumba project to connect eventually
with Brazilian surveying which is being extended westward. The Venezuelan
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section of the main arc through northern South America will be tied -to the
Colombian network in the fiscal year 1952.
All of the varied aspects of ground control have been a major part of
the program from the outset. To date, 77 base lines have been measured.
The basic astronomic determinations have been completed for the Caribbean
and Central American areas, and work is in progress in South America. Thus
far, 104 astronomical and La Place azimuth stations have been established.
Sixty-three tide gauges are being operated, from which data are being
collected to establish the mean sea level datum for Latin American. Tide
gauge stations are located at intervals along the entire Central and South
American coast and through the Antilles. Magnetic surveying continues to
be conducted by IAGS personnel; 88 stations have been observed, the data
being submitted to the Coast and Geodetic Survey for computation. An
extensive gravimetric survey is currently being undertaken on the plains
of Central Venezuela from which to adjust the deflection of the vertical
at the proposed point of origin for the South American Datum, so that it
may be positioned correctly on the face of the geoid. Other Surveys of this
type may possibly be conducted later in Brazil and Argentina in order best
to determine the final point of origin.
A training program located in Panama is now an integral part of the
LAGS operations and provides all new technical personnel with essential
geodetic training.
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Problems
The problems encountered in a program of the magnitude of that undertaken
by the IAGES are necessarily great and varied. Many administrative and logistic
problems that were an inherent part of the program have been effectively solved.
In some countries, the refusal of free entry of essential equipment through
Customs has interfered with progress. Diplomatic involvements have not been
the least of the complications encountered.
Two primary difficulties of outstanding significance to the entire oper-
ation have been and still are of major concern:
1. Lack of trained personnel -- Qualified geodetic personnel
are in constant demand and are in extremely short supply. At present
a full. complement is at work, but the rigorous work requirements make
the life far from easy and, justifiably, frequent replacements are
needed.
~' . Lack of aerial 1iotography -- Original plans by the Caribbean
Command for extensive aerial photography have been drastically curtailed.
The agreement to provide prints to the countries photographed was a
most persuasive factor during preliminary negotiations, and the obli-
gation to fulfill this mission rests with the US Government. No time
limit was set, however, and progress has been slow. As ground control
progresses, the lack of aerial photography presents an increasing problem,
since in many areas a return trip will be required in order to identify
points on aerial photographs when they become available.
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One of the obvious difficulties in carrying out the LAGS program is the nature
of the country being surveyed. From Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, nearly every
type of climatic and vegetative zone is encountered, and some LAGS engineer
must make his way through each to observe, measure, and identify required
locations. Adverse publicity from the Communist press in various areas does
not mention that the "American imperialists" often sleep in hammocks under
mosquito netting or fight stiff winds and altitude sickness for days in the
Andean wastes (some triangulation stations are as high as 18,000 feet) in
order to procure exact data that will contribute to the ultimate improvement
of the cartography of the country being surveyed.
Plans
Various estimates have been made as to the time required to complete
the LAGS program. When first undertaken, 20 years was estimated for com-
pletion. Within two or three more years, ground control will probably be
well in hand for all areas in Central America and western South America,
but the projected areas of activity in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and
Brazil cover hundreds of thousands of square miles, and exact plans for their
control have not yet been completed.
Aerial photography by the Caribbean Command is currently at a standstill.
It is estimated that five-years' intensive work could provide adequate photo-
graphy if men and equipment sufficient to do the job were reassigned to the
Caribbean Command. Strategic Reconnaissance Units (Strategic Air Command) of
high-altitude photographic aircraft, recently stationed in Puerto Rico, are
expected to accomplish a portion of the required aerial photography on training
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missions in the near future. Some contract aerial photography is being flown
for the Army in areas of vital military importance. An essential feature of
the future collaborative operations with the Latin American governments will
be the advising (and sometimes equipping) of local aerial photographic agencies,
with the hope that much of the photography may be accomplished in this manner
and that self-sufficiency in this respect will ultimately be attained.
The program as it now stands has made remarkable progress. It is
currently being revised, both as to areas to be covered and scope of activities,
end it is hoped that the program can be broadened into a more balanced carto-
graphic endeavor instead of a plan primarily for data collection, which it
has been thus far. An ultimate objective of the program is the creation of
cartographic self-sufficiency within all Latin American countries, all using
standard methods and equipment and supplying the results of their efforts to
the United States.
The success of the cooperation and collaboration between the LAGS personnel
and the foreign agencies with which they have worked is an outstanding example
of progress made possible by nations working together to achieve a common
purpose. The consolidation of Latin American mapping data may well be the
cornerstone for a Western Hemisphere solidarity which will be of immeasurable
value in an expanding peacetime economy or in a unified defense in the event
cf war.
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III. THE ISRAEL-JORDAN YARMUK RESERVOIR
AREA BOUNDARY DISPUTE
A. Introduction
The Israel-Jordan Yarmuk Reservoir area boundary dispute provides an
excellent example of the misuse of maps in conjunction with an international
agreement. On the basis of a line drawn on a map,1 Israel on 28 August 1950
occupied an estimated 40 acres between the Jordan River and the Yarmuk
Reservoir and claimed part of the reservoir itself (see accompanying map
CIA 11817). Although the forces were later withdrawn, Israel still claims
the area, and Jordan filed a protest with the United Nations on 12 Sep-
tember 1950. This article emphasizes map aspects that are an integral
part of the dispute.
The Yarmuk Reservoir is located on El Yarmuk River near the point
where it enters the Jordan River. Waters of the reservoir were used by
the Rutenberg hydroelectric plant, which was formerly one of the most
important in the Palestine-Jordan region. Although now out of commission, it
is potentially important in future programs of hydroelectric development
in the region.
1. United Nations Map No. 200.1-X, may 191+9, attached as Annex 1, Map 1,
to Part 1 of the Hashemite Jordan Kingdom-Israeli General Armistice Agree-
ment concluded at Rhodes on 3 April 1949. The base for this map is the
North sheet of Palestine, 1:250,000, December 191+6, reprinted by the Middle
East Command from negatives supplied by Survey of Palestine. Hereafter in
this article the UN map will be referred to as "the 1:250,000 map signed
at Rhodes."
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B. History of the Dispute
1. Pre-Armistice: 1922-48
Insofar as this particular dispute is concerned, the Yarmuk Reservoir
area is roughly defined as being within Jordan by Part 2 of a British
Memorandum approved by the Council of the League of Nations.' The bound-
ary between Palestine and Transjordan (now Jordan) was defined as extend-
ing up the Jordan River to its junction with El Yarmuk River, thence up
the Yarmuk to the Syrian frontier.
From 1922 until the outbreak of hostilities in Palestine in 1948,
there seems to have been no question that the Yarmuk: Reservoir area
now in dispute was part of Jordan; the international. boundary in the
disputed area was accepted. The Palestine conflict, however, produced
rival claims regarding control of the Yarmuk Reservoir area. Jordan
claimed that her ally, Iraq, occupied the area around the Yarmuk
Reservoir. Israel claimed control, over part of the area on the basis
of a tr=uce line established by the United Nations In August 1948. The
line, however, left the southern part of the disputed area as a "no
man's :Land . "
2, Armistice Negotiations: 1949
Armistice negotiations between Israel and Jordan were held at Rhodes
in the spring of 1949 under the auspices of the United Nations Acting
1. Memorandum by the British Representative approved by the Council
of the League of Nations in a note by the Secretary General, Geneva,
23 September 1922. British and Foreign State Paper; 1922, London,
1925, Vol. CXVI, p. 9.
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RESTRICTED Israel-Jordan: Yarmuk Reservoir Area Boundary Dispute 11817
RESTRICTED
International boundary,
undemarcated
Armistice line
Railroad
Main Road
Other road
Village
SCALE 1:30,000
10,00
BASE: 1:2:1,000 Palestine Series, Middle East
Command, JISR EL MAJAM I' sheet, June 1942
11817 "Approved For Release 2000/04/17 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000100210003-9
CIA Reproduction
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25X6
Mediator, Dr. Ralph Bunche.
25X6
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Upon the resumption of negotiations at Rhodes, an armistice agree-
went between Israel and Jordan emerged.1 Among other provisions, the
agreement defined lines within which each country was to maintain its
military forces. Article :II specifically states
. . . that no military or political advantage should be
gained under the truce . . . Land thag no provision of
this agreement shall in any way prejudice the rights,
claims and positions of either party hereto in the ultimate
peaceful settlement of the Palestine question . . . .2
According to Article VI,
The Armistice Demarcation Lines defined . . . are agreed
upon by the parties without prejudice to future territorial
settlements or boundary lines or to claims of either party
relating thereto.3
The armistice agreement did not specifically define in words the
armistice line in the Yarmiik Reservoir area, but Article VI, Part 2,
did define it as the line delineated on Map 1, Annex 1, attached to
the agreement (the 1:250,000 map signed at Rhodes)."
The 1:250,000 Rhodes armistice map, which was signed by Israeli
and Jordanian representatives, is a direct point of dispute. The
armistice line shown on this map extends northward along the Jordan
1. :Hashemite Jordan Kingdom-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, US
Department of State, Documents & State Papers, May 19 9, Washington,
D. C., 1949, Vol. 1, No. 14, pp. 806-809. This agreement is also
contained in UN Document 5/1302/, as corrected, 21 April 191+9.
2.
Ibid., Article II,
p. 807.
3.
Ibid., Article VI,
Part 9, p. 808.
1-.
Ibid., Article VI,
Part 2, p. 807.
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to a point southwest of the reservoir and thence northeastward across
the reservoir to El Yarmuk River, thus placing the 1t0 disputed acres
within Israeli territory. The circumstances surrounding the emergence
of the Rhodes map are the subject of many conflicting claims.
the question arises as to what source the United Nations
cartographers used for depicting the armistice line from the point at
which it joined the Jordan south of the Yarmuk Reservoir, through
the reservoir, to El Yarmuk River. The Rhodes armistice line apparently
follows the truce line established by the United Nations in August 1948.
At any rate, both the scale and cartographic techniques used were most
unfortunate choices. An examination of the 1:250,000 map signed at
Rhodes reveals the following:
a. The scale is entirely too small for portraying the boundary
in small strategic areas such as the disputed reservoir area. Only the
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most discerning eye could catch the distinctions in area control made
by the armistice line drawn on the 1:250,000 map. It would be quite
possible for someone to miss the significance of this line for small
areas.
b. The representation of the armistice line itself is unneces-
sarily wide, especially for the delineation of control over small areas.
For example, the line practically covers the entire Yarmuk Reservoir.
C. Contentions of Israel and Jordan
Jordan claims that only Palestinian territory was involved in the
Rhodes armistice negotiations; consequently Jordanian delegates at the
negotiation were not empowered to give away any of the territory of
Jordan. As the basis of this contention, Jordan cites the fact that its
frontier, as defined roughly in 1922, included the Yarmuk Reservoir
area. Some Jordanians claimed that the Rhodes 1:250,000 map was a
forgery and that Jordanian negotiators were the victims of a fraud.
This claim has not been pressed, however.
Israel, on the other hand, claims that Jordanian territory was a
subject of negotiation.1 As the main basis of its action in occupying
the Yarmuk Reservoir area, Israel cites the line on the 1:250,000 map
attached to the armistice agreement at Rhodes. Israel has not questioned
the fact that the disputed area was originally part of Jordan.
1. Army Attache Israel R-J409-50, 3 November 1950 (Confidential).
Reference is made to the testimony of Colonel Harkabi, Senior Israeli
Mixed Armistice Commission representative, which appears on page 3 of
the document.
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The UN Acting Mediator was under the impression that the official 25X6
armistice negotiation had intended to discuss only Palestinian territory,
Jordan, he
thought, had made a mistake in signing the disputed 1:250,000 map
attached to the agreement at Rhodes, having been outbargained by the
Israeli negotiators instead of being the victim of a fraudulent plot,.
Although the armistice agreement provided that the armistice demar-
cation lines were not to be construed as definitive boundaries, such lines
have, in fact, taken on the character of boundaries. For example, Jordan
formally annexed that portion of Arab Palestine adjacent to the Jordan
River, and Israel, in turn, informed the Palestine Conciliation Commis-
sion on 27 October 1949 that it claimed title to all territory then
under Israeli control.2 The Israeli statement antedated the Israeli
occupation of the Yarmu`k Reservoir disputed area but presumably would
apply to it also. The Master Plate at the scale of 1:250,000 attached
to the Second Interim Report on Master Plan for Development of Irriga-
tion and Hydroelectric Power in State of Israel, Vol. 1, October 1950,
indicates that Israel already has plans to control the entire Yarmuk
Reservoir.3
1. A 16 October 13, 1950, to Jerusalem (Secret).
2. Prospects of Territorial Expansion by Israel, OIR Report No. 5218,
Department of State, Office of Intelligence Research, 12 January 1953-,
p. 8 (Secret).
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D. Conclusions
This boundary dispute presents many legal and political issues out-
side the scope of this article. The map attached to the armistice agree-
ment has become the nominal cause of the dispute. Since the text of the
armistice agreement did not describe in detail the armistice line in the
Yarmuk Reservoir area but relied entirely upon the attached map hs the
definitive part of the document, it would seem to have been imperative
that the base map and cartographic techniques used should be adequate
for delineation purposes. Larger scale maps (1:25,000 Palestine series)
could have been used and greater care exercised in the insertion of the
lines on the map.
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IV. UNUSUAL TERRITORIAL-AD1VEtNISTRATIVE
CHANGES IN THE TADZHIK SSR
A number of changes in the territorial-administrative organization
of the Tadzhik SSR were announced during the second half of 1950. A:L-
though most of them were at village (kishlak) and rayon levels,l two
were at oblast level. In Garm Oblast, the new oblast city of Novabad
(39?0I.'N, 70?12'E) was created and the administration of the Oblast
was shifted from the long-established center at Garm (39?031N, 70022'E)
to the newly-designated city about 10 miles farther west.
Novabad is the only "city"2 in Garm Oblast and is one of eight in
the entire Tadzhik SSR. The building of the city was initiated in 19+9
on the site of the "village" Shul'mak, the administrative center of
Shul'mak Rayon. In July 1950, it was decreed a city directly subordinate
to the Oblast and its name changed to Novabad, which means "new city."
The transfer of the Oblast government from Garm to Novabad was announced
in December 1950. Thus, within less than 2 years, the city was built,
elevated to the rank of oblast city, and designated as the Oblast center.
1. The rayon changes were made in two widely separated areas, and indicate
no general trend in economic development.
2. The legal definition of a city as established in the Tadzhik SSR is
not known. It may be the same as in the RSFSR, where a city is a settle-
ment having an adult population of not less than 1,000, of whom no more
than 25 percent are engaged in rural pursuits.
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The other changes, which occurred chiefly in the two oblasts immedi-
ately to the west of Garm Oblast, were apparently made to further the
centralization of administrative authority by reducing the number of
village councils. Nine village councils near the northeastern boundary
of Stalinabad Oblast were abolished, the lands of three of them being
transferred to the State Land Fund. Six village councils in the Kulyab
Oblast were abolished.
Since Soviet announcements rarely give the reasons for such changes,
only speculation on the subject is possible at this time. The rapid
transformation of a rural mountain village of Shul'mak into the oblast
city of Novabad (without the customary progression through the rayon
level), and its elevation to the rank of Oblast center suggests the
presence of some economic activity that would warrant further investi-
gation.
The principal rural activities of the Tadzhik SSR as a whole are
agriculture and animal husbandry; the nonrural include mining, textile
manufacture, food processing, and the production of consumer goods for
local consumption. Of these, the main industry of "republic significance"
is mining, chiefly nonferrous metals and fuels. In the past these
included gold, uranium, wolfram, molybdenum, lead, copper, coal, and
petroleum. In addition, the Soviet postwar Five-Year Plan specifically
called for the exploitation within the Tadzhik SSR of tin and tungsten
trioxide, as well as for large-scale exploration and surveying of coal,
tungsten, antimony, and mercury deposits.
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Information on the extent of mineral reserves and mining within
F`
Garm Oblast is not specific. Just before World War I,I, however, the
Oblast is known to have produced molybdenum, copper, arsenic, coal,
asbestos, and salt. Furthermore, the general region within which the
territorial-administrative changes have been made was, described in a
19+7 Soviet source as having geologic formations that. would justify
prospecting for "tin, berilium, lithium, rubidum, cesium, zircon,
titanium, etc." In view of the increased interest in minerals, the
unusual administrative changes in Garm Oblast could reflect a sub-
stantial expansion in mining and perhaps in the concentration of
nonferrous ores. The increased centralization of authority in the
adjacent oblasts of Stalinabad and Kulyab could also be a part of
this same regional economic expansion.
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A. An Aerial Survey of Thailand
In December 1950, the Thai Government contracted with a commercial
firm for aerial mapping surveys of part of the country. The British firm
of Hunting Air Surveys, which was awarded the contract, had a plane in
Thailand by the end of December and was ready to undertake the survey
of an area 100 miles long by 60 miles wide in the eastern part of the
country near Nakhon Ratchashima (Khorat). Since the most favorable
weather for aerial photography occurs in January and February at the
height of the dry season, most of the area may now be photographed. In-
formation as to the character of the survey is fragmentary but indicates
that the photography was to be flown at an altitude of 19,000 feet above mean
terrain, with a forward overlap of 60 percent; no information is available
regarding the focal length of the cameras.
Aerial photography for most; of Thailand was flown by the RAF out
of Malaya in 1945, 1946, and 1911.7. Although the Thai Government now has
copies of this photography, the British have retained the original
negatives. The lack of adequate ground control has precluded use of the
photography for mapping.
The Thai Royal Survey Department is believed to have a field staff
capable of undertaking the ground surveys for the area involved in the
new contract, and it therefore seems likely that completed maps are to
be prepared.
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B. Soviet Map of a Coastal Area of Norway
A photostatic copy of a new map produced by the USSR from readily
available Norwegian sources is now on file at the CIA Map Library (Call
No. 71632-R). The map might be usable for landings or for submarine
navigation and is the first known example of what appears to be a landing
map prepared by the Soviets. It is not known whether this is a separate
map or one of a series, nor can the originating agency be determined since
only half of the sheet is available.
The particular Soviet sheet is at 1:100,000 and covers portions of
the islands of Seiland and Kvalby and part of the mainland just south of
Hammerfest, Norway. It is a composite of the Norwegian topographic map
at 1:100,000 (Hammerfest and Rolfsti Sheets) and a Norwegian hydrographic
chart at 1:50,000 (No. 98, Den Norske Kyst -- SSroysund og Vargsund til
Hammerfest). Where the two sources do not agree, the hydrographic chart
has been followed. No additional data were added to those taken from the
Norwegian sources.
Evidence available at present is insufficient to establish definitely
the relationship between recent map purchases and compilation of large-
scale maps by the Soviets. In Norway and Sweden, purchases have been
made in such quantities or in such a furtive manner as to cause consid-
erable concern in both countries. Newspaper reports indicate that in early
19+8 the Russians purchased between 400 and 500 map sheets of Norway,
including detailed coverage of the entire coastal and border areas. A
Polish Military Attache stationed in Stockholm is also reported to have
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 Approved For Release 200NOW17 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000100210003-9
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bought a great number of maps of Norway and Sweden at scales of 1:100,000
and 1:200,000 in November 1950 and attempted to purchase maps at large
scale. It is also known that complete series of charts of the Skagerrak
and Kattegat have recently been purchased for the USSR. Although these
maps may be for normal peacetime use by the White Sea and Baltic fleets,
the coincidence of the map purchases and the discovery of this new map
suggests that
C. Transportation Map of Turkey
The 1950 edition of the 1:800,000 Turkish transportation map is now
available for loan from the CIA. Map Library, extension 2596. Like the
previous editions, dated 1948, 1945, and 1942, it consists of eight
sheets printed in three colors. For all four editions, the CIA call
number is 28814.
The 1950 edition reflects few of the changes that have taken place
in Turkey in the last two years. Changes in the alignment or classifica-
tion of a few dozen miles of road have been shown, existing railroads
brought up to date, and all proposed railroads in Turkey deleted. Errors
in the railroad pattern in the Balkans have been retained. I1 and ilce
boundari:>a in the northwestern part of Turkey have been changed in several
places, in a few instances by more than 5 miles. It is not known whether the
newer boundaries were in force at the time of the census of 22 October 1950.
36
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Approved For Release 2000/04/17 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000100210003-9