GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REVIEW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 48
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 6, 1999
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: August 1, 1958
• Content Type: REPORT

99/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
N? 205
GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
CIA/RR-MR-55
August 1958
DOCUMENT NO. NO CHANGE IN CLASS. Ll
CLASSIFIED
L 11 S CHANGED TO: TS S C
NEXT, R!VI[VV DATE:
AUTI
DAT REVIEWER: 3 `2(14
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
A110211 to AllwiM f- KLUVOW
W A1E.Y AFTER ,, .
999/09/26: CIA-RDP79-01005A00
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
This material contains information affecting
the National Defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, USC, Sees. 793 and 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CI&RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C T
DECIASSIfIfD
CIA/RR-MR-55
DUCLASSFtD
Approved For Release 1999/q A-TRDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 C-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
-C-R-E-T
Page
The Strategic Position of Laos in the Thailand-Indochina
Landmass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
New Settlements in. South Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Continental-Shelf Convention Adopted by the United
Nations Law of the Sea Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Recent Place Name Changes in the Soviet Union . . . . . . 28
The Officer's Library Atlas Mira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The National Atlas of India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Following page
Laos (26172) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 9
South Vietnam: Refugee and Resettlement Villages (26928) . . 15
USSR: Important Place-Name Changes, 1957-58 (27001) . . . 31
*The individual classification of each article in this Review
is given at the end of the article. The cut-off date for research
on all articles was 1 July 1958.
Approved For Release I 999/O i**"*-BTk -26P79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
THE STRATEGIC POSITION OF LAOS IN THE
THAILAND-INDOCHINA LANDMASS
In view of the current political situation in Laos, strategic
factors inherent in the geography of the Indochina-Thailand landmass
as a whole deserve attention. The Communist-oriented bloc, which
for the first time was permitted to have candidates, won 14 of the
21 vacant National Assembly seats in the recent elections, May 1958.
The total number of seats in the National Assembly now numbers 59.
Unless the divided and lackadaisical attitudes of the other Laotian
political parties can be rectified, this political victory may presage
the winning of the general elections in 1960 and eventual Communist
control of Laos. Control of strategically located Laos would greatly
improve the Communist position for further penetration of the
Indochina-Thailand landmass .(see Map 26172).
In the area extending from the valley of the Menam Chao Phraya
in central Thailand eastward to the coast of Vietnam, the pattern of
population distribution -- influenced by terrain and cultural factors is such as to facilitate subversion. Three major lowlands extend
southward from the vicinity of the China border: the; valleys of the
Menam Chao Phraya and the Mekong River and the coastal plain of
Vietnam. In the north, both river valleys are ravine-like, but they
widen greatly in their deltaic reaches to the south. Since padi
(wet rice) is the dominant food crop of Southeast Asia, the people
Approved For Release I 999/09/ ?. tA-IkDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
have traditionally migrated along river valleys and settled in the
valley lowlands where rice culture is easiest. This has resulted
in a population pattern in which densely settled lowlands are adjacent
to very sparsely settled highland areas. In the Thailand-Indochina
landmass the two river valleys and the Vietnamese coastal lowland are
relatively advanced and prosperous.
Separating the three lowlands are two upland regions. On the
west, the Khorat Plateau of northeastern Thailand extends from the
Menam Chao Phraya to the Mekong River. East of the Mekong is a
second upland region of plateaus and mountains that parallels the
north-south coastal plain of Vietnam. In contrast to the lowlands
the two uplands are backward (Figure 1) relatively sparsely populated,
and economically retarded. At present, they are more susceptible to
subversion than the lowlands.
Because of its position in the center of the Thailand-Indochina
landmass, Laos, if dominated by the Communists, could serve as a
springboard against the neighboring countries of South Vietnam,
Cambodia, and Thailand. Present Communist activities could then
continue at an accelerated pace in the two upland areas bordering
the valley -- the plateauh and mountains east of the Mekong River
and the Khorat Plateau to the west.
Since the northern part of the boundary between South Vietnam
and Laos lies within the upland east of the Mekohg, subversion of
the Vietnamese portion of this upland would not be difficult. Much
Approved For Release I 99 ! - A-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
Figure 1. After a hunt on the Bolovens Plateau. The
quartered deer is being transferred from the back of
an elephant to the hunter's home. The scene is rep-
resentative of the primitive life in the uplands.
of this region is rugged and densely forested. Its inhabitants,
isolated by terrain and dense vegetation, are primitive, superstitious,
tribal people who are extremely limited in outlook and have a
traditional antipathy towards the lowland Vietnamese. The lowland
Vietnamese, in turn, have despised the mountain'tribes, applying
the derogatory generic term of "Moi" (Savage) to the most primitive
Approved For Release I 999/0g%:~ 81X- tDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
among them. The upland, itself -- a veritable ethnographic musuem --
has been weakened by the lack of unity among the diverse tribal
peoples (Figure 2).
Figure 2. A tribesman of
the uplands wearing the
distinctive dress of his
particular tribe. Dress
is one of the many facets
of the diversity charac-
teristic of the people of
the uplands.
Ngo Dinh Diem, president of South Vietnam, appears to be fully
cognizant of the danger of Communist subversion in this area. He
has displayed a sense of great urgency in his effort to make it less
susceptible to subversion -- establishing in this upland region
Approved For Release 199gt69728-~t1A-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
a line of settlements made up of refugees from Communist North
Vietnam and ex-soldiers whom he feels he can trust. Diem claims
that Pathet Lao -- Viet Minh elements have already been installed
on the Bolovens Plateau in the south of Laos. Similarly, his
reiteration of the need for a good road from the Vietnamese coastal
town of Qui Nhon to Pakse, Laos, on the Mekong River is inspired
primarily by security needs. Such a road, extending across the
upland region, would traverse the Kontum Plateau of South Vietnam
and the Bolovens Plateau of Laos.
Farther south, the upland east of the Mekong extends into the
northeast corner of Cambodia. Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia, through
his policy of neutrality,* has condoned the presence of Bloc
technicians and encouraged the visits of Communist leaders. In
ethnic composition the population of Cambodia is such that Communist
subversion of some of its components would be relatively easy. The
northeastern part of the country is inhabited by some 20,000 mountain
tribesmen whom the Cambodians (Khmers) call "Phnongs" or mountain
people. The Khmers despise the Phnongs and have neglected their
needs. Khmer contact with them seems to be limited largely to
exigencies when forced labor is needed for road gangs. Since many
*Sihanouk's neutrality has followed a tacking course in order
to avoid too close association with either the Western or Communist
blocs. His tacking to the left in 1956 laid the basis for all
Sino-Soviet bloc activities in Cambodia during 1957. Now, concerned
that he has given the Communists too much leeway in Cambodia, Sihanouk
is once again reversing himself and taking measures against Communists
within the country.
Approved For Release 1999/0939-~CI-1DP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C -R -E-T
of these tribesmen are quasi-nomadic in their habits (reportedly,
they cross into South Vietnam or southern Laos on occasion), Cambodian
control over them is difficult. Reports of Viet Minh subversive
efforts among the Phnongs are continuous.
The largest ethnic minority in Cambodia is the Vietnamese,
numbering some 275,000 people out of Cambodia's total population of
about 5 million. The Vietnamese are disliked as representatives of
a generally hated .and suspect rate. This attitude creates an opening
that could be exploited by the Viet Minh. Some of the Vietnamese,
however, as Catholics are opposed to Communism. If disabused of the
idea that Ho Chi Minh (the leader of the guerrilla war against French
possession of Vietnam and currently head of Communist North Vietnam
Government) is only a nationalist, they might rally to. the support
of Diem's pro-Western convictions. From the Communist point of view,
the subversion of the Vietnamese minority in Cambodia would be
facilitated if the Mekong Valley in Laos were to fall under Communist
control. The Mekong River offers a natural channel of access to
large Vietnamese settlements around the Petit Lac of the Tonle Sap,
where the Vietnamese have a virtual monopoly on the fishing industry,
and in the delta provinces of Prey Veng and Svay Rieng, where there
are strings of villages of Vietnamese rice farmers.
The Chinese comprise the second largest minority in Cambodia.
Control of neighboring Laos by the Communists would be a powerful
psychological factor further influencing the vast majority of the
Approved For Release 199191216-Pc1A-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
250,000 Cambodian Chinese in favor of the Peiping regime. In the
five Chinese Congregations* that largely controlled Cambodia's
Chinese population until recently, two of the Congregation leaders
were reportedly pro-Peiping, and 3 of the 5 Congregation board
directors were Communist-controlled.
Contiguous to much of Laos on the west is the upland of Northeast
Thailand -- the Khorat Plateau. It is a great saucer-shaped area,
isolated from the rest of the country by encircling mountains, and
tilted away from central Thailand toward the Mekong River. Much of
the plateau is forest covered. Its climate is characterized by
unrealiable and often scanty rainfall; and its soils are infertile
and too permeable to hold enough moisture for successful agriculture.
Many of its people are poverty stricken and illiterate, and their
loyalty towards Bangkok is somewhat dubious. The Thai population
on the plateau and the Laotian people across the Mekong River are
both of Tai racial stock, and traditionally have intimate social
and business contacts. If Laos fell under Communist domination,
continuation of this intercourse would quickly expose the Thai
people of the Khorat Plateau to subversion. Furthermore, there are
some 40,000 Vietnamese living on the plateau, most of whom are
reportedly loyal to Ho Chi Minh. Those who are still neutral or who
*Until April 1958 the Chinese community in Cambodia was divided
into five congregations on the basis of regional origin as well as
dialect -- Swatow, Cantonese, Fukien, Hainan, and Hakka.
Approved For Release 1999/0J/i6'Ct?Fk-- tDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
now indicate a loyalty toward the pro-Western government of South
Vietnam would undoubtedly be under much greater pressure than they
are now to jump on the Hanoi bandwagon.
The Mekong River Valley has been a traditional corridor for
southward movement of peoples from China. Control of Laos would
enable the Communists to improve existing transportation facilities
for further expansion into Southeast Asia. An improved road already
extends from Lao Kay on the Chinese-North Vietnam border to Dien
Bien Phu. From here to Luang Prabang, the royal capital of Laos, a
relatively good water transportation route is provided by the Nam
Hou, a tributary of the Mekong.* From Luang Prabang a road -- which
in places deteriorates into a track -- extends southward and then
generally parallels the Mekong to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Luang
Prabang-Vientiane section of the road is being improved through
American aid, and the French are improving the poorer road stretches
from Vientiane down river. From Phnom Penh a road that will lead to
the new French-constructed Cambodian port of Kompong Som is being
constructed under American supervision. Another road leads southeastward
from Phnom Penh to Saigon, the capital and principal port of South
*In his defense of the French defeat, General Henri Navarre
said that the Dien Bien Phu fortress was established to defend Luang
Prabang because the valley of the Nam Hou (Nam Ou) was a good water
route which allowed the Viets to bring all the desired equipment to
Luang Prabang."
Approved For Release 1999tf9P26 (NA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
Vietnam. Thus, if the Communists gained control of Laos, they would
have possession of a strategic part of the route that leads southward
to Kompong Som and Saigon. Furthermore, it would put them close to
the Thailand rail terminals at Warin and near Nong Khai, on the
Khorat Plateau.
In the past, responsible American observers in Southeast Asia
have stated that no area in the world is more vulnerable to Communist
subversion than Laos. This appraisal takes on added and ominous
significance when the position of Laos is considered along with the
geographic factors that make the country uniquely suitable as a
base from which neighboring countries might be penetrated. (Secret)
Approved For Release I 999/0 5~-ttA: DP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/0P/?6C_F"- DP79-01005A000300060002-5
NEW SETTLEMENTS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
The present pattern of population distribution in South Vietnam
has been significantly affected by the refugee and resettlement
programs of the South Vietnamese Government. The refugee program
involved the 800,000 people who, starting in 1954, fled to South
Vietnam to escape Communist domination in North Vietnam. The
resettlement program is concerned with the permanent resettlement
of some 100,000 indigenous South Vietnamese, including many discharged
soldiers and their families, on new lands or on agricultural lands
that were abandoned during the Viet Minh revolt. Both refugee and
resettlement groups form population elements that are probably
strongly anti-Communist.
The program of ,establishing villages for the refugees from North
Vietnam was officially completed on 30 June 1957 (Figure 1). Most
of the refugee villages are located in the Quang Tri--Tourane and
the Saigon--Bhan Thiet areas. In some instances, several new villages
are grouped around an administrative center. The location of the
villages or the village centers is shown on a set of maps at 1:250,000*
recently received from Saigon, and also on the accompanying Map
26928.
*CIA Map Library Call No. 109268. Keyed to this set of 21 maps,
and filed with them as a map supplement, is a list, Refugee and
Resettlement Villages, which shows the names of village centers and
all villages including those grouped around the centers), the number
of families, and the number of individuals at each site.
Approved For Release I 999/0?126c- `# - tDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999,f0p9A-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
Figure 1. A refugee village under construction.
All work must be completed during the dry winter
season since rice cultivation requires the full
time of the peasants during the wet summer.
The resettlement or land-development program was initiated more
recently and is currently in progress. Ngo Dinh Diem, president of
South Vietnam, is extremely interested in the success of this program
since he visualizes it as an important way of preventing Communist
infiltration of the countryside. Although areas involved in the
program are spread throughout the country, Diem is particularly
concerned (almost to the point of obsession) about the Pays Montagnard
du Sud (P.M.S.). He is convinced that resettlement villages here
would provide a "Human Wall" against Communist penetration of the
region.
Approved For Release I 999/E 8/2-E IA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
The P.M.S. is a highland region that extends from about the
latitude of Djiring, ll?30'N, to about 16?N, and inland from the
Vietnamese coastal lowland to the Laotian border. It is essentially
a region of plateaus separated by mountain ranges and valleys. The
plateaus are generally covered by pine forests or, in the case of
the Darlac Plateau, by brush and grassland, whereas the intervening
mountain ranges and valleys support a dense rainforest. The rough
terrain and dense vegetation of the valleys and mountains surrounding
the plateaus have discouraged the development of a good road net that
would have provided a link with the rest of the country, and the
isolated region has remained very sparsely populated, primitive, and
economically retarded. An influx of the advanced Vietnamese people
from the coastal lowlands, who would undoubtedly have improved the
economy of the P.M.S., was prevented during French control of the
country by a decree that banned the South Vietnamese from the P.M.S.
on cultural grounds. However, if the Vietnamese had been permitted
to enter the region, they would have hesitated to establish homes
there. As wet--rice cultivators, the Vietnamese consider the coastal
lowland an ideal location for their type of agriculture. To them
the highlands present not only an unfavorable agricultural environment,
but also an unhealthful one since malaria is endemic to the region.
The generally low opinion that the Vietnamese have of the P.M.S.
as a region in which to live is reinforced by their contempt for the
Approved For Release 1999/0 5C-ttai-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
indigenous inhabitants, who are known as Moi* or, preferably, Montagnards.
In 1956 the Montagnards numbered about 377,000 out of the estimated
population of 530,000 in the region. At the same time the Vietnamese
population was about 150,000 -- having been increased from only 6,000
in 1953 by the refugees from the north who settled in the less primitive
sections of the P.M.S.
The Montagnards are not a homogeneous group; the various tribes
of the highlands differ physically, culturally, and linguistically;
and each tribe maintains its customary way of life. The great
cultural diversity of the region results in a notable lack of
consensus among the people. There has been no centralized social
or political organization among them. Probably the most significant
common denominators among the tribes are (1) their ethnocentrism,
(2) a suspicion of Vietnamese motives, and (3) a general feeling,
at least until recently, that the national government at Saigon cared
little about the people of the P.M.S.
These characteristics of the P.M.S. and its inhabitants make
Diem aware that the region is vulnerable to continued Communist
infiltration and subversion. He feels that within 2 or 3 years the
area must be settled and integrated economically and politically
To replace the derogatory term, "Moi," the French coined the
word "Pemsian." It was derived from the initials P.M.S.I. that
represent the general appellation "Peuples Montagnard de Sud Indochinois"
or Mountain People of South Indochina. More recently the South
Vietnamese Government in its attempt to equate the Montagnards with
the Vietnamese have referred to them as "les Compatriots de la Haute
Region."
Approved For Release 1999FB926-,EcIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
with the rest of South Vietnam. Diem contends that, after a few
years, pressures from the Vietnamese peoples as well as from various
foreign powers for the reunification of South and North Vietnam will
force him to acquiesce to some compromises with North Vietnam. Such
compromises almost certainly will result in an influx of Communist
agents into South Vietnam, particularly into the P.M.S.
As of April 1958, some 21,000 participants in the resettlement
program had been settled in the P.M.S., currently the chief region
benefitting from the program, and it is expected that the number
will reach 30,000 by the end of the year. However, the enduring
success of the project is contingent upon many factors. The South
Vietnamese Government must overcome its almost complete ignorance of
the region and the tribes living there. It must not allow the new
settlers to infringe on traditional tribal lands nor to treat the
Montagnards as inferiors. It must build better roads, provide more
adequate living facilities for the settlers, and supply amenities
such as schools in order to counteract Viet Minh propaganda among
the Montagnards. To the credit of the Vietnamese Government, steps
have been and are being taken to achieve these objectives. The
rapidity and thoroughness with which they can be achieved will
determine the success or failure of the resettlement projects and
ultimately will affect the prestige of Ngo Dinh Diem's regime.
(Confidential)
- 15 -
Approved For Release 1999/-'TATRDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
THE CONTINENTAL-SHELF CONVENTION ADOPTED BY
THE UNITED NATIONS LAW OF THE SEA CONFERENCE*
The United Nations Law of the Sea Conference, an 86-nation meeting
of 9 weeks duration, terminated its work in Geneva 29 April 1958. The
conference was convened to bring order out of some of the chaotic
conditions which exist with respect to the law of the sea. Although
the conference failed to reach an agreement on the critical question
of the breadth df the territorial sea, significant progress was made
on most other problems. The achievements of the conference are embodied
mainly in four conventions: (1) the. territorial sea (excluding its
breadth), (2) high-seas problems, (3) high-seas fisheries, and (4) the
continental shelf. The overall work of the conference and the political
currents that affected it were the subject of numerous United Nations
and U.S. Department of State reports that were prepared while the
conference was in session; and the work of the conference will
presumably be studied more penetratingly as time permits analysis
of pertinent documentary material.
The scope of the present article is limited to one phase of the
work of the conference, namely, the Convention on the Continental Shelf.
This convention, like others that were adopted, is not in force at
'The article has been coordinated with the Special Advisor on
Geography, Department of State.
The Convention on the Continental Shelf was adopted in plenary
session on 2 April 1958. The vote was: for - 57; against - 3
(Belgium, Federal Republic of Germany, Japan); abstain - 8.
Approved For Release I 999/0?l 6'C eTAl- tDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 199P/P9(? j CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
this writing and will not become effective until 30 days after it has
been ratified by 22 countries. The following discussion is therefore
an examination of matters pending, with some emphasis on the geographic
factors involved, rather than a definitive weighing of tested laws.
Important among the factors that made problems of the continental
shelf a major subject for the consideration of the Law of the Sea
Conference were (1) the fast-improving technology for exploiting seabed
resources, especially petroleum; (2) the adaptation of this technology
for defense purposes (man-made islands to support radar and other
equipment); and (3) the growing apprehension in certain countries that
the construction of fixed installations on continental shelves might
seriously affect freedom of navigation and limit access by non-coastal
countries to their traditional fishing grounds.
Concept of Continental Shelf Sovereignty
A 19+5 Proclamation of United States policy with respect to the
natural resources of the seabed adjoining the coasts of the United
States focused world attention on problems pertaining to the legal
status of the continental shelf. This proclamation, a reflection of
the growing importance of offshore petroleum exploitation, reads as
follows:
Having concern for the urgency of conserving
and prudently utilizing its natural resources, the
Government of the United States regards the natural
resources of the subsoil and sea bed of the continental
shelf beneath the high seas but contiguous to the
coasts of the United States as appertaining to the
United States, subject to its jurisdiction and control.
In cases where the continental shelf extends to the
Approved For Release 199gThtt IA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
shores of another State, or is shared with an adjacent
State, the boundary shall be determined by the United
States and the State concerned in accordance with
equitable principles. The character as high seas of
the waters above the continental shelf and the right
to their free and unimpeded navigation are in no way
thus affected.
Following issuance of the proclamation, several countries asserted
claims to their continental shelves. Some of the claims were specifically
restricted to the natural resources of the seabed; others were not. The
Convention on the Continental Shelf adopted by the Law of the Sea
Conference seeks to standardize claims by making the same distinction
set forth in the above proclamation, namely, that the coastal state has
rights to the fixed natural resources of the seabed, but these rights
do not alter the status of superjacent waters as high seas, or that of
the airspace above those waters.
The natural resources referred to in the convention are
...the mineral and other non-living resources
of the seabed and subsoil together with living
organisms belonging to sedentary species, that
is to say, organisms which, at the harvestable
stage, either are immobile on or under the seabed
or are unable to move except in constant physical
contact with the seabed or the subsoil.
Thus, the coastal state would have sovereign rights to exploit minerals
(including petroleum) and such organisms as oysters, clams, and sponges,;
but it would not have similar rights in relation to free-swimming
species. It is interesting that the conference, by one vote, placed
Crustacea (lobsters, shrimps, crabs, etc.) in the free-swimming category.
The convention notes that in taking reasonable measures for the
exploration of the continental shelf and the exploitation of its
Approved For Release 1999/09921-PG 71DP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999g09/3$_ECIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
natural resources, a coastal state must not cause unjustifiable
interference with navigation nor impede the laying or maintenance of
submarine cables or pipelines. The right of coastal countries to
exploit the resources of the continental shelf by means of tunneling
is specifically stated. The convention further indicates that the
rights of a country to explore and exploit the continental shelf
adjoining its coast are not dependent on occupation or any express
proclamation and that, if the coastal country does not exercise its
privileges, no one may do so without its consent.
Seabed Exploitation Limits
For purposes of the convention, the term "continental shelf" is
defined as referring
(a) to the seabed and subsoil of the submarine
areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of
the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 meters or,
beyond that limit, to where the depth of the
superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of
the natural resources of the said areas; (b) to
the seabed and subsoil of similar submarine areas
adjacent to the coasts of islands.
Significantly, this definition includes the floors of shallow
gulfs and seas that are not "continental shelf" in a strict sense,
for example, the Baltic Sea and the Persian Gulf. Furthermore, although
the normal limit of seabed exploitation rights is set at 200 meters --
a depth corresponding to that at which the continental shelf generally
ends -- the right to exploit beyond that depth, where technically
possible, is acknowledged. Some critics of the convention view this
as a weakness, and feel that a precise seaward depth limit for the
continental shelf should have been established.
- 20 -
Approved For Release I 99`9 2` '~-CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/0~q6d_c1~; ZDP79-01005A000300060002-5
The deepest water in which the oil industry has to date operated
stationary platform rigs is 137 feet (ca. 1+2 meters), and this depth
is believed to approach the maximum economic limit for completion of
wells above the water surface. Work is underway, however, on methods
for drilling for oil from floating platforms, a technique that has
been used effectively in exploratory drilling for sulphur in the Gulf
of Mexico. Some oil operators believe that, by combining floating
drilling structures with techniques for subsea completion of wellheads,
oil exploitation may eventually be possible at depths conservatively
estimated at 600 feet and more optomistically placed at "1,000 feet
or more.
Status of Offshore Installations
The convention on the continental shelf indicates that the "coastal
State is entitled to construct and maintain or operate on the continental
shelf installations and other devices necessary for its exploration
and exploitation of its natural resources." Neither in the quoted
clause acknowledging this right nor in other references to it, however,
are military installations specifically approved. or disapproved. At
the conference the Soviet Union pressed for prohibition of military
installations on the continental shelf, a move aimed at the radar
warning "islands" of the United States, but failed to gain the
necessary support.
Countries maintaining installations on the continental shelf are
required by the convention to establish 500-meter safety zones around
such installations and are "obliged to undertake, in the safety zones,
Approved For Release I 999/091 t :CChO-lfDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
all appropriate measures for the protection of the living resources
of the sea from harmful agents." The convention specifically notes
that offshore installations under the jurisdiction of a coastal state
"do not possess the status of islands." It is further indicated that
offshore installations have no territorial sea of their own, and that
their presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial
sea of the coastal state.
Boundaries Dividing the Continental Shelf Between Countries
Where the same continental shelf is adjacent to the territories
of two or more states whose coasts are opposite each other (for example,
Italy is opposite Yugoslavia on the Adriatic Sea), the convention
provides that the boundaries of shelf areas appertaining to such
states shall be determined by agreement between them. In the absence
of agreement and unless another boundary is justified by special
circumstances, the boundary is the median line, every point of which
is equidistant from the nearest points of the baseline from which the
breadth of the territorial sea of each state is measured. These same
principles are also to be used in dividing the continental shelf
between "adjacent" countries. For example, where Brazil adjoins
Uruguay along the shore of the South Atlantic, the boundary dividing
the continental shelf between them will be equidistant from the nearest
points of the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea
of each country is measured. In the delimitation of the boundaries
of the continental shelf, the convention indicates that any lines
Approved For Release 199/099'9&9- ClA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release I 999/0912? a qiDP79-01005A000300060002-5
drawn in accordance with the above noted principles should be "defined
with reference to charts and geographical features as they exist at a
particular date, and reference should be made to fixed permanent
identifiable points on the land."
The principles outlined in the convention for dividing the
continental shelf between states seem basically equitable, and in
many areas the working out of settlements in accord with them should
not be difficult. In some places, however, serious problems may be
encountered. For example, in the Persian Gulf the coastal termini
of some international (including protectorate) boundaries are not
firmly fixed, and portions of the coast present complex patterns of
peninsulas, islands, reefs, and sandbars wherein determination of
boundaries may be difficult. Similar difficulties may be encountered
in determining boundaries in the islet-strewn seas that separate
Indonesia from neighboring countries.
Among the foreseeable settlement problems in various parts of.
the world are those likely to develop around the fixing of baselines
(low-water lines) marking the landward limit of the territorial sea.
Since boundaries dividing the continental shelf between countries are
to be measured from these baselines, their positioning is paramount.
The rules for locating baselines are explicitly stated in the
Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone (one of the
four conventions adopted by the Law of the Sea Conference), but
considerable interpretive latitude still remains -- and presumably
Approved For Release 1999/09OZ'b C cfk-IDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/P9 2.6 P, CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
must be left -- to coastal countries. In some cases the temptation
to abuse this latitude may be great, for example, where pushing the
baseline seaward would mean a larger share of an offshore oilfield.
Oceanographic Research
The right of institutions of one country to conduct oceanographic
research on the continental shelf of another is set forth in the
convention, subject to certain provisions: (1) permission must be
obtained from the country exercising sovereignty over the continental
shelf, (2) the sovereign country shall have the right, if it so
desires, to participate in the research, and (3) the findings shall
be published. The convention indicates, however, that the coastal
state shall not normally withhold its consent if the request is submitted
by a qualified institution with a view to purely scientific research.
Despite a clear call for a liberal approach, it remains to be
seen whether all countries will be open handed in allowing institutions
of other countries to conduct oceanographic research on their continental
shelves. The fact that it is difficult to draw a sharp line between
"purely scientific" oceanographic data and those required to support
mining, submarine operations, and antisubmarine measures may make
some countries very reluctant to permit foreign research. Should
this attitude develop, it would be unfortunate, since the need for
oceanographic research is great, as evinced by the fact that measures
for the conservation of many important food fish cannot now be
undertaken for want of basic facts.
Approved For Release 199?M A-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
Appraisal and Prospects
In areas where physical and political geography present great
complexity, application of the principles of the continental shelf
convention may be difficult and may temporarily invite international
discord. On a world basis, however, the influence of the convention
over a considerable period of time should be conciliatory and
stabilizing.
Among the factors that will have much to do with whether the
convention succeeds or fails are the provisions for settling disputes.
These are incorporated in a separate protocol (Optional Protocol of
Signature Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes) adopted
by the Law of the Sea Conference. This instrument provides that
disputes arising out of the interpretation or application of the
four conventions adopted by the conference, including the Convention
on the Continental Shelf, shall lie within the compulsory jurisdiction
of the International Court of Justice. The number of countries that
will sign this protocol and use the machinery it provides is now
unknown. If considerable, however, it could contribute greatly to
the prompt and peaceful settlement of disputes and thus to the
development and general strengthening of the continental shelf
convention.
Although evaluation can now be little more than an inventory of
incertitudes, the continental shelf convention seems to set the stage
for more complete and effective use of offshore resources. Whether
- 25 -
Approved For Release 1999/0-'f4tDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
ratification will step up the tempo of oil and mineral exploration in
offshore areas is a moot question, but deserves to be considered as a
possibility. In any event, coastal countries may find it advantageous
to discourage exploratory activity in areas of multinational interest
until boundaries dividing the continental shelf between countries
have been fixed, operating on the theory that the establishment of
such boundaries will generally be far easier before oil or minerals
are discovered than afterward.
The convention represents a reasonably good first step toward
establishing a body of modern international law pertaining to the
continental shelf; but, since it is the product of compromise, the
document quite naturally does not cover all the ground in all ways
that all contributors thought best. In the past, effectiveness of
international law has depended more upon wide acceptance of basic
concepts than upon the excellence or shortcommings of fine points.
Therefore, it is appropriate to ask, "Will there be general acceptance
of the letter and spirit of the convention and a willingness to seek
solutions within its framework?" Time alone can give a firm answer.
At this juncture, however, the strong interest of many countries in
establishing clear title to seabed resources near their coasts augurs
well for "yes." (Confidential)
Approved For Release I 99WO F -RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : C~4 tDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C- -
Principal Sources
(Note: Numerous Department of State telegrams and resumes reporting
on the Law of the Sea Conference while it was in session were consulted
but are not listed. Also excluded from the list are various standard
geographic texts.)
1. United Nations, Conference on the law of the Sea, A/CONF .13/L.52
through A/CONF .13/L.58, 28-30 April 1958. (Complete texts of
the 4 conventions, 1 protocol, and 9 resolutions adopted by the
conference.)
2. Bayitch, S.A., Interamerican Law of Fisheries, Oceana Publications,
Inc., New York, 1957.
3. Boggs, S.W., "National Claims in Adjacent Seas," The Geographical
Review, Vol. 41, 1951, pp. 185-209.
1+. Melamid, A., "Political Geography of Trucial 'Oman and Qatar,"
The Geographical Review, Vol. 43, 1953, PP. 194-2o6.
5. "Floating Barges to Drill in Deep Water," The Oil and Gas Journal,
Vol. 55, No. 44, 1957, PP- 92-93.
6. [Record Well Depth], Petroleum Week, Vol. 6, No. 1, 3 January 1958,
pp. 18-19.
7. "offshore Oil," Petroleum Week, Vol. 6, No. 8, 21 February 1958,
pp. 53-78.
- 27 -
Approved For Release 1999/0972t-c& --*DP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
RECENT PLACE-NAME CHANGES IN THE SOVIET UNION
No other government attaches so much significance to place names
as does the Soviet Union -- significance in the political propaganda
sense, not in a traditional or practical sense. Places in the Soviet
Union are named and renamed in response to the changing political
climate with respect to individuals and ethnic groups, and even changes
involving the smallest settlements require action on the part of the
presidium of the republic supreme soviet. Nearly 40 percent of the
Soviet cities with a population of more than 100,000 have experienced
name changes during the Soviet regime.
Two recent series of changes, which together affected hundreds
of populated places and administrative units, illustrate the general
policy on place-name changes. The first, initiated early in 1957,
was linked with the restoration of administrative status of five ethnic
groups that were exiled during World War II for collaboration with the
Germans. All of the places affected by this restoration of administrative
units were in a particular area of the northern Caucasus (see Map 27001).
The other series of changes, initiated in September 1957, involved
places throughout the Soviet Union and was the result of an official
decree that prohibits naming a place after a.public figure during his
lifetime.
In 194+4 the peoples of five ethnic groups (Chechens) Ingush,
Balkars, Kalmyks, and Karachai) were deported from their homelands in
Approved For Release 199?1O992t-EdIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09(2 C C Ii_gDP79-01005A000300060002-5
the northern Caucasus. The administrative units that bore the names
of these peoples were at the same time abolished and absorbed by other
nationality units, or reorganized into administrative units without
national character. Thus Groznyy Oblast' was created from the former
territory of the Checheno-Ingushskaya ASSR; the Kabardino-Balkarskaya
ASSR became the Kabardinskaya ASSR; the Karachayevskaya AO was
absorbed by surrounding administrative divisions; and the Kalmytskaya
ASSR was absorbed largely by Astrakhanskaya Oblast' and Stavropolskiy
Kray. To add finality to the abolishment of these nationality units,
many place names, some of which testified to the ethnic character of
the inhabitants, were also changed.
Now that the nationality units have been restored and the people
have been allowed to return to their homelands, many places have
officially regained their pre-1944 names. Of the places that were
renamed at the time of the restoration, Elista -- the administrative
center of Kalmytskaya AO -- is the largest (see tabulation on following
page).
The second series of place-name changes was initiated on
11 September 1957 when the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR issued a decree that regulated the naming of administrative
units, urban areas, and other populated places as well as industrial
enterprises, collective farms, institutions, and organizations. The
decree stated that the naming of a place after a public figure during
his lifetime was characteristic of the cult of the individual and
- 29 -
Approved For Release 1999/09&' AEFbP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
definitely was not in the spirit of Leninist traditions. The decree
stated further that, henceforth, no places should be named after
living individuals, and that those places currently so named should
be renamed.
Name Changes in Nationality Units
Current Name
Former Name
Location
Kalmytskaya AO
Elista
Tselinnyy
Komsomol'skiy
Yusta
Yashalta
Yashkul'
Stepnoy
Stepnoy
Krasnyy Kamushanik
Trudovoy
Stepnoye
Peschanyy
46016'N 44?14'E
46039'N 44?3l'E
45?21'N 46?02'E
47?05'N 460l5'E
4602l'N 42?16'E
46?15'N 45?25'E
Achkhoy-Martan
Kurchaloy
Nazran
Nozhay-Yurt
Sayasan
Shall
Urus-Martan
Checheno-Ingushskaya ASSR
Novosel'skoye 43?11'N 45?18'E
Chkalovo 43?13'N 46?05'E
Kosta-Khetagurovskiy 43?13'N 44?29'E
Andalaly 43?06'N 46?24'E
Ritlyab 43?04'N 46?18'E
Mezhdurech'ye 43?09'N 45?54'E
Krasnoarmeyskoye 43?08'N 45?32'E
Karachayevo-Cherkesskaya AO
Karachayevsk Klukhori
43?46'N 41?54'E
The largest city affected by the second series of changes is
Perm' (population 538,000), which bore the name of Molotov from 1940
to 1957, but had been known as Perm' prior to 1940. Since the city
is an administrative center, the name of the oblast also reverted to
Permskaya Oblast'. Two smaller "Molotov" cities were also affected --
the Molotovsk (68,000) of Arkhangel'skaya Oblast' was renamed
Severodvinsk, and the Molotovsk (19,000) of Kirovskaya Oblast' is now
Nolinsk.
- 30 -
Approved For Release 1999/926 ENA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
T
S-E-C-R- -
In the Ukraine, the former city of Voroshilovgrad (251,000) has
been renamed Lugansk -- the name by which it was known prior to 1935?
The administrative unit of which it is the center is now known as
Luganskaya Oblast'. In Primorskiy Kray, the city of Voroshilov
(101,000) has been renamed Ussuriysk.
In December 1957, the city of Chkalov (226,000), named in 1938
after a famous. pilot who died that year, was given its former name
of Orenburg, and Chkalovskaya Oblast' also reverted to the name of
Orenburgskaya Oblast'. Although this change in the name of a major
Soviet city was not specifically dictated by the terms of the decree
on place names, the timing links it to this series of changes.
The new administrative handbook of the Soviet Union* lists about
a hundred changes of names derived from Molotov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov,
Mikoyan, and Budenny. A complete listing of name changes of adminis-
trative units down to rayon level -- cities, villages, and other
populated places -- is given on pages 591 through 623 of the handbook.
In many cases the recent changes restore former names. (Unclassified)
*Informatsionno-Statisticheskiy Otdel. Prezidiuma Verkhovnogo
Soveta SSSR. SSSR Administrativno-Territorial'no e Deleniya Soyuzhnikh
Res up blik, Moskva, 1958. Contains complete information on administra-
tive changes as of 1 January 1958, and some major changes to March 1958-
- 31 -
Approved For Release 1999/0@TT6'~-b'-KDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
THE OF'FICER'S LIBRARY ATLAS MIRA
25X1 B
The Officer's Library Atlas Mira* is an invaluable addition to
the library of every student of Soviet geography and a useful tool
for the geographer interested in any part of the world. It contains
both general and economic maps covering the entire world and also
includes special features such as textual descriptions supplementing
many of the maps -- a combination rarely bound together in one volume.
Many roads and railroads never before shown on available Soviet maps 25X18
are included on the general maps of the USSR.
The small page size of the atlas, which permits a double-page
map size of only 7-3/8" x 10", necessarily limits the scales at which
maps can be drawn; and few of the maps other than those of the urban
*CIA Map Library Call No. aA000 .U52 1958. This new Atlas. Mira,
published by the General Staff of the Soviet Army as part of the
Officer's Library series, should not be confused with an..atlas of the
same name published by the GUGK (Glavnoye Upravleniye Geodezii i Kartografii)
in 1954 (CIA Map Library Call No. aA000 .U584 1954). The earlier atlas,
a scholarly reference work of the highest quality, is especially noteworthy
for its highly accurate representations of terrain and its more than
205,000 place names, whereas the Officer's Library atlas generalizes
terrain and contains only about 27,000 place names. Throughout this
report the new atlas of the Officer's Library series is referred to
as "The Officer's. Atlas Mira."
Approved For Release 1999/09 -k"-&Fi =*DP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
25X1 B
25X1 B
area are, in fact, at scales larger than 1:4,000,000. However, the
high quality of the cartographic workmanship and the effective choice
of symbols make the maps easy to read despite the small scales and
the large amount of information on them.
The 459-page atlas is divided into six major sections. The most
outstanding of these is the fifth, which includes medium-scale
(1:250,000) maps of 16 Soviet urban areas -- the 15 republic capitals
and Leningrad. Except for the urban maps of Moscow, Minsk, Kiev, and
Leningrad published in 1956 in Volume 41 of the Large Soviet
Encyclopedia -- and a few tourist sketches -- no other post-1939
Soviet maps that show the geographical situation of a city, its extent,
and general layout are available. The fifth section also includes
medium-scale maps of 59 urban areas outside the Soviet Union.
Of particular
interest is a map showing the 105 economic-administrative regions
that were established in July 1957. Since the map was printed, however,
two of these regions -- Kamenskiy and Balashovskiy -- have been
abolished,and a third -- Samarkandskiy -- has been split in two.
Other subjects included on maps covering the entire USSR pertain to
political-administrative structure, population, transportation,
industry, agriculture, and relief. The regional maps cover the
European USSR at scales of 1:7,500,000 or larger, and most of southern
Siberia and the Far East at 1:10,000,000 or larger. Two maps of the
-34-
Approved For Release 1990169722-EGIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
areas surrounding Moscow and Leningrad at 1:600,000 and one each of
the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea are included. The maps are detailed
enough to show boundaries, settlements, transportation arteries, major
mineral deposits, and forest cover. Some spot heights are given. Of
particular interest are the maps showing the recently completed rail
lines between Murmansk and Pechenga, Stalinsk and Abakan, and Okha
and Nogliki on Sakhalin.
Accompanying each map that covers one or more union republics
is a page of text giving the statistics on the cities, industry,
agriculture, and transportation network of each republic.
The sixth section consists of 25 tables of information of the
type found in the World Almanac. They include various statistics
and facts about the physical, political, and economic geography of
the world, with special emphasis upon the Soviet Union, and also
comparative tables of weights and measures and money. One can find,
for example, the area, average and maximum depth, salinity, tidal
range, and temperature of the Black Sea.
25X1 C
The fourth section, Maps of Foreign Countries, covers in some
detail the entire world outside the Soviet Union with the single
exception of Antarctica. Each country or group of countries is
depicted on both a general map and on a combined economic-agricultural
map -- except the United States, for which there are separate economic
Approved For Release 1999/0f/ 6 t m DP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
and agricultural maps. Until the publication of the Officer's
Atlas Mira, such detailed coverage of the world was not generally
available in one volume.
Two features of the economic maps that are of particular interest
are the inclusion of major gas and oil pipelines and of areas in which
lumbering is an economic activity. Although lumbering areas are
depicted on the economic maps by a green tone similar to that used
to show the extent of forest land on the general maps, the two
categories are not likely to be confused since they do not appear on
the same map.
Western Europe, covered by 35 of the 107 maps in the section, is
treated the most intensively of all the major regions of the world.
Next in order of detailed treatment are the Far East (including India
and Pakistan), to which 23 maps are devoted, and the Americas, with
20. Fewer maps cover Africa (11), the Communist Bloc countries and
Yugoslavia (10), the Middle East (5), and the Australia-New Zealand-
New Guinea area (3).
Larger scale maps and insets portray such industrially important
areas as Silesia, Rhineland-Westphalia, Alsace-Lorraine, the British
Midlands, and the London area, as well as the strategically important
areas of the Iron Gate of the Danube, Cyprus, Palestine, Kashmir,
Java, North Vietnam, northern Tunisia, the lower Nile, and, in the
United States, the Great Lakes region and the Middle Atlantic states.
The Panama Canal is shown at 1:750,000, the largest scale used in the
fourth section.
- 36 -
Approved For Release I 99 - A-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
Each set of maps of a country or group of countries is accompanied
by a textual description that gives, for each country, information
about its size and boundaries, administrative structure, population,
major cities, political parties, armed forces, industry, agriculture,
transportation network, and exports and imports. These descriptions.
are somewhat colored by the official party line -- for example, naming
the Communist Party as one of the major political parties in the
United States -- but the nonpolitical facts are accurate and are
presented in a convenient form.
The second section contains 57 maps (counting insets) of the
world, of continents and parts of continents, and of oceans. The
maps range in scale from 1:230,000,000 for an airline map of the
world to 1:100,000 for an inset of Gibraltar. The subjects covered
include relief and climate, population, transportation, mineral
resources and industry. Particular emphasis is placed upon Europe,
all or parts of which appear on 19 separate maps. Six of them portray
Western Europe alone, and 6 others show the straits upon which the
Soviet Union is primarily dependent for access to the Atlantic -- the
Danish straits, the Turkish straits, and the Strait of Gibraltar.
The first section is primarily a guide to map reading and to the
use of maps in general. It includes not only an explanation of map
symbols used in the atlas, but also, in parallel columns, photographs
of various types of terrain and small topographic maps of corresponding
areas. It also gives illustrations of military uses for maps of
Approved For Release 1999/09? PGi.TDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 199P!99(4 ,_ClA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
various types and scales. A table of sunrise and sunset for the
northern hemisphere as far north as 80?N and a map of world time
zones are also included in the first section.
Finally, the atlas contains an index of about 27,000 place
names keyed to the maps by a grid system. (Confidential)
- 38 -
Approved For Release 1992t~1IA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/O 6~ 9i - DP79-01005A000300060002-5
THE NATIONAL ATLAS OF INDIA
The National Atlas of India, preliminary edition in Hindi*,
which has recently been received in Washington, is to India what the
Soviet Atlases are to the USSR, and the French National Atlas is to
France.
Indian Government officials who are responsible for India's
economic planning had been aware of the need for a comprehensive
cartographical and statistical publication incorporating the basic
geographic data on the country. In response to this need the
National Atlas Organization was established in June 195+ under the
aegis of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Scientific Research.
Two years later it was announced that a preliminary Hindi edition
of the atlas would be published under the Second Five-Year Plan
(1956-1961). Cartographic work on the Hindi edition commenced in
December 1956, and the edition was published in late 1957. The maps
were printed by the Survey of India, and the atlas was published by
the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research -- to which the.
Survey of India was transferred in April 1957. A more comprehensive
English-language edition of the atlas was originally scheduled for
publication at the end of the Second Five-Year Plan, 1961. However,
it now appears that this edition will be delayed considerably, but
the map sheets comprising it will be published separately as completed.
*CIA Map Library Call No. aH306.155.
Approved For Release 1999/O9I rA DP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 199~!29~2 IA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
The atlas is a valuable addition to Washington map holdings on
India, and will be of particular interest to those officials who have
an interest in the economic development of the country through the
Indian Five-Year Plans. In addition to a wealth of basic economic
information, the atlas includes several maps -- such as the one
indicating proposed expenditure of funds for soil conservation under
the Second Five-Year Plan -- that have specific reference to the
Five-Year Plans.
The Hindi edition of the atlas contains 26 numbered plates
comprising 21 maps of India at a scale of 1:5 million, 16 at a scale
of 1:10 million, and 38 inset maps at smaller scales. It also
contains 20 insets of smaller areas at larger scales, and 3 maps
covering the World and the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.
The maps of the atlas cover a wide range of subjects. Foremost
in position in the atlas are the world map, the maps of the hemispheres,
and the administrative map of India. Two unnumbered plates contain
four regional maps that show the lithology of India. Most of the
maps fall into three general categories: physical, economic, and
sociological. Within the first of these categories the maps relate
to terrain, drainage, rainfall and temperature, and winds. The
economic maps show the distribution of minerals, soils (also the
intensity of soil erosion and the proposed expenditure by states
for soil conservation during the Second Five-Year-Plan), forests
and arable land, food crops, cash crops, and livestock. Also
Approved For Release 199r7r9912%-"'dIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
included among the economic maps are those that deal with electric
power, industries (including village handicraft and other small
industries), and transportation. The sociological group includes
maps that show the distribution of rural, urban, and tribal populations;
educational and scientific research institutions; health facilities
and personnel engaged in medical work; and archaeological monuments
and points of interest to tourists.
Most of the maps in the atlas are improvements over those that
have been available before, and some of them cover subjects that are
new to Washington collections. Particularly noteworthy are the maps
that show the locations of industry, including uranium-thorium and.
rare-earth processing plants; airports (some 95) and their importance
by ratio of passengers handled; educational and scientifip institutions,
including the l4 national laboratories of the.Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research; and the headquarters of Indian representatives
abroad (e.g. vice-consulates, embassies and special missions) together
with the number of Indians residing in different foreign countries.
One of the chief assets of the National Atlas of India is the
uniformity of scale of the maps, which facilitates the correlation
of factors on one map with those on another. In the past, such
correlation has been complicated by the differences in scale among
available maps on India. Furthermore, all of the atlas maps of
India are on the same projection -- Lambert's conical orthomorphic.
Metric measurements are used throughout the atlas, in conformity
Approved For Release I 999/091216-? I -RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
S-E-C-R-E-T
with the Indian Government's adoption of the metric system. The
individual map sheets are about 25 by 28 inches and are folded to
fit a 17- by 26-inch cover. They are bound in a loose-leaf binding
similar to that used for the French National Atlas.
To facilitate exploitation of the Hindi edition by English-language
users, the compilers have included in English (1) a list of the maps
by number, title, and scale; (2) a detailed description of each map,
together with supplementary information about the subjects covered;
(3) an explanation of the Hindi legend used on each map; (4) an
adequate although not very clear place name map; and (5) a list of
2,789 administrative units -- tahsils, taluks, and thanas (police
stations) -- that are subdivisions of the districts into which the
14 states of India are divided. The subdivisions on the administrative
map are keyed to the list by number. Even so, an English-language
user would almost certainly have difficulty in using the Hindi
edition, particularly the administrative map, because of the many
complications of the Devanagri script and the even more complicated
system of correlating key numbers with place names.
It is regrettable that an agreement was not concluded with the
Nepalese Government to include Nepal within the scope of the Atlas,
even though the inclusion of foreign territory is understandably
incompatible with the concept of a national atlas. To an analyst
who works with the area the absence of Nepal on the maps seems like
an unnatural void. Sikkim and Bhutan, which are considered as
Approved For Release 1999f89i2S-ECIA-RDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 Approved For Release I 999/O9 6- 9i - DP79-01005A000300060002-5
protectorates, are included on the maps, as are Jammu and Kashmir --
which India claims as part of its national territory. (Unclassified)
- ".3 -
Approved For Release I 999/06/fS'--t1 - ZDP79-01005A000300060002-5
 100 102 10
4 106
108
N'ai-Yuan, ~
~'
2ed
5;1
C H
A
~P Manes-u~
Wen-snan
'
~??
C H d. N A
Pu-erh
Z
?'
Ea
Be.
Thank Thuy :/"?
HA GIANG
v ~'~, NANNING
T-9 NhanFl?Phu? O
u mao
f ?~.. 1
?IHOeng Su Phi
NguY Binh
p n ?
'
CAD BANG / YG Chian9
1
9
}
a
`? Be Xat
t 2' ~...
LAO
KAY eac Quang
3
ac
Done "a' "g-fling v
~??
?
.
({`'~~ Cha Pa
Pno L
?~
?
That Rhea
\
Nmg ming
22
J
^"?~
LAI CHA
L,
BAC KANO
y
mo,
Na Cham
22
G
.
?
~.. ?~~ r
m~aJ
TUYEN QUAN
. b
YEN BAY
LANG SON
~ J\' M
Binh /
4/
-hbv
O MA
NGUYEN Dinh Lap CAY
Tian
KEO TUNG p{ 11l )
n ,/e ?~x
Fj R
A ~~
~
i, }p' ft' ,
Dien Bien Phu `r SON LAO
L \
~
\
4re1J;Ht{ YEN
Ba O PHU
HpnH a O N N
IN
2~e ON TAY
HA 101
Yen 14C
PHU LANG THUG G a o
?>bI
Sept Pagotles LRE EKE BA
HAI V ~U O 1Y p
Duor+~
yr
.,
le
0
HOA BINH HA O
D
G re . o1/n
O aG ?i? 9
tJ
'?a' V
(I t'
f
'
,4w
ik
.i f
`
4r Suyut y
~
\l
HUNG KIE ND
YEN ILE CAC BA B
tc
HoI %ua o
n9
NA BINH
DINH
../~. ~... fit..
' ?? Chiang Saea {
,yp
a INH
BINH
-
t
D
20
20
Mua~g Fang MUAN ~n
' CHIANG RAI 9F' l _ ? _;<
7
A
? y' ZE ~^ ? ~y *4 t
A50 Bai Thuong
c THANH HOAO NORTH G U L F
VIETNAM F
n
an Chiang Dao
- ?? d9? ,,,/"?i?} aidrr~1~
r
Muang Sa
Yr\ Cu. Rao Phu Qui T1.0 N K I N
1
1 ,dy
ang L?n Ch'ang-kan
c n cuong on . Ph Dian PeI-Ip
Kli
~j
CHIENGMAI
Muan
Ngaog WANG NAN
+rY
y
VINH
q/ q Vu Lie[ O
?
$
{
a13 P$K,`Ua9sw".
i d i "8P
MUANG LAMPANG
_
j
C op Gam
C ~t Rt+ 'Y'
tl~ TINH
a
n
Kh
H
?
18
MUANG PHRAE _\
'
Mae \'e~"
, p
g
uo
e
l ?`~S CAP MUIFON
18
Ch ang Khan NON?
"
~
Ran
n ay
95
94hy
KHAI
0
-~ ~gRgpiT MUANG LOEI
V%."1 J
`%
UDON THANI
MOANS DONG HOI
0
Sawankhalok
NAKHON PHANOM 471 1 .
MUANG
SUKHOTHAI SAKON NAKHON
TAN
DEMARCATION
+? ~
a Ph \ - -
UANG PHITSANULOK
I
,. r r Dam La
UANG
H
\\
Q
` k Se Ph Q
TR
Pe I
SOUT
4 \
\1
MUANG
Muang Kalasin
ae KHON KAEN O
3
MAHA
Hong
VAN
Muktlahan E +, Phi a+ H a..
?'.;a y P Ij Y)+ E VIETNAM
d
H SARAKHAM
AILAND
Ban Ch nnabot Z
4 .B C route
OURANE
!
'" 18F
16
~~
i
I U
16
CH VAPHUM CAF
m
e' a g
Yasothon \IMI i l t
Z
UANG NAKHON SAWAN
S~ ~e ti
Tam KY .& 1
Mae a
Mun Z 0G t1BON
Mua
Phim ngal
A.
c o QUANG
n ari ~iIu NGAI
o .A k
NAKHON ATCHASIMA SURIN
LOP BUR]
Z 3 0
3 Z ~
m o n ...I r,,,/:_
..J'?J'? y KONTUM
San
0amrong Sien
14
.
AOS
PLEIK
An Kin
14
n
??
^
L
X
e eSai
Voun
Q o
~
4'91 @ T nad
+q 9.y ~ ~ F Su~~9
d
.ti? ' 8 Bo Kham
Sa
`
ry Sinn
to -??- International, boundary --1- Railroad
CkeP
'
National capital Selected road O, Oet
.Qtr
p4o mf
Spot height (in feet) Selected track or trail ,. stung si~ophon
SIEM
Thala 13-1-t SUNG
R G Srep?k
`
/
REA
P
O
~
0 20 40 80 120 160 0
Statute Miles A
0 20 40 80 120 160
5 ~}
?\ ~o
' q
~P
B p I A/ n
y ~
?\~ A
TPMBANG
B T
Kilometers
?j K
~ The tmnaportation shown on this map is gen n 9
?
( ,.,?(
Pail n
L
?~ `F
R
I
emh:ed and for nnenmtmn i
U purposes on y
Bundaries and m of n ss i
m - those recognized by the U S. Gone enr. ME
1-1
G THOM
O
AYONG
EI X,r 6a
s Y/~
MP
N
U0T
N,
102
00
104 106 108
 p
TG~~?~'l ~ZgFL /7
USSR: Important Place-name Changes,
1957-58
02-;5
 j" ? eel. a,,
.p.,p ?.?y 9 L NORTH
j:i fir: I TNAM
1~T; A
Roans
sprfapea
--- Il naurfa "Indah-only.
Surface no( known outside
al lntlocM1lna.
-- Treck or trail
~. Metengege railrastl
. ure Spot elevation m feet
METERS
~:'n':I 2000
? National capital
____ Internal atlminisire[ive bountlery
_..-mternanonal oppnaarr
J a~,oa ~..ryp
~.~ :?~aa.
iPU anE
, PLAhAUt
011 IDARL
REFUGEE
AND
RESETTLEMENT VILLAGES
 Approved For Release 1999/,
6 : CI~RRDP79-01005A000300060002-5
Approved For Release 1999/0~~~~.i -RDP79-01005A000300060002-5