Engineer Intelligence Guide 33, Preparation of Terrain Diagrams, June 1960

Authors

Robert Bolin , depositor, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

6-1960

Document Type

Article

Citation

The minimum unambiguous citation for this document is: EIG 33, 1960

Comments

The document digitized was loaned by Indiana University, Bloomington.

This guide is an army publication prepared by the Military Intelligence Branch of the USGS under a contract with the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Army Corps of Engineers. The Military Intelligence Branch of the Geographical Survey was a de facto branch of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, US Army.

Laura Weakly of the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln provided invaluable advice and assistance in digitizing this large-format document.

Because the US Army often reuses document numbers and titles, the date of publication must be included to uniquely identify any given army document.

Abstract

In 1960, geographic intelligence in the US Armed Forces was decentralized. The Intelligence and Mapping Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers was primarily responsible for creation of military intelligence concerning the surface of the earth excluding the oceans and seas for the armed forces of the United States. Engineer intelligence guides were issued to provide guidance concerning collection, processing, production, and dissemination of geographic intelligence to elements of the Corps of Engineers.

This engineer intelligence guide explains the differences between maps and terrain diagrams and provides examples using actual maps and terrain diagrams. The maps and terrain diagrams used as examples mostly show areas in foreign countries. One particularly striking set of illustrations contrast maps and various types of terrain diagrams of the Mt. Fujiyama area in Japan (pages 10-13).

This guide discusses the preparation of terrain diagrams in details with extensive illustrations, and discusses and illustrates preparation of terrain diagrams for various types of terrain and for various types of special features including offshore features.

This guide contains a one-page “Selected bibliography of physiographic and block diagramming” compiled by Mark W. Pangborn in 1958. The bibliography contains a section on theory and technique and a list of outstanding examples of physiographic diagrams.

The guide also contains an extensive distribution list showing engineering related officials and organizations within the US Army which were concerned with geographic intelligence.