Historical Geography Photos
Photo of the T-64 orthophotoscope, designed and built in 1964 by Russell Bean at USGS Headquarters in Virginia. This was the first orthophotoscope in Menlo Park, and was used to produce orthophotoquads (rectified air photos). The T-64 was a modified Kelsh analog stereoplotter that profiled the stereomodel while the operator raised and lowered the film level based on the terrain height.
Aerial photograph at left, a pipeline running southeast to northwest is seen as a curvy line due to distortions caused by the terrain. In the Digital Orthophotoquad (DOQ) at right, the distortions have been corrected and the pipeline is seen in its true state as an almost straight line.
Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle (DOQ) of northeast San Francisco and the Bay Bridge, 1993.
Field crewman using a planetable and alidade to create a topographic map. Location and date unknown.
Field crewmen working with an alidade and planetable. Date and location unknown.
A crewman operates an Electrotape, circa late 1960s. Electrotape was a trade name for a precise electronic surveying device that used microwaves to measure distance. The first commercial unit of this device was created in 1961. It yielded centimeter accuracy over distances from 100 meters to 40 kilometers, and in all weather conditions, day and night. Two units were needed, one to send the signal and the other to receive it. A brass triangulation station marker is visible directly below the Electrotape. The helicopter used for transport sits on a distant snow-covered peak.
A mapping field crew relaxes in their mobile trailer. Date and location unknown.
A helicopter make access easy in southern Utah, circa early 1906s. In 1972, the Western Mapping Center in Menlo Park, California became the first USGS office to own and operate its own helicopter. Prior to that time, all helicopters transport was provided by contractors.
A mapping crewman sets a triangulation station with a brass marker (also referred to as a tablet) circa early 1960s. Additional brass markers are visible beside the field crewman's boot. A tripod in the background is covered with fluorescent material so it can be easily spotted by a crew on another peak.
Mapping field crewman James N. Tennant measures angles with a T2 theodolite on a helicopter survey in 1962.
Mapping crewmen measure angles with a T2 theodolite. Location is probably somewhere in the Sierra Mountain circa 1960. The man on the far left is the helicopter pilot. The theodolite is centered over a triangulation station designated by a brass marker.
Mapping field crewman using a theodolite, circa 1960. A planetable and alidade are on the left. An alidade and a theodolite were typically not used at the same time, so this might be a posed photo.The brass marker for the triangulation station is visible in the rock in front of the crewman's boot.
Scribing roads on a topographic map.
Scribing contours on a topographic map.
Circa 1955. A photogrammetrist works at an ER-55 projector, invented by Russel Bean at USGS Headquarters in Virginia. The ER-55, or "Ellipsoidal Reflector Projector for Stereo-Photogrammetric Map Plotting" was used by the USGS in the 1950s and 1960s.
Cameraman Jay Prendergast adjusts the lens on a Robertson 4.5 ton copy camera--used for precise scale transformation of mapping separates and/or composites. Circa 1966.
 Photo of an Electrical Survey Net Adjuster (ESNA), Circa 1959. The ESNA was used to adjust levels and traverse on a mapping survey line. Surveyed lines between ties or junction points were represented by variable resistors that could be set at any given value. The junction closures were represented by controlled voltages introduced in the circuit from storage batteries. The junctions were represented by interconnected telephone jacks for ease of connection. Capacity of this model included 60 lines, 45 closures, 30 junctions, and 70 fixed points.
Photo of the Map and Field Data office in 1960, where maps were provided for field crews and sold to the general public. This office eventually merged with the Public Inquiries Office (PIO) to become today's Earth Science Information Center (ESIC).
The Map and Field Data office in 1960. Terry Verdun is seated beside the cash register. Wally Anderson sits at the desk behind him.
Wright Todd applies light-sensitive color solution to a base sheet on a photo lab whirler, Circa 1966. This method was used for generating color-composite proofing of map separate registration. The light-sensitive liquid pigments used in this process were developed in Menlo Park by Wright Todd and were used throughout the USGS for more than 20 years.
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