> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # CIA Declassifies Maps from 75 Years of Surveillance - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/cia-cartography-center-maps/ - Published: 2016-12-09T16:49:59.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T15:57:28.000Z - Description: To mark the 75th anniversary of its Cartography Center, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) shares decades of declassified maps. - Author: Allison Meier - Tags: News, cartography, cia, Mapping, Maps, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:23 (2016, 2017, part 2) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps24.jpg) “The Leningrad Front” (1943) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) The Cartography Center of the [Central Intelligence Agency ](https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/mapmakers-craft.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)(CIA) started in October of 1941 with hand-drawn maps that plotted the geographic data of World War II. The Center today harnesses more advanced, digital technologies, but the goal remains the same: to visually convey data in a way that will be understandable for a broad intelligence audience. For the Center’s 75th anniversary, the CIA [announced last month](https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/mapmakers-craft.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) that it was releasing several albums of declassified maps, which represent its decades of activity, [onto Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/albums?ref=hyperallergic.com). From the Russian front of 1942 to the threatened elephant populations of Africa in 2013, the maps are an archive of American involvement in global conflicts and crises. ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps11.jpg) President John F. Kennedy with a CIA map of communist rebel areas in Vietnam (1961) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) The CIA [states](https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/mapmakers-craft.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) on its site that the Center’s “chief objectives are to analyze geospatial information, extract intelligence-related geodata, and present the information visually in creative and effective ways for maximum understanding by intelligence consumers.” As Greg Miller at[ *National Geographic*](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/us-cia-maps-strategy-foreign-policy-display/?ref=hyperallergic.com) noted, one of the images shows President George W. Bush and members of his staff viewing a CIA map [on September 29, 2001](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/30249835013/in/album-72157672693466384/?ref=hyperallergic.com), reflecting a period when the terrain and cartography of Afghanistan was surveyed ahead of the American invasion. Likewise, each map is a time capsule of that era’s international issues. The [1940s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/sets/72157676359562335?ref=hyperallergic.com) include a 1942 map of German dialects, and a 1944 map of concentration camps in the country. The [1950s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/albums/72157674885572481?ref=hyperallergic.com), with innovative photomechanical reproduction and precast lead letters, saw maps on the Korean War and railroad construction in Communist China. The [1960s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/sets/72157674853424672?ref=hyperallergic.com) are punctuated by the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam War, while the [1970s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/sets/72157676360398255?ref=hyperallergic.com), with increasing map automation, contain charts of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Arab oil embargo. ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps02.jpg) President Franklin D. Roosevelt with an OSS globe (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) The [1980s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/albums/72157674886243461?ref=hyperallergic.com) maps involve the Falklands War and the Iran–Iraq War, while the [1990s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/albums/72157676264337436?ref=hyperallergic.com), through newly sharp 3D perspectives and animations, have maps addressing African and Central American humanitarian emergencies, as well as the location of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). More recently, the [2000s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/sets/72157672693466384?ref=hyperallergic.com) digital maps analyze conflict in the Middle East and nuclear developments in Iran and North Korea, and [2010s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/sets/72157674854391962?ref=hyperallergic.com) maps examine the allocation of water resources in Mexico, and malaria risk in Southeast Asia. “A map should be aesthetically pleasing, thought-provoking, and communicative,” [stated](https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/mapmakers-craft.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) the CIA Cartography Center’s founder, Arthur H. Robinson. And intelligence maps are a distinct design challenge, as they can influence governmental strategy and policy. However based on President-elect Trump’s [disinterest in intelligence briefings](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-turning-away-intelligence-briefers-since-election-win/2016/11/23/5cc643c4-b1ae-11e6-be1c-8cec35b1ad25%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.b5c6e893fd19&ref=hyperallergic.com), perhaps it’s time for the CIA to enter a new era of covert Tweeting for this administration’s cartography needs. Below are some examples of the declassified CIA maps, along with [cartography tool photographs](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/sets/72157674852500522?ref=hyperallergic.com) that represent the early years when Office of Strategic Services (OSS) cartographers created their maps by hand. ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps03.jpg) “The Russian Front in Review” (1942) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps13.jpg) A ten-point divider used to divide the distance between two points into ten equal parts (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps04.jpg) Tunisia (1943) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps21.jpg) Components of a Stanley Improved Pantograph, used to reproduce, enlarge, or reduce a map to scale (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps05.jpg) “Germany Concentration Camps” (June 1944) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps20.jpg) Stanley Improved Pantograph, used to reproduce, enlarge, or reduce a map to scale (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps06.jpg) “Vegetable Tannins: Production and International Trade” (1950) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps19.jpg) Barch‐Payzant Lettering Pens for map drawing (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps10.jpg) “Berlin: Zonal Border Crossing Points” (1960s) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps18.jpg) Austin Photo Interpretometer (Stereoscope), for 3D viewing of stereo pairs of aerial photography (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) !["Antarctica Exploration and Claims" (February 1956) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps07.jpg) “Antarctica Exploration and Claims” (February 1956) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps17.jpg) Dietzgen Champion Drawing Instruments for map drafting (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps23.jpg) “Surface-to-Air Missile Activity in Cuba” (1962) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps16.jpg) Mechanical Protractor, used to draw or measure accurate angles from one point to another on a map projection (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps09.jpg) “Burma Climatic Regimes” (1968) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps15.jpg) Keuffel & Esser 20.5-inch Slide Rule, used by cartographers for mathematical calculations (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps22.jpg) “Indonesia Oil & Gas” (1980s) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps14.jpg) Speedball Pens, Model LC‐4, used for mapmaking (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps12.jpg) “Afghanistan’s Konar Valley” (2001) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![Triangular 24-Inch Engineering Scale, used for linear measurements from maps and scale diagrams (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps25.jpg) Triangular 24-Inch Engineering Scale, used for linear measurements from maps and scale diagrams (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![CIA Cartography Center maps](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps01.jpg) “African Elephant Range: Population and Threats” (2013) (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) ![Reducing Glass, used by cartographers to visualize their draft lines at the final size (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/12/ciamaps26.jpg) Reducing Glass, used by cartographers to visualize their draft lines at the final size (via Central Intelligence Agency/Flickr) *View more declassified maps from the* [*CIA Cartography Center*](https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/mapmakers-craft.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) *on* [*Flickr*](https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov/albums?ref=hyperallergic.com)*.*