Present-day Map Research Articles

Digitally Documenting the Transformation of the Eternal City. Cities in Text: Rome

Historical guidebooks and maps of Rome provide both an architectural narrative and a snapshot of the city at distinct historical moments. The Historic Urban Environments Lab at the University of Notre Dame (HUE/ND) combined these resources to create Cities in Text: Rome. This interactive research tool was designed to analyze the complex layers of the Eternal City. It provides access to the digital representation of guidebooks produced in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. These works have been transcribed, translated, and linked with historic and present-day maps, photographs, and drawings presented on a website and mobile application (hue.nd.edu). The project led to several discoveries, including identifying the existing remains of Rome’s medieval residential façade porticoes, which were measured, drawn, and mapped. The work contributes to an understanding of the evolution of Rome’s cityscape, including its medieval fabric wholly ignored in these guides but still visible today.

Historical River Training Works on the Lower Elbe

The paper deals with river training works built on the reach of the Elbe River between the city of Ústí nad Labem (CZ) and the Czech/German border. Downstream of the Ústí nad Labem, the Elbe in the Czech Republic and in Germany has only been made navigable through river training measures without building weirs. The goal of river training for watercourse navigability is to attain the required waterway parameters through fairway adjustments. This is primarily achieved through channel dredging and the construction of training dams to concentrate the water flow into a narrower but deeper main channel. The paper describes the historical development of river training works during the period from the Middle Ages to the present day. Initially, such works were not meant as part of a unified conceptually designed system of measures. Instead, they were local initiatives aimed to remove natural obstacles from the river bed and to build facilities and structures to aid navigation. Systematic regulation works along the Czech and German sections of the Elbe only started in the early 19th century. The research was focused on studying the original project documents and documentation of the actual design of the training dams since 1894. This historical design documentation was digitised and projected into the maps in the Czech JTSK local coordinate system through the use of advanced geographic information system (GIS) methods. The final atlas of river training works on the Elbe-Vltava Waterway (EVW) along the lower Elbe in the Czech Republic is the first of its kind, utilising geographic information systems to document the locations of technical structures built since the early 19th century in the Elbe River bed in order to make the river navigable and maintain its navigability. The collection of maps also documents the development of the river training works in time based on map data obtained from digitised design documentation from the 19th and 20th centuries, historical aerial photographs dated 1930–1946 and 1950–1964, and present-day maps and orthophotomaps of the Elbe section in question. The atlas of the Elbe-Vltava Waterway river training works is publicly available via a web-based application. The maps are a result of original research and offer a synthesis of interactions between the existing technical structures, the sediment regime of the Elbe and sites that are subject to environmental protection. The research was conducted as part of project no. DG18P02OVV004 entitled “Documentation and presentation of technical cultural heritage along the Elbe-Vltava Waterway” within a support programme for applied research and experimental development of national and cultural identity, funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

Geolocating Ottoman Settlements: The Use of Historical Maps for Digital Humanities

Abstract. This paper aims to demonstrate and discuss the ways historical maps are used for geo-spatial and digital humanities, as well as their challenges, based on an ongoing project that aims to geolocate settlements in Ottoman Turkey, as registered in the mid-nineteenth century. As part of an ERC project, the project team has georeferenced historical maps of Asia Minor published by official institutions in the early twentieth century. Utilising these maps, the project team has been working on determining the present-day locations of Ottoman settlements as surveyed in the population registers of the 1840s and creating a geodatabase that aims to make the geographical and demographic information on these registers available and accessible to historians and social scientists. In the paper, we first introduce the Ottoman population registers and the ways we digitise and analyse these registers and then give a background on the maps we employ in these efforts. We then aim to explain the process of georeferencing these maps, the ways we bring together both the registers and the maps to locate these villages on the present-day maps, and the challenges/problems we encounter in this process. In the final part of the paper, we discuss how this project's end results could be employed for new questions, approaches, and debates in studies on modern Ottoman-Turkish history within the framework of perspectives developed in digital humanities.

From Presidio to the Pecos River: Surveying the United States–Mexico Boundary along the Rio Grande, 1852 and 1853 by Orville B. Shelburne

Reviewed by: From Presidio to the Pecos River: Surveying the United States–Mexico Boundary along the Rio Grande, 1852 and 1853 by Orville B. Shelburne Andrew J. Milson From Presidio to the Pecos River: Surveying the United States–Mexico Boundary along the Rio Grande, 1852 and 1853. By Orville B. Shelburne. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2020. Pp. 312. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) The agreement reached in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, which ended the U.S. war with Mexico, required an accurate survey of the new international boundary between Mexico and the United States. One portion of that boundary along the Rio Grande between approximately 102°40′ and 104°40′ west longitude consisted of particularly remote and treacherous terrain that made survey work difficult. Much of this area today is known as the Big Bend National Park. From Presidio to the Pecos River by Orville B. Shelburne provides a detailed account of the survey parties, led by Marine Tyler Wickham Chandler in 1852 and Nathaniel Michler in 1853, which completed the mapping of this region. The exact course of the Rio Grande from present-day Presidio, Texas, to its confluence with the Pecos River was unknown in 1852, but it was understood that the river flowed through steep canyons. M. T. W. Chandler was ordered to lead an under-resourced surveying party for the first time in his career across an unknown distance, through a territory intersected by Cherokee trails and along a river reported to flow across large falls. The Chandler party successfully mapped 209 miles of the river from August to November 1852 and ultimately produced five boundary maps that were included in the final set of fifty-four official maps approved by the joint boundary commission. But the Chandler survey fell short of the Pecos River after two months of tribulations such as boat wrecks and arduous overland detours. No lives were lost, but the men suffered from limited rations, exhaustion, and tattered clothing. The Michler survey party commenced in the summer of 1853 to complete the final segment, but it was successful in mapping only ninety-four miles upstream of the Pecos River. The thirty-four-mile gap left between the two surveys consisted of the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande, including San Francisco Canyon, where it was impossible for a party equipped with wagons and wooden boats to navigate the steep canyons and treacherous rapids. Rather than admit to the gap, Michler drew a generic meandering line to represent the canyons portion of the river. Shelburne's research on the boundary survey is brought to life by the [End Page 481] unpublished field notes and correspondence of botanist Charles C. Parry, who served with the Chandler party. Parry's descriptions and sketches provide a rich record of the route and experiences of the Chandler survey. The greatest strengths of From Presidio to the Pecos River are its outstanding maps and illustrations. Throughout the book, Shelburne offers juxtaposed images of historical sketches alongside high-quality, present-day photographs, as well as comparisons of sections of the survey maps with present-day maps and aerial imagery. Any cartophile will be thoroughly impressed by the outstanding cartographic design displayed throughout Shelburne's book. Carol Zuber-Mallison should be congratulated for her exceptional work in producing these gorgeous maps. Particularly stunning are the maps that occupy a two-page spread in the book, thereby providing a view that is both detailed and expansive. In sum, this book should be of great interest to both scholars and general readers who appreciate historical geography and the history of cartography. Andrew J. Milson University of Texas at Arlington Copyright © 2021 The Texas State Historical Association

Открытые пространства в терминологии «Сокровенного сказания монголов» в контексте исторической географии: образы, локализация

Goals. The paper aims to reveal open space-related toponyms traced in The Secret History of the Mongols, and localize the sites. Materials. Investigation of spaces once reclaimed by Mongolic peoples is quite a topical issue in the history of nomadic communities. And a key stage in the Inner Asian expansion of Mongols depicted in The Secret History of the Mongols is of special significance for historical geography. The vast open spaces nowadays associated with Mongols proper had not actually been their indigenous territories. Names of open spaces known in the era of Genghis Khan and his military activities have been lost, and it is difficult enough to identify the former on present-day maps. The two terms related to open spaces in The Secret History of the Mongols are keer (‘steppe’) and belchir (‘confluence point’). Conclusions. The work reveals Mongols preferred areas with mosaic landscapes that would include both elevations and steppe plains. The Orkhon River valley — crossroads of steppe arterial roads to have served as historical headquarters to earlier nomadic empires — was inhabited by Mongols only after polyethnic Inner Asian communities were united by Genghis Khan. The article presents a number of original hypotheses dealing with localization of several sites mentioned in the written monument.

Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene climate changes and human habitation in the arctic Western Beringia based on revision of palaeobotanical data

Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes at the transition from the Late Pleistocene to the Early Holocene in the arctic Western Beringia (AWB) appear to be extremely important for human habitation record of the area. To estimate that we used multiple paleoenvironmental proxy-data collected from different locations (n = 30) and archaeological data from radiocarbon-dated sites (n = 36). Based on correlations between pollen records and their radiocarbon chronology we combined paleoenvironmental data into single generalized sequence for the entire AWB compared to global temperature trend and placed archaeological data on the same time scale. General trend of paleoclimatic changes in the second half of Late Pleistocene is explored, in which the sequence of major climate changes within Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2, and in the beginning of the Holocene are revealed. Climate changes and landscape evolution play as a key governing factor for the human population of the area since its initial phase. Human habitation is documented starting ca. 50,000 BP. Since then, AWB remains human populated but witnessed a number of cultural changes and intrusions before the present-day map of ethnic groups became finally formed. Repeated arrival of new population into AWB finds strong correlation with major paleogeographic events, both cold and warm, such as Last Glacial Maximum, Younger Dryas, and the onset of the Holocene. It is shown that human habitation had been consistently driven by various abiotic and biotic factors, that is, by complex interpaly of development in plant and faunistic associations, landscape evolution, tree line change, and climate-driven changes in spatiotemporal patterns of population dynamics in megaherbivores, especially mammoth.

Local Factors Determining Spatially Heterogeneous Channel Migration in a Low-Energy Stream

Since the 1990s, nature and water management policies have attempted to re-create natural rivers systems by mimicking curvy meandering planforms, based on the assumption that meandering is the natural channel-forming process. However, in low-energy river systems, the extent to which meandering plays a natural role is often minimal. This study aims to quantify contemporary lateral migration in the low-energy irregular sinuous lowland river system of the Drentsche Aa, The Netherlands, and to determine the factors influencing lateral channel migration in a heterogeneous valley fill. Although the river is classified as laterally immobile based on an empirical stability diagram, field observations prove that erosion and deposition are currently occurring. By analyzing historical and present-day maps, it was shown that lateral migration was highly spatially variable for the period 1924–2005. Sinuosity and valley gradient are not correlated to lateral migration rates, suggesting they are not a measure of lateral migration in the case study area, which is in line with the literature. Based on geomorphological and soil map analyses, it was shown that lateral migration rates are significantly higher in valley fills of aeolian sands than in clastic alluvial deposits, which on their turn are significantly higher than in peaty environments. Therefore, local conditions appear to be dominant over other factors such as stream power and bed grain size. These findings are important for river rehabilitation of low-energy rivers, because it shows that local valley fill conditions can greatly influence active lateral migration in the river.

Present and future K\xf6ppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution

We present new global maps of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification at an unprecedented 1-km resolution for the present-day (1980–2016) and for projected future conditions (2071–2100) under climate change. The present-day map is derived from an ensemble of four high-resolution, topographically-corrected climatic maps. The future map is derived from an ensemble of 32 climate model projections (scenario RCP8.5), by superimposing the projected climate change anomaly on the baseline high-resolution climatic maps. For both time periods we calculate confidence levels from the ensemble spread, providing valuable indications of the reliability of the classifications. The new maps exhibit a higher classification accuracy and substantially more detail than previous maps, particularly in regions with sharp spatial or elevation gradients. We anticipate the new maps will be useful for numerous applications, including species and vegetation distribution modeling. The new maps including the associated confidence maps are freely available via www.gloh2o.org/koppen.

Improvement in physical river habitat quality in response to river restoration measures

The main goal of this paper is to verify the hypothesis that application of appropriate restoration measures can lead to an improvement in river habitat quality and to achieve good hydromorphological conditions within the ecological status under the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/ES. The study includes an analysis of river network modifications founded on comparing historical and present-day maps, a determination of regional hydromorphological reference conditions based on a field survey and measurements, an assessment of hydromorphological quality of the studied water body and a proposal of appropriate restoration measures. The effects on improvement in hydromorphological status were predicted on the basis of a simulation of hydromorphological conditions after the application of proposed restoration measures. Overall, at least a good hydromorphological status would be achieved. The study proved that it is essential to carry out a hydromorphological survey including a determination of reference conditions as it provides some outputs necessary for a proposal and application of efficient restoration.

Controls on denudation rates in tectonically stable Mediterranean carbonate terrain

Using cosmogenic isotopes and solute load analysis, we quantify chemical weathering (solutional erosion) and denudation rates over variable time scales in a tectonically stable, moderate-relief, carbonate terrain (Soreq drainage, Judea Hills, Israel), located in a semihumid Mediterranean climate. Long-term (>10 4 yr) denudation rates were calculated from 36 Cl concentrations in 51 bedrock and sediment samples. Bedrock samples range in elevation (340–850 m), hillslope gradient (0°–30°), and mean annual precipitation (MAP; 500–630 mm) and vary in soil cover thickness (0–75 cm), Mg/Ca ratio (0.0–1.0 mol), clay mineral contents (0–6 wt%), and mechanical strength (41–58 Schmidt hammer rebound units). Soil pCO2 values at a single location during the course of 1 yr, range between 0.4 and 9.0 mmol mol –1 . Average long-term denudation rate of exposed bedrock samples is 21 ± 7 mm k.y. –1 . Field observations and 36 Cl measurements indicate that soil pockets undergo cycles in the rate of deepening, and that over 10 5 yr time scale, average denudation rates beneath soil pockets are similar to those of exposed bedrock. Sediment samples yield even higher denudation rates, which are probably anthropogenically induced, but could also indicate that the sediment source is soil pockets. Long-term denudation rates are decoupled from hillslope gradient, elevation, and rock strength. Denudation rates show a positive correlation with present-day MAP values, exhibit a complex relation with rock Mg content, and show a weak correlation with clay content. Annual chemical weathering rates were calculated from modern-day solute load measured in waters of perched springs and the regional carbonate aquifer. Our results indicate that on annual, decadal, and 10 4 yr time scales, chemical weathering and denudation are controlled by carbonate dissolution, while mechanical processes are far less signifi cant. Overlap between the distributions of HCO3 – concentrations measured in runoff, springs, and the regional aquifer water suggests that chemical weathering focuses at the bedrock surface and therefore is comparable with solutional denudation. This result is in contrast to the features of ancient fl uvial and colluvial activity (steep nonconcave hillslopes and stream profi les and knickzones in the streams) preserved in the present landscape. Such features were formed in response to mid-Pleistocene uplift and could have been preserved due to a decrease in stream power following the formation of subsurface drainage and the lowering in abrasive clast supply that followed the stabilization of hillslopes in the drainage. Long-term denudation rates calculated from exposed bedrock samples are higher by factor of 1.4 relative to annual, contemporary chemical weathering rates. Increased precipitation by a similar factor, averaged over the last glacial and present interglacial, can explain this difference.

Quantifying vulnerability to flooding induced by climate change: The case of Verdal, Norway

Lujala, P., Lein, H. & Rosvoldaune, R. 2014. Quantifying vulnerability to flooding induced by climate change: The case of Verdal, Norway. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift–Norwegian Journal of Geography Vol. 68, 34–49. ISSN 0029-1951.The article presents a methodology for the measurement of exposure and social vulnerability to hazards at local level. Using the small town of Verdal in central Norway as a case study, the authors examine its vulnerability to flooding induced by climate change both at present and its potential vulnerability in the future. Data on river and surge flooding and sea level rise scenarios, which are overlapped spatially with present-day maps for land use, transport networks, and buildings, are used to assess exposure to flooding. In addition, the authors assess the study area's level of social vulnerability. The two measures are then combined to assess the integrated vulnerability for Verdal. The results of the analysis show that there are considerable differences across the study area regarding which statistical units (subdivisions of the municipality) will experience the largest increases in vulnerability. The methodology used in the study is transferrable to other towns and municipalities, as well as to other types of hazards, both natural and man-made.

Geodynamic Reconstructions of the Australides—2: Mesozoic–Cainozoic

The present work, derived from a full global geodynamic reconstruction model over 600 Ma and based on a large database, focuses herein on the interaction between the Pacific, Australian and Antarctic plates since 200 Ma, and proposes integrated solutions for a coherent, physically consistent scenario. The evolution of the Australia–Antarctica–West Pacific plate system is dependent on the Gondwana fit chosen for the reconstruction. Our fit, as defined for the latest Triassic, implies an original scenario for the evolution of the region, in particular for the “early” opening history of the Tasman Sea. The interaction with the Pacific, moreover, is characterised by many magmatic arc migrations and ocean openings, which are stopped by arc–arc collision, arc–spreading axis collision, or arc–oceanic plateau collision, and subduction reversals. Mid-Pacific oceanic plateaus created in the model are much wider than they are on present-day maps, and although they were subducted to a large extent, they were able to stop subduction. We also suggest that adduction processes (i.e., re-emergence of subducted material) may have played an important role, in particular along the plate limit now represented by the Alpine Fault in New Zealand.

Preučevanje zgodovinskih pokrajin s pomočjo starih kart, s poudarkom na lokacijski natančnosti

Stare karte so pomemben zgodovinski vir za preučevanje nekdanjih pokrajin. Pogosto se uporabljajo kot kartografske podlage za preučevanje strukturnih sprememb in nekdanje rabe tal. V prispevku je predstavljena primerjava lokacijske natančnosti izbranih 'starih kart' s sedanjimi. Lokacijska natančnost pomeni stopnjo natančnosti starih kart in možnosti njihove uporabe v GIS. V ta namen je bilo z vidika natančnosti preučenih deset zgodovinskih kart v različnih merilih iz okolice mesta Čáslav na srednjem Češkem.

Georeferencing of Historical Maps Using Back Propagation Artificial Neural Network

Historical maps as cartographic heritage contain a great deal of information about the period they were produced in. Therefore, it is quite important first to conserve historical maps very carefully and then to transmit the information they contain to posterity in order to protect cultural heritage. In this study, an example of a historical map, a map of the Cyprus Island produced by Piri Reis in the 1500s, was transformed into the cartographic features of the present-day map of modern Cyprus Island. Certain transformation models such as affine transformation are used for georeferencing of historical maps, in particular. In this study, it was concluded that artificial neural network methods can be used to transform the coordinates of historical maps into the coordinate systems of modern maps as an alternative, offering better graphic performance.

Seismic strain and stress field studies in Italy before and after the Umbria-Marche seismic sequence: a review

The seismic sequence that hit Umbria and Marche during 1997 and 1998 was particularly significant because it dramatically marked the evolution of analysis tools and the development of our geophysical knowledge of the region. Since September 1997, we have had a growing, coherent catalogue of source moment tensors that provides reliable information on earthquake sources in Italy and the surrounding regions. Together with borehole and other tectonic data, this has conspicuously improved our knowledge of the regional strain and stress fields. The main impact of these new data that include local information consists of the possibility to change the scale of the regional geodynamic frame. The simple description of extension tectonics that dominate the Apennines belt has evolved into the present-day maps of the strain and stress fields, where the active tectonics involve compression in the eastern Alps, extension and compression fronts in the northern Apennines, extension and strike-slip structures in the southern Apennines, and a compressional front along the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. This recent geodynamic evolution and the present-day seismotectonic sketch of the Italian peninsula are here described on the basis of the recognition of these tectonic features.

Options for mapping foF2

Available long-term and near-real time global and regional maps of foF2 are examined in relation to telecommunication and aeronomy requirements and recommendations are made for the best present-day maps to adopt. In particular, it is shown that current CCIR maps do not meet all requirements and should not necessarily be regarded as standards against which other mappings should be compared.

Development of the palaeogeography of Pangaea from Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

Old and new, well and poorly known lithofacies data of Moscovian and Artinskian age in the area limited by the Arctic Sea and central Africa, the Atlantic Ocean and the Ural Mountains have been plotted on present-day maps. The facies-mapped and related environments allow the recognition of a series of different palaeogeographic/palaeotectonic units including the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian deep sea to Palaeo-Tethyan ocean, west Siberia–Kazakhstan continent and Uralian–Kazakhstan–Tienshan arc, Uralian foredeep up to the closing arms of the Uralian ocean, Precaspian basin, Russian platform, Donets rift basin, Caucasian–Moesian–Dobrogean–Polish–Oslo basinal belt, syn-tectonic Hercynian foreland basin, intramontane post-Hercynian basins, Iran–Anatolian–Hellenic–Dinaric–Carnic basin branching into the Hungarian seaway, Apennine basin branching into the Cantabrian and South Portuguese basins, Oman–Iraq–Levantine–Sicily deep basin and inferred oceanic sea-way, south Peri-Tethyan platform basins, east Arabian cratonic basin, and north African intracratonic basins. The subsidence/sedimentation trends of these units were correlated and compared through lithostratigraphic logs, bathymetric curves and uncorrected cumulative stratigraphic curves. The sets of original and processed data were used to test two different palaeodynamic models, a Pangaea A model, static from Late Carboniferous to Triassic, and a mobile Pangaea B model with different dextral displacements between Laurussia and Gondwanaland in the same time interval. The best fit for our data requires a strike-slip offset of about 800 km from Moscovian to Artinskian time. This model implies a first quasi-Pangaea or Pangaea B assembly at the Carboniferous/Permian transition, an ephemeral Pangaea B break-up driven by an Early Permian oblique rift across the Mediterranean to Caribbean areas, and a final Pangaea A assembly in the Mid-to-Late Permian. The two palinspastic maps describing the model have been cross-checked by comparison with an independent set of biogeographic features of Late Carboniferous and Early Permian. Overall floral, reptile, and marine benthic organism distribution is consistent with the Early Permian trans-Pangaea seaway inferred from facies and palaeodynamic analyses.

Structural evolution of the western margin of the Nanga Parbat massif, Pakistan Himalaya: insights from the Raikhot-Liachar area

Abstract There are several competing interpretations of the structure of the margins of the Nanga Parbat massif: that the massif is bounded by the original suture between the Indian continent and the Kohistan-Ladakh island arc—the Main Mantle Thrust; that the massif is entirely bounded by neotectonic faults; that it is bounded by a combination of early and late faults and shear zones. If the marginal structures of the massif are to be related to local and regional geo-tectonic evolution then their correct characterization is critical. The Raikhot Bridge area on the western margin of the massif is useful in this regard, as it provides accessible and near-continuous outcrops. This contact, sometimes called the Raikhot Fault, is composite. Sheared metagabbros of the Kohistan arc are juxtaposed tectonically against metasediments and orthogneisses of the Nanga Parbat massif along an early ductile shear contact, developed under amphibolite facies conditions. In this regard it may be a preserved segment of the Main Mantle Thrust. However, this ductile shear zone has been strongly modified, flattened and rotated, and is cut by younger shears and faults. The original kinematics of the shear zone have been largely overprinted by these subsequent deformations. The younger structures include NE-SW striking, dextral strike-slip faults and a major top-to-NW thrust and shear zone. A sequence of metamorphism, deformation and igneous emplacement may be used to study the history of structural evolution within the massif. The use of a single name (e.g. Raikhot Fault) for the present-day map contact between the Nanga Parbat massif and neighbouring Kohistan is misleading. The early contact (termed here the Phuparash Shear Zone, possibly the northeastern continuity of the Main Mantle Thrust) is modified by the Buldar Fault Zone (dextral strike-slip) and the Liachar Thrust Zone (top-to NW carriage of the Nanga Parbat massif across the Phuparash Shear Zone and onto Kohistan). The activity of the Buldar Fault and Liachar Thrust Zone continued during exhumation of the massif, through amphibolite facies to the Earth’s surface. The interaction between these structures is at present unknown. However, establishing these and similar interactions within the Nanga Parbat area remain central to establishing the role of regional NE-SW dextral transpression in the modern structure of the massif.

Structural analysis of the Subbriançonnais and Valais units in the area of Moûtiers (Savoy, Western Alps): paleogeographic and tectonic consequences

Valais and Subbrianconnais units of the Western Alps of Savoie underwent a common structural evolution, postdating peak pressure conditions associated with high-pressure metamorphism of internal parts of the Valais units. The first two phases, due to roughly north/south-directed shortening, are interpreted to be related to a NNE/SSW-striking corridor of sinistral transpression between the internal Western Alps and the European foreland. Both phases led to nappe formation, isoclinal folding and north–south elongation. Only the third phase of deformation is related to WNW-directed orogen-perpendicular shortening, thus far regarded as the predominant thrusting direction in the Western Alps. Late (post 5 Ma) normal faulting, evidenced by fission-track dating, reactivated the Houiller Front in the north and the Penninic Front in the south. Kinematics of movement, observed along the present-day Houiller Front and Penninic Front, change from north to south. In the north the Houiller Front indicates post-D3 normal faulting while the Penninic Front preserved WNW-directed thrusting (D3). In the south the Houiller Front preserves syn-D2 north-directed thrusting, whereas the Penninic Front is partly reactivated by post-D3 normal faulting. Our observations clearly favor tectonic reasons for the disappearance of the Valais units south of Moutiers in present-day map view.

The Future of Canberra

town planning history of the Australian Federal Capital is one of the most unusual of all among the new towns of the twentieth century. It is not that its growth has been no more rapid than the growth of Washington i^o years ago, when it might have been expected to be at least three times as fast. It is rather that a plan won in competition in 191 1 is still, with some amendments, the official plan of Canberra, and is still shown on present-day maps and guide books almost as if it had been carried out. For over 40 years this plan has been suspended. Criticism has rumbled over it like thunder all that time, from Patrick Abercrombie's report in this Review (Volume III, 191 2) up to the Senate Committee under Senator McCallum in i9££. Soon after the Senate Committee had reported, the decision was taken to move a further contingent of defence personnel into the Capital. It was thought that before the necessary housing and offices were put in hand Griffin's original town plan should be reviewed. It was at this juncture that the Minister for the Interior, the Hon. Allen Fairhall, asked me to visit Canberra again and carry out this review on the spot. This I did in June 19^7. All the evidence was made available including, of course, the McCallum Report; and I also had the advantage of the Prime Minister's views during Mr. Menzies' visit to England later in the year. In January 19^8 I submitted my Observations on the Future Development of Canberra. They were subsequently published for the Government by the Commonwealth Government Printer (as F. 2089/^8) and tabled in Parliament. With the Minister's permission the text is reproduced here, with only minor omissions. A postscript, on the subsequent history of this report is added at the end of this article.