REPORT OF COMMISSION VII 
GVII-21 
SUMMARY 
NATURAL RESOURCES 
Geology 
The use of aerial photography for geologic analysis and mapping continues 
to be one of the more thriving applications of photographic interpretation. Ac 
tivity in petroleum prospecting from photography continues at a high level 
in many parts of the world. The use in prospecting for other mineral resources 
is also increasing. Also there are a large number of non-commercial programs, 
aimed at producing geological maps and studies from aerial photographs, in the 
various countries covered by this report. See Figure 3. 
MINERAL PROSPECTING 
In the field of prospecting, detailed information for the areas covered and the 
techniques used are frequently held as commercial secrets, and are therefore 
unavailable for a report of this type. However it is well known that most of the 
large oil companies, as well as geologic branches of the various governments, are 
actively using photography for this type of work. The French Petroleum Institute 
is currently engaged in preparing photogeological maps for petroleum prospect 
ing mainly in the Sahara Desert area, and for mining territories in various over 
seas areas. Reports from Pakistan indicate that in the search for oil and other 
minerals a great deal of photogeological prospecting is being carried on by 
foreign firms. Photography is also being used for metallic mineral prospecting in 
Norway and Sweden. 
In the United States, photogeologic prospecting is being continued at an ac 
celerated rate. In the petroleum field, work is being done, not only by photo 
graphic interpretation units on the staffs of oil companies, but by various com 
mercial photogeologic companies and individual consultants. Several oil com 
panies are directing significant amounts of research effort toward the problem 
of improving photogeological prospecting techniques. 
The greatly increased emphasis on uranium prospecting during the reporting 
period provided a considerable challenge to the photogeologic prospector. In the 
United States and Canada, consistent use is being made of aerial photography. In 
the western United States, the Geological Survey made available to prospectors, 
photo maps principally of scales 1:24,000 or 1:48,000. These were used by 
prospectors on the ground, and by photographic interpreters, commercial organ 
izations and photo-interpretation consultants engaged in analyzing aerial pho 
tography to select outcrop areas in which detailed ground reconnaissance might 
be promising. This “pinpointing” of areas for terrestrial prospecting was par 
ticularly valuable in the more rugged areas of the American Rockies and western 
Canada. 
Much of the petroleum and uranium prospecting in both the United States 
and Canada is being accomplished on existing photography of varying scales for 
reasons of economy. If given a preference however, the photogeologic prospector 
is often likely to select vertical photography of approximately 1:20,000, with 
occasional larger scale photography for detailed analysis of specific outcrops. In 
certain instances color photography was taken from the air and used with some 
success in locating likely-looking mineral deposits. 
PHOTOGRAPHY ONE OF THE GEOLOGISTS’ BEST TOOLS 
In British Colonial Territories, aerial photographs continue to be used as an 
additional tool in the hands of geologists on the staffs of Geological Survey De-