Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Finance and National Economy & the United States Geological Survey: Geologic map of the Northwestern Rub' Al Khali Quadrangle, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, lithographed map, 102 x 106mm, published Riyadh and Washington DC, 1378 A.H./1959 A.D.

This is one sheet of a series of twenty-one dual dated and bilingual maps which were issued as a joint venture between the government of Saudi Arabia and the United States Geological Survey. This venture was the first to produce a full series of geological and geographical maps of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was instrumental in its establishment as a major global force in the production of natural resources.
The overseer of the project was a veteran geologist, Glen F. Brown, who had already been to the Kingdom in the mid-1940s and had formed a very good relationship with Saudi officials. They asked for his further co-operation in 1950 and the result was the formation of a team consisting of Brown, geologists appointed by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and National Economy as well as geologists from Saudi Aramco.

The survey used the latest techniques available including aerial photography and was conducted from 1950-58. The results were seminal for the mapping of the region and to this day, this survey forms the basis of any modern maps of the Kingdom.
This particular sheet covers part of the Rub' Al Khali, or the Empty Quarter; this is truly the most remote part of the Kingdom, a desert the size of Germany and almost uninhabited. As this map is situated in the Eastern part of the Peninsula, the two geologists responsible for this sheet are Richard A. Bramkamp and Leon Ramirez, both experienced scientists working for Aramco and well versed in the mapping of this extremely challenging environment.

It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of this survey to the development of Saudi Arabia.