WASHINGTON-Thc tremendous contrasts of the world’s greatest body of water, with its vast stretch es of marine wilderness thousands of miles from any land and its equally great areas dotted with myriad islands, are dramatically illustrated in the National Geo graphic Society's new map. The Pacific Ocean. The Pacific covers about a third of the earth's surface, and the events taking place today on its waters, shores, and islands can well affect the future of mankind. The 29-by-37li-ineh ten-color map was distributed to the Society's more than 2.000.000 member fam ilies with the December issue of the National Geographic Magazine. Members may purchase additional copies by mail Alaska to Australia The map covers an area extend ing from Cape Horn to Siberia, from Alaska to Australia. In addi tion. the most important of the 20.000 islands of the Pacific are shown in detail in 60 inserts. Wake Island, for instance, gal lantly defended by U.S, Marines and civilians against the Japanese in World War II, is dwarfed on the big map by the red star indicating an important airport. An inset, however, depicts the island's pe culiar horseshoe shape, its lagoon, airport, and settlements. In like manner Pitcairn Island is a tiny dot at the extreme east ern end of the Tuamotu Archi pelago on the large map. The in set carries names familiar to read ers of "Mutiny on the Bounty.” such as Point Christian and Bounty Bay. Atomic Ocean The terrible realities of nuclear fission arc a part of the Pacific. Charted are Hiroshima and Naga saki, and on the other side of the ocean the U.S. Western Desert, wartime home of the bomb. Close together in the Marshalls are Bi kini and Kniwctok. final U.S. bomb proving grounds. And within the map area on the Monte Bello Is lands, 50 miles west of Australia, Britain's first atomic weapon was exploded in October. Not only is the Pacific the world's widest ocean. It is the deep est. Between Guam and Yap in 1951 the British survey ship Chal lenger sounded the deepest water known to man. where the bottom is 35.6-10 feet down.

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