The Commonwealth of Dominica gained full independence from Britain in 1978, and is now a republic and a member of the British Commonwealth. The island has been mapped by the British Directorate of Overseas Surveys (now Ordnance Survey International (OSI)), with the principal map being the 1:25,000 scale series of three sheets (DOS 351), first issued in 1961 and plotted from air photography flown in 1956 with local information provided by the Crown Surveyor, Dominica. The latest Edition 4 was published in 1978 (reprinted 1988), and printed in process colors. The projection is Transverse Mercator, Clarke 1880 ellipsoid (modified), with BWI grid, and contours at 50 ft intervals.

The 1:50,000 scale map (DOS 451) was first issued in 1963. This was conceived as a tourist map, and incorporated shaded relief. The third edition (1982) was considerably redesigned, with the adoption of a more practical road classification, and the addition of layer tints as well as shading to the 250 ft interval contours. The latest Edition 5 was revised by Ordnance Survey from materials provided by the Lands and Surveys Division (LSD), Roseau and published in 1991.

Soviet military topographic mapping of Dominica is exists at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (1 sheet, complete coverage, published in 1990); 1:500,000 (1 sheet, complete coverage, published in 1986) and 1:200,000 (2 sheets, complete coverage, published in 1966). These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.

Resource mapping was undertaken in Dominica by the Overseas Development Administration of the British Government through its Land Resources Development Center (now Natural Resources Institute (NRI), Chatham). 1:25,000 scale soil mapping was completed in 1972, and in the 1980s a project was completed on crop suitability mapping. The final report, LRDC Project Report 127, was published in 1983 and included six 1:30,000 scale land suitability maps.

Contoured 1:2,500 scale maps (DOS 051) cover most coastal areas in 120 sheets. They are in first or second editions dating from 1971 to 1986. 1:5,000 scale sheets (OSD 151) also cover some coastal areas in 47 sheets published 1986-89, compiled from photography flown by J.A. Story in 1982-85. Eleven 1:10,000 scale sheets (DOS 251) cover the center of the island. These were enlarged from the 1:25,000 scale, and were published during 1987-89.

A 1:5,000 scale full color map of Roseau has an index of public buildings, and the second edition, published 1974, has 50 ft contours printed in green.

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