In 1963 and early 1964 while on a sabbatical leave from the Geography Department of the University of Maryland I worked in East Africa on the study of indigenous land use and settlement as viewed from the air. Locally rented light aircraft provided the platform.

The areas flown over and photographed include most settled areas of Uganda;  Kenya south of Lake Baringo in the west and Isiolo in the east; much of central, southwest and north east Tanzania.  The mass of photographic information was overwhelming. After several years of frustration with the material I gave up and went on to other matters.

Several years ago stimulated by discussions with Gustaaf Verswijver of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium I recognized the value of the information as a historical record.  A photographic catalog showing rural settlements and crops in field for Uganda was compiled. One for Tanzania is underway.

The Uganda catalog has been scanned and put on CDs. The photographs presented here have been taken from the CDs of the catalog and reduced to 70-100 dots per inch for web use.

Corrections, amplification, and general comments are invited.  Contact Walter Deshler at idandwd@comcast.net . If you would like to exchange links, email your url to our web designer Stephen Desher at deshlers@me.com .