present the initial results from a large–scale high angular resolution study of the Taurus molecular clouds using  and . The data cover approximately 100 square degrees on the sky (11.5 in R.A. by 8.5 in decl.) corresponding to a region 28 pc by 21 pc. The reduced maps include 3.2$\times$10$^6$ Nyquist–sampled pixels in each isotopologue, with pixel size 20 corresponding to 0.014 pc. The linear dynamic range (LDR, defined as map size divided by Nyquist–sampled interval) of the maps thus exceeds 1000, which is the largest of any molecular cloud study carried out to date. The good angular resolution and large LDR together allow us to examine in detail the relationship between the relatively fine structures seen, especially in , with the large–scale distribution of the molecular material, the young stars in the region, and the magnetic field.

The region of Taurus studied here has been observed using a variety of other tracers. The Leiden/Dwingeloo 21 cm study [@burton1994] traced the atomic hydrogen in this direction, but with an angular resolution of 35. One investigation [@shuter1987] used the Arecibo radio telescope having an angular resolution of 4, but included only $\sim$ 1300 positions to probe the self–absorption seen in the 