We present in catalog form the optical identifications for objects from the first phase of the Wide Angle ROSAT Pointed Survey ( WARPS ) .
WARPS is a serendipitous survey of relatively deep , pointed ROSAT observations for clusters of galaxies .
The X-ray source detection algorithm used by WARPS is Voronoi Tessellation and Percolation ( VTP ) , a technique which is equally sensitive to point sources and extended sources of low surface brightness .
WARPS-I is based on the central regions of 86 ROSAT PSPC fields , covering an area of 16.2 square degrees .
We describe here the X-ray source screening and optical identification process for WARPS-I , which yielded 34 clusters at 0.06 < z < 0.75 .
Twenty-two of these clusters form a complete , statistically well defined sample drawn from 75 of these 86 fields , covering an area of 14.1 square degrees , with a flux limit of F ( 0.5 - 2.0 { ~ { } keV } ) = 6.5 \times 10 ^ { -14 } { ~ { } erg~ { } cm ^ { -2 } ~ { } s ^ { -1 } } .
This sample can be used to study the properties and evolution of the gas , galaxy and dark matter content of clusters , and to constrain cosmological parameters .
We compare in detail the identification process and findings of WARPS to those from other recently published X-ray surveys for clusters , including RDCS , SHARC-Bright , SHARC-south and the CfA 160 deg ^ { 2 } survey .