National Atlases

The concept of national atlas is reviewed in light of experience gained since such a specific category of cartographic production was first suggested in 1958 by K. A. Salishchev. On the basis of analysis of the structure and content of 14 atlases, a set of definitions and criteria is drawn up that would qualify an atlas as truly national. Aside from being limited to the territory of a single country, such an atlas should devote roughly 70 to 85 percent of its total space to maps of the physical environment, population and ecomnomy. The atlas content should be on a scholarly level reflecting the state of the art, for use principally as an aid in the evaluation of territory, of the production base and of manpower resources for purposes of economic and social planning. Among the principal map sections, greater weight given to economic maps is justified in highly developed, industrial countries, while more attention to the physical base tends to be given in countries where agriculture is still the basis of the nation's economy. The atlases of Colombia and Kenya devote less than 50 percent of their space to environment, population and economy and therefore would not qualify. Neither, in the author's view, does the atlas of Salvador, which allocates 68 percent of space to agriculture and only 12 percent to the physical base.