Jar. Miller · 1960
Jar. Miller reviews Rudolf Ira and Edgar Klettner’s Atlas do Brasil “Globo”, published in Porto Alegre in 1953. This commercial atlas was produced with the cooperation of Brazil’s geographical-statistical institute and the army’s geographical service. It contains 26 full-page maps, including political and physical maps of Brazil and maps of its states, federal district, and territories, together with a 36-page descriptive index compiled by Lourenço Mário Prunes, census information for 1872–1950, and statistical tables. Miller criticizes the allocation of one page to each political unit regardless of size, noting sparse topographic detail especially in São Paulo and Minas Gerais. He also reports the atlas introduction’s warning that some regions remained unmapped or had only outdated maps. He characterizes the maps as general overviews without elevation shading, showing waterways, transport networks, and settlements. He finds the index comparatively rich, with geographical descriptions and location and population data, and explains that municipal population figures cover the entire administrative district.
Ena L. Yonge · 1962
The reviewer welcomes the new Atlas do Brasil from the Division of Geography of the National Council of Geography and describes its three parts: regional maps for the six major regions covering relief, climate, vegetation, population distribution, economic activities and communications; national maps of geomorphology, climate, vegetation, rural and urban population and agriculture; and base maps of each state and territory with drainage in blue. Selected photographs and explanatory text are noted as additions.
J. S. Keates · 1963
J. S. Keates reviews the 1959 Atlas do Brasil as a geographical sketch, relating its limited detail to Brazil’s vast extent, superficially known areas and lack of large-scale topographic coverage. He describes three parts covering regional geography, the country as a whole, and individual states and territories. Regional maps at approximately 1:3 million to 1:8 million cover relief, climate, vegetation, population, economic production and transport. Keates identifies the physiographic diagrams used to portray relief as the atlas’s only novel cartographic method. He criticizes the drawing and reproduction standards but finds most maps simple and legible, judging the volume a courageous attempt at a difficult task. All maps have explanatory text, and the volume is sturdily bound.
