R. Böhme · 1968
This review evaluates the Atlas de Colombia, published in 1967 by the Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi, as a major contribution to the international series of national atlases. Its introductory text provides a concise yet substantial account of Colombia’s location, geography, population, historical development, and economy, supported by statistical data through 1965. The atlas combines general scientific material on astronomy and physical geography with clear explanations of map projections, official topographic mapping, and cartographic symbols. Its historical section reproduces significant early maps, including a map from around 1570, Blaeu’s seventeenth-century work, and the 1826 map based on Alexander von Humboldt’s observations. The principal contemporary section presents a 1966 general map and numerous thematic maps covering geology, climate, hydrography, flora, fauna, population, mining, agriculture, industry, transportation, and geodetic networks. These materials also reveal pronounced regional inequalities in surveying and development between the Andean and Atlantic areas and the Pacific and Amazonian lowlands. Maps of Colombia’s administrative units and capital cities further demonstrate the use of photogrammetric methods, although their quality is uneven. Despite minor weaknesses in some illustrations and urban plans, the reviewer praises the atlas’s thematic breadth, meticulous preparation, visual richness, and excellent printing, recommending it as an authoritative reference for scholars of South America and national cartography.
Bertha K. Becker · 1968
Bertha K. Becker reviews the Atlas de Colombia, published in October 1967 by the Instituto Geográfico Augustin Codazzi with contributions from public and private organizations. Its 203 pages contain about 150 maps, diagrams, and plans, alongside photographs and drawings. Becker credits the substantial compilation and systematization of existing cartographic studies, while noting marked differences in cartographic quality, information, and graphic conventions. A geographical overview and bibliography precede 37 sections covering educational topics, historical cartography, national geography, and territorial units with city plans. Becker particularly praises the number, organization, and information content of the physical-geography maps. She finds the human and economic maps weaker in form and content: apart from maps of population, living standards, and Guhl’s geo-economic regions and centers of attraction, they largely show distributions of products and crops without explaining spatial relationships. She interprets these contrasts as reflecting Colombia’s economic development and the weight of natural conditions in human organization, and sees the atlas as a transition from descriptive, enumerative cartography to dynamic, interpretive cartography.
Dieter Brunnschweiler · 1969
This review evaluates the Atlas de Colombia, published in 1967 by the Instituto Geografico Agustin Codazzi under the editorship of Eduardo Acevedo Latorre. The atlas contains 190 plates covering historical cartography, natural environment, and economic-demographic aspects. Despite its beautiful production and rich content, approximately half of the plates are illustrative rather than thematic maps, and the 1964 census data are not incorporated, making it more suitable for the general public than for research-oriented geographers. The review criticizes specific maps, such as the misleading population density map and poor forest map, and concludes that while the atlas succeeds as a pictorial interpretation for the public, it falls short as a spatial analysis of Colombia's geography.
