Atlas of Thailand

Concept, Design and Production of the new "Atlas of Thailand"

U. Freitag · 1980

This paper systematically elaborates the concept, design, and production process of the new "Atlas of Thailand." It first reviews the historical background of national atlases, from Finland's pioneering work in 1899, through the proliferation of national atlases in newly independent states after World War II, to the establishment of the IGU Commission on National Atlases in 1956. The paper then details the Royal Thai Survey Department's (RTSD) journey in compiling the "National Resources Atlas of Thailand" since 1961, through multiple revisions, culminating in the fourth revised edition initiated in 1974. The design principles are highlighted: adopting 1:2,500,000 and 1:4,000,000 as standard scales for principal maps, establishing a unified topographic base using Albers' equivalent conic projection, and pioneering four-color printing. The atlas encompasses over 60 map pages across three sections—natural, human, and economic resources—employing diverse cartographic methods including isarithmic maps, dot distribution maps, and graduated symbols, supplemented by profiles, cross-sections, and diagrams. The paper emphasizes that the atlas integrates multi-source data with extensive field surveys and remote sensing interpretation, making it Thailand's first detailed thematic atlas and a valuable tool for national resource assessment, economic planning, and academic research.