Atlas of Canada

Summary

This text presents the 1957 Atlas of Canada, published by the Geographical Branch of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys. Authorized by the Cabinet in 1948, the atlas was intended to map Canada's physical background and economic development at mid-century. Its 110 loose-leaf sheets, based on scales that are multiples of 1:10,000,000, cover historical, physical, human, economic, social and political geography: exploration routes and the history of mapping, relief, geology, climate, soils, vegetation, population, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transport, education, health and urban growth. The foreword notes that since the 1915 edition the economy had expanded, the population doubled and Newfoundland had joined Confederation, making the earlier atlases obsolete; Minister Paul Comtois describes the work as both a reference and a means of furthering understanding of Canada at home and abroad.