Besprechungen: Suomen Kartasto

Summary

This review discusses the 1960 edition of the Atlas of Finland (Suomen Kartasto / Atlas of Finland / Atlas över Finland), edited by Professor Leo Aario under the auspices of the Geographical Society of Finland and the Department of Geography at the University of Helsinki, and published on the occasion of the 19th International Geographical Congress in Stockholm. Compared to the 1925 edition, the new atlas retains 39 plates but increases the number of individual maps from 299 to 406, covering topics such as physical geography, population, agriculture, forestry, industry, trade, transport, education, health, history, and geographical regions. All maps include legends in Finnish, English, and Swedish, with corresponding text volumes. The reviewer praises the atlas's overall quality but strongly criticizes map 7 on plate 38 (Geographical Regions), a synthetic map that he finds methodologically subjective and overly generalized, and factually misleading in its depiction of industrial distribution and hydropower resources. He also notes the omission of relevant studies by scholars such as R. Ajo, J. Hustich, and H. Smeds, and recommends that this map be redrawn at a larger scale with more rigorous methods in future editions. Despite these flaws, the atlas remains an outstanding national scientific work.