Book reviews: Atlas of the tropical Netherlands

Summary

This review examines the 1938 Atlas of Tropical Netherlands, produced jointly by the Royal Netherlands Geographical Society and the topographical service of the Netherlands East Indies. Its 31 sheets contain over 70 maps. The reviewer describes its topographical and thematic coverage, highlighting the distinction between surveyed and conjectural contours, elevation colouring, and relief shading. Thematic maps cover volcanoes, earthquakes, vegetation, languages, education, geology, and economic activities, including export comparisons for 1929 and 1934. The Netherlands West Indies also receive coverage, though with less complete material. The reviewer praises the atlas’s cartographic quality, scientific reference value, and accessibility, supported by multilingual explanations and an extensive place-name index.