Geographical record: Atlas of the Tanganyika Territory

Summary

P. J. Greenway reviews the Atlas of the Tanganyika Territory, produced by the Survey Division, Department of Lands and Mines in 1942, and reports plans for a new edition. H. P. Rowe’s foreword describes an effort to present historical, physiographical, economic, and climatic information simply; limited accurate knowledge and wartime conditions prevented inclusion of some additional subjects. The original looseleaf atlas contained 27 sheets, statistics, a gazetteer, a foreword, and a contents list. Its five sections cover physical geography, biogeography, human geography, industry and commerce, and history, including early maps, representations of the Nile’s sources, Dar es Salaam’s development, and European exploration routes. Wartime security restricted distribution to Tanganyika government departments. Hydrography and provisional malaria sheets were added in 1943, while soil and vegetation maps were in preparation. Printing of the new edition was expected to finish around December 1948, with binding still required and public availability hoped for in 1949. Greenway praises the atlas’s color printing, production, and consolidation of useful information from scattered, sometimes inaccessible publications.