Presentation of the atlas of France

Summary

E. de Martonne presents the planning and published sample sheets of the Atlas de France. Following Delaunay's proposal in 1871, the French National Committee of Geography took up the project on the occasion of the Paris International Geographical Congress, securing financial support. The plan called for 80 sheets, divided roughly into thirds for physical, economic and human geography, issued over five years at 16 sheets annually in four installments. The relief and population-density maps each comprise four sheets at 1:250,000: carefully studied elevation and depth colors preserve detail and visual harmony, while commune-level population data use red and blue scales to distinguish densities above and below the average. Gaussen's rainfall map at 1:2,500,000 draws on several thousand stations and vegetation-based interpretation, with insets showing rain and snow days. Bénévent's temperature sheet at 1:5,000,000 depicts January and July temperatures, thawed days, oak leafing and wheat harvest dates. Many human- and economic-geography sheets use smaller-scale maps. De Martonne expects completion on schedule despite the care required to prepare every original sheet.