Book reviews: Atlas of Switzerland

Summary

This review examines the first eleven plates of the Atlas of Switzerland, planned to comprise 86 double-page plates and over 300 multicolour maps covering the country’s physical geography, history, population, and socioeconomic conditions. The reviewer praises its relief shading, colour design, and thematic symbols, particularly the population-scaled paired semicircles comparing municipal employment structures in 1910 and 1960. Missing place names, however, hinder identification; a transparent overlay of municipal names is suggested. The review also discusses agricultural maps relating arable land to rainfall and topographic maps of the Aletsch Glacier and Hasli Valley, including glaciological information, hydroelectric infrastructure, and explicit indications of the dates of glacier surveys.