New edition of the "Atlas of Finland"

Summary

This article reviews the fourth edition of the *Atlas of Finland*, published in Helsinki in 1960. Organized by the Geographical Society of Finland, initiated by Juho Granö, and completed under the leadership of Väinö Auer after his death, with Leo Aario as chief editor, the atlas was compiled by experts in geology, geomorphology, forestry, and economic geography, drawing extensively on literature and field survey results from the Department of Geography at the University of Helsinki. The atlas comprises 39 pages and 415 maps, primarily at scales of 1:9,000,000 and 1:6,000,000, published in Finnish and English, with many map annotations also provided in Swedish. The content emphasizes socio-economic maps (28 pages), with 11 pages of physical maps, covering in sequence relief, geology, Quaternary deposits, climate (34 maps), hydrology, water resources, biogeography (51 maps), forests, mires, and zoogeography. There are over 40 maps of population and settlements, as well as thematic maps on agriculture, industry, transportation, tourism, foreign trade and ports, cooperatives, finance, education, health, and elections. The foreign trade maps reveal a significant growth in Finnish-Soviet trade: in the 1930s, the Soviet share did not exceed 2.4%, but by 1955 it had reached 16%, now ranking second in Finland's foreign trade. The atlas places great emphasis on spatial and temporal dynamics, employs a variety of cartographic methods, and includes numerous original maps. Compared with the third edition, comprehensive maps have notably increased, particularly in physical geography and economic geography regionalization maps. Its shortcomings include a lack of comprehensive geomorphological, soil, geobotanical, zoogeographical, and general economic maps; some statistical maps are outdated and rely heavily on choropleth mapping methods. Overall, the atlas is highly regarded, praised for its extensive content and high level of cartographic generalization, representing a significant advancement in national atlas compilation. It received high acclaim at the cartographic exhibition of the 19th International Geographical Congress in Stockholm in 1960.