France法国

This review discusses the first four instalments (16 sheets) of the Atlas de France, a national atlas initiated in 1933 by the Comité National de Géographie. The atlas covers physical geography, biogeography, economic geography, and human/political geography in a planned 80 sheets. The reviewer praises the effective representation of relief, climate, mineral and industrial data, but critically examines the population-density maps, which use a cartogram-like method by communes rather than isopleths. He notes that such a statistical approach may be less accurate than geographic generalization, citing earlier French and British examples. Overall, the atlas is regarded as a valuable contribution to national cartography.

E. de Martonne

The Atlas of France, first proposed in 1871, was realized by the French National Committee of Geography on the occasion of the International Geographical Congress in Paris, with essential financial support. The plan comprises 80 plates, roughly one-third each for physical, economic, and human geography, to be issued over five years (16 plates annually). Several sample sheets are presented: a 1:250,000 relief map with carefully designed hypsometric tints; a population-density map based on communes using a red-blue scale; a precipitation map for all France at 1:2,500,000 combining thousands of stations and vegetation-based interpretation; and a temperature sheet at 1:5,000,000 showing January and July temperatures, frost-free days, oak leafing, and wheat harvest dates. Despite the meticulous preparation of all original plates, the atlas is expected to be completed on schedule.

This article reviews the first sixteen plates of the "Atlas of France" published by the French National Geographic Committee in 1933–34, covering topography, climate, mineral resources, industry, telecommunications, and population. The author argues that the contour interval chosen for the topographic maps is inappropriate, failing to adequately represent the lowland relief of plains. The climate maps are based on observations by Angot and others. The industrial maps show that metallurgy is concentrated in the eastern region. The population density maps, drawn at the commune level, are more precise than previous ones, revealing the continuous distribution of population along river valleys. In conclusion, despite certain shortcomings, the atlas retains geographical value and offers insightful contributions.

Em. de Martonne

The French Atlas was proposed in 1922 and officially published in 1933, compiled by 49 collaborators, with all maps being original. It includes five national maps at scales from 1:1,000,000 to 1:1,250,000, covering topography, population density, landforms, vegetation, and regional geography. The most distinctive maps include those on actual temperatures, precipitation variability, river hydrology, marine hydrology, agriculture, forests, industry, mineral resources, fisheries, transportation, tourism, finance, foreign trade, and political opinions. As of the time of writing,

André Libault

This paper presents new plates of the Atlas de France, published by the National Committee of Geography. The first edition, initiated in 1931 and completed shortly after the Liberation, comprised 54 plates and quickly went out of print. In preparing the second edition, the committee initially assumed that only human geography plates required updating. However, consultation with specialists revealed that although geographical facts had not changed, the manner of interpreting and representing them had been profoundly transformed. The author emphasizes the crucial role of cartographic representation in grasping the evolution of human phenomena, as its inexorable precision measures the true scale of change that daily experience tends to underestimate. The article illustrates the needs for revision or complete redesign through several examples: the geological map required the addition of petrographic indicators through additive graphic synthesis to overcome the misleading uniformity of chorochromatic coloring; the population structure map demonstrates how statistical methods (cumulative frequency curves, median construction, inflection points) can determine rational class intervals that reveal coherent geographical regions; distribution maps adopt the dot method, with a statistically determined unit value of 200 inhabitants for population and transparent spheres for cities; the agricultural land distribution map employs symbols differentiated by color and shape, machine-drawn for efficiency. Finally, an entirely new energy map assembles all French energy sources and their transport infrastructure, distinguishing genuine energy creation from mere transformation. These examples demonstrate the considerable evolution of cartographic expression, reflecting both France's transformation during a troubled period and the international progress of cartographic technique.

Georges Chabot

This article reports the presentation of the second edition of the Atlas de France to the Minister of National Education in March. The first edition (1931-1946) had won worldwide acclaim; however, France had changed and cartographic techniques had improved, so from 1946 onward a new edition was prepared, recently honoured by the Commission on National Atlases of the International Geographical Union. The atlas is presented as a collective enterprise, initiated by Robert Perret, with Emmanuel de Martonne and Albert Demangeon directing physical and human geography, and André Libault of the French Cartographic Society perfecting the cartographic techniques. Severe postwar financial obstacles were overcome thanks to Jean Majorelle and final CNRS support. The article emphasises that an atlas is necessarily a continuing creation.

О. А. Евтеев; А. Е. Слука

This paper reviews the second edition of the National Atlas of France, published in separate sheets from 1951 to 1958 under the direction of André Libault. It assesses the atlas as a major achievement in French geography and cartography. The atlas contains over 400 maps, cartograms, plans, and graphs on 80 sheets at scales mostly from 1:1,000,000 to 1:2,500,000. The content is organized into sections on physical geography (geology, geomorphology, climate, hydrology, biogeography), economic geography (agriculture, industry, transport, trade), human geography (population, settlement), and administrative divisions. The review highlights strong points: the detailed geomorphological and vegetation maps, the energy map, the industrial construction map, and especially the population distribution map, which replaces choropleth with proportional symbols and dot methods, thereby conveying real spatial patterns. It also identifies shortcomings: lack of synthetic complex maps and regionalization schemes, uneven detail and cartographic quality, overuse of statistical mapping techniques, absence of social and cultural characteristics, insufficient regional maps for major industrial areas, illogical ordering of sections, and underuse of title and reverse pages for supplementary information. Overall, the second edition is regarded as a substantial contribution to national atlas development, offering valuable experience for both cartographers and all those with a deep interest in France.

Ena L. Yonge

This article is a comprehensive review of regional atlases, written by Ena L. Yonge. The author begins by noting that, given the ever-increasing flood of atlases from around the world, individual reviews of each publication are impossible; therefore, a summary survey is adopted. She also stresses that no single reviewer can be sufficiently expert in all aspects of geography, cartography, and linguistics to render sound critical judgments. The roughly one hundred regional atlases discussed are grouped primarily by continent or large region and then arranged alphabetically by country. In the European section, the author evaluates national and thematic atlases from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, and other countries, covering topics such as road transport, historical geography, climate, population, economy, and land use. She comments in detail on cartographic quality, scales, printing techniques, and practical utility. For example, the Austrian national atlas, directed by Hans Bobek and Erik Arnberger under the Commission for Land Planning of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, was published in five annual parts and demonstrates excellent cartography and printing. The Atlas de Belgique and the Atlas du Survey National supplement each other with plates on hydrogeology, phytogeography, agriculture, basic industries, waterways, and railways. The Climatic Atlas of Czechoslovakia is praised for its beautiful large-scale maps of temperature and precipitation. The article then turns to North America, focusing on state atlases in the United States, including Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia. These atlases cover agriculture, forestry, economic resources, historical geography, and population, often compiled by universities or state agencies for educational and planning purposes. In the South American section, the author highlights notable publications such as the Atlas do Brasil, the Atlas de economía colombiana, and Venezuelan climatic and forest atlases. Throughout the review, the author acknowledges the scholarly value and cartographic achievements of many works while also pointing out occasional problems such as overly large formats or inappropriate scales. Overall, the article provides a broad and informative reference guide to regional atlases for scholars in geography, cartography, and related fields.

This review introduces the Atlas de France, edited by geographer Emm. d'Martonne, compiled from 1933 to 1946 and revised in 1953–1959. Containing 80 plates, the atlas presents large-scale sectional maps covering relief, geology, climate, vegetation, agriculture, population, and other themes. Employing hypsometric tints and dot methods, it features rich content and won high international acclaim upon publication.