Tanzania
National Atlases
The national atlas tradition in Tanzania emerged in the wake of independence, when the newly sovereign state sought to consolidate spatial knowledge as a tool for development planning. The two editions in this collection, published in 1968 and 1976, both in English, reflect this ambition. The 1968 atlas, despite its foreword claiming support for development planning, was noted by contemporary reviewers as largely replicating its 1957 predecessor in style and substance, suggesting a continuity with colonial cartographic practices rather than a radical break. The 1976 edition, however, marked a shift toward a more self-consciously national project, integrating updated data and a broader thematic scope. Scholars studying atlas mapping in Tanzania have pointed out that these works synthesized the country's spatial knowledge through maps and textual descriptions, serving as both scientific inventories and political statements of unity. Their influence extended beyond their immediate use: they set a template for subsequent regional and national mapping efforts in East Africa, and their production history—documented in case studies—offers a lens into how postcolonial states adapted inherited cartographic infrastructures. Today, as digital mapping transforms atlas publication, these two volumes remain historical benchmarks, illustrating the enduring link between cartography and nation-building in Tanzania.
Versions and Their Documents
Contemporary and Later Comment
- Journal Article1970Cartographical Survey: Atlas of Tanzania
N. Monck
This article reviews the Atlas of Tanzania, published in 1967 by the Surveys and Mapping Division, which was intended to serve as a resource for national development planning, replacing the 1957 Atlas of Tanganyika. Despite innovations such as new maps on potential land use, fisheries, and antiquities, the atlas remains strikingly similar to its predecessor in format and content. It notably lacks a communications map and a transparent population overlay, and fails to adequately address the needs of development planners. The author criticizes the atlas for its traditional conception of content and its expensive, high-quality format, which is impractical for a poor country and hinders timely updates. The article suggests that national atlases should instead include information on regional disparities, temporal changes, interregional flows, and infrastructure conditions. It concludes that this atlas is likely to be the last of its kind, as future efforts will need to be more aligned with practical development needs.
- Conference Paper1996Atlas Mapping in Tanzania: An African Case Study
Mike Shand; Eugene Silayo
The continent of Africa has a long history of atlas production at both regional and national levels. The countries of East Africa are no exception to this, hence the history of atlas production in Tanzania can be mirrored in many other countries across the African continent. The first part of this paper will review the history of atlas publication in Africa and Tanzania, making special reference to the source data and base maps; atlas contents, formats and scales; and the cartographic production methods adopted for atlases of Tanzania. Six separate editions of a "national" atlas of Tanzania have been published to date, one of German East Africa, three of Tanganyika and two for the Republic of Tanzania. In addition there have been numerous general, specialist/thematic and school atlases published by educational establishments and commercial companies for both East Africa and Tanzania. Atlas production can be a time consuming and costly process requiring a large collaborative effort by several organisations and many individuals with scientific and cultural expertise in both physical and human geography and in the field of mapping and topographic science for the map production process. The second part of this paper will discuss the impact of current digital mapping technology on national and commercial atlas production, with a view to (i) the revision or production of a new edition of a national Atlas of Tanzania, (ii) the production of a demographic atlas and (iii) the creation of a small scale cartographic data base. A series of completed sample atlas sheets of Tanzania, created by digital mapping methods and utilising desk top publishing technology, will be cited in this part of the paper. The discussion will concentrate on a comparison of analogue and digital atlas production methods and consider their role in the future of atlas publication in Tanzania and Africa.
- Journal Article2022History and Potential of National and Regional Atlas Issues in East Africa
David N. Siriba; Daniel O. Nyangweso
National atlases provide synthesised spatial knowledge of a particular country in the form of maps and textual descriptions. The three East African Countries gained independence at around the same time and most of their topographic mapping programmes were supported by the Directorate of Overseas Surveys (DOS). Similarly, the first editions of their national atlases were created and published around the same time. However, for various reasons, the national atlases have not been updated for quite some time. The same reasons advanced for the delayed revisions of the topographical are also applicable to the national atlases. The development of web mapping technology, Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and the Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) paradigms have changed how national atlases are prepared and used. SDI and VGI provide a great opportunity for the East African Countries to revive the National Atlas - although the SDI development in East African Countries remains low.
From the Physical Collection
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