A French National Atlas

Summary

This article reviews the first four instalments (16 sheets) of the Atlas de France, published 1933–1934 by the Comité National de Géographie, with a projected total of 80 sheets over five years. The atlas covers physical geography, biogeography, economic geography, and human/political geography, employing six layout patterns with scales ranging from 1:1,250,000 to 1:8,000,000. The author evaluates sheets on relief, temperature, mineral resources, industry, telecommunications, and population density, praising the effective use of contours and altitude tints in the relief maps. Particular attention is given to the population density maps, which use communal administrative units rather than isopleths; the author critically discusses this methodological choice, comparing it with earlier approaches by Levasseur, de Martonne, and the Ordnance Survey's dasymetric mapping. The review concludes that the atlas ranks among leading national atlases and highlights the need for a similar atlas of the United States in an era of national planning.