Besprechungen: Atlas van Nederland

Summary

This review examines the background, structure, and quality of the Dutch national atlas "Atlas van Nederland," commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Education and published in installments since 1963. The atlas, planned to comprise 109 map sheets at a principal scale of 1:600,000, is organized into 17 major sections following a predominantly geographical framework, covering topography, geology, soil science, climate, hydrology, historical geography, settlement geography, population, and economy. The author notes that the 37 sheets published by 1966 demonstrate exceptionally high cartographic and printing standards, with particular praise for the soil and climate maps in both technical and aesthetic terms. However, certain shortcomings are identified, including over-simplified topographic base maps and inconvenient binding orientation. Overall, the atlas is judged to be of internationally outstanding quality, and the author looks forward to future installments, especially those dealing with economic sectors and spatial planning.