Cartographical survey: National Atlas of Ghana. First Folio

The review examines the 16-map first folio of the National Atlas of Ghana, directed by E. A. Boateng under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Ghana National Atlas Project, with drawing and printing credited to the Survey of Ghana. The reviewer found no background information or explanatory notes; the alphanumeric labels suggest a planned atlas organized into thematic sections. The reviewer credits the project’s initiators for undertaking a complex task less than thirteen years after Ghana adopted its first Republican constitution. The folio covers agriculture, demography, transport, education and banking. Fifteen map pages use a scale of 1:1,500,000, facilitating comparison, but data dating from 1960 to 1970 require caution. The reasonably clear, 45 × 60 cm maps use pie graphs, proportional circles, divided and compound bar graphs, dot maps, choropleths, flow lines and point symbols. The reviewer criticizes the sometimes garish solid colours, inconsistent colour intensities and alternating black and grey lettering and borders. Type choices are generally judged sensible, but symbols obscure some lettering; greater consistency would improve appearance and legibility.