← Back
Conference Paper

Note on French tropical cartography in Africa

By F. Joly
Publication
United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Africa, 1–12 July 1963, Nairobi, Kenya. Vol. 2: Proceedings of the Conference and Technical Papers
Pages
66–69

Summary

This survey reviews postwar French topographical mapping, thematic cartography, and atlas compilation in North, West, and Central Africa and Madagascar. Joly identifies topographical maps as the basis for thematic mapping and judges that mapping of the natural environment has generally advanced further and on a larger scale than mapping of human geography. He surveys geological, soil, vegetation, population, agricultural, and economic maps, then discusses atlases of Algeria and Tunisia, Morocco, and Cameroun, distinguishing published material from planned additions. He considers earlier atlases useful in some respects but partly outdated, and identifies Morocco as the principal area of postwar progress in atlas publication. For newly independent states, he recommends parallel efforts: gradual production of basic national atlases supported by fieldwork and aerial photography, alongside more rapidly compiled, manageable small-scale atlases drawing on existing documentation.

Comments

Loading...

0/2000