Note on French tropical cartography in Africa
- 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
Algeria · Version 1
1924–1935In his survey of French cartography in Africa, F. Joly describes the Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia as a synthesis of physical, demographic and economic information, planned in 1910 and, according to his account, issued in sections from 1925 to 1932. He describes double-page folio plates with coloured maps and explanatory text, supplemented by sketches, profiles, graphs and diagrams. He considers the principal scale of 1:1,500,000 well suited to clear presentation and comparison across themes, and praises the text as full and sound. At the time of writing, however, he regards the atlas as outdated, with even some physical plates retaining only historical value.
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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 He considers earlier atlases useful in some respects but partly outdated, and identifies Morocco as the principal area of postwar progress in atlas publication.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.
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle II: Hypsometry
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle III: Climatology: Temperatures
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle VI: Climatology: Mean Monthly Rainfall
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle IX: Demography
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle XIII: Indigenous Populations
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle I: Geology
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle V: Climatology: Mean Annual Rainfall
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle X: Demographic Maps
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle XIV: Map of Official Colonization
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle VII: Climatology
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle XII: Agricultural Map
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle VIII: Rural Housing of the Indigenous Population
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle XI: Forest Maps
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle IV: Vegetation
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Atlas of Algeria and Tunisia. Fascicle XV: Agricultural Maps
Algeria · 1935
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