Referate: Atlas von Israel

Summary

This review discusses the first two fascicles of the Atlas of Israel (Tel Aviv, 1957), published by the Department of Surveys of the Israel Ministry of Labour in collaboration with the Bialik Institute and the Jewish Agency, under the editorship of Prof. D. H. K. Amiran (Hebrew University) and colleagues. The atlas, issued in Hebrew with an English table of contents, is planned to comprise about 100 sheets released in annual fascicles. The first two fascicles include sheets on cartography (notably a reproduction of the Madaba Map of 505 AD), geomorphology, history, population, agriculture, industry, transport, and climate. The review focuses on the temperature sheet of the climate section, which presents three maps at 1:17.5 million covering the Middle East (mean temperature of the coldest and hottest months, and annual mean) and five maps at 1:1.6 million for Palestine (mean diurnal and annual temperature ranges, January and August means, and annual mean). The maps employ 2°C isolines with up to 14 colour gradations, executed to a high cartographic standard. The reviewer regards the atlas as a highly valuable scholarly work and anticipates further climate sheets on precipitation, pressure, wind, humidity, dew, and evaporation.