Reviews: New Zealand Atlas

The review describes I. Wards's 1976 New Zealand Atlas as the second edition of the Descriptive Atlas of New Zealand, with completely revised text and newly prepared maps except for two retained maps. It highlights maps drawn by the Department of Crown Lands and Survey's Cartographic Branch through multidisciplinary research, expert-written texts, photographs of landforms, flora and fauna, and a binding technique that allows double-page maps to lie flat. The reviewer praises the generally high cartographic standard and balance of maps, text and photographs, while criticizing discontinuous topographic tints, inconsistent hydrographic colours and dark climatic-map colours that impede interpretation or obscure detail. The atlas is recommended for geography teaching and libraries.