Reference

Atlases offer readers different geographical perspectives. They may cover the whole world or focus on a country or region. In terms of content, general atlases present basic geographical features such as terrain, waterways, settlements, transport, and administrative boundaries; thematic atlases focus on fields such as population, agriculture, or transport. Others combine several fields to present a region’s physical environment and socioeconomic character. Many national atlases follow this integrated approach, enabling readers to understand a country from several perspectives. Time is another important dimension: historical atlases depict past geographical conditions and changes over time in territories, populations, settlements, and other features. These dimensions can overlap, and national atlases may include historical maps. Atlases also vary according to their audiences and modes of presentation. School atlases adapt their content and level of detail to pupils’ ages and curricula. Electronic atlases offer prepared maps and may also support layer selection, display adjustments, data combination, and analysis, allowing readers to explore geographical information from different perspectives.

Compiling an atlas involves organising the content of its maps and the relationships between them. Their scales, the periods reflected in their data, and the consistency of classifications and symbols all affect how maps relate to one another and how they can be compared. Ferjan Ormeling discusses atlas concepts and organisation in Atlas Terminology and Atlas Concepts. Churkin’s Atlas Cartography (1974) and Svatkova’s work of the same title (2002) examine atlas classification, design, and compilation in greater detail. For cartographic concepts and terminology, see the German Lexikon der Kartographie und Geomatik.