Cartographical Progress: Atlas of Canada

Summary

This review paper examines and evaluates the new National Atlas of Canada, a landmark cartographic work prepared by the Geographical Branch of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys and published in 1957. The purpose is to describe the atlas’s historical background, organizational principles, content scope, and technical execution, while offering a critical assessment of its strengths and limitations. The method is a systematic descriptive analysis, highlighting the atlas’s structure, projection (Lambert Conformal Conic with standard parallels 77°N and 49°N), scales (primarily 1:10M and 1:20M), and the wide array of thematic map sequences. Key findings reveal that the atlas is a pioneering and comprehensive portrayal of Canada at mid‑century, integrating physical background with economic and social patterns. It presents historical maps, bathy‑orographical plates, physiographic regions, glacial geology, climatic contrasts, and extensive demographic, agricultural, industrial, and urban maps up to 1957. Innovative features include removable linen‑hinged sheets, a gazetteer on provincial maps, paired urban land‑use and development maps at 1:100,000, and a closing plate highlighting Canada’s international commitments. The commentary notes minor criticisms: the physiographic regionalization is subjective and lacks individual authorship attribution, and the reliance on Köppen’s classification is viewed with some reservation. Nonetheless, the atlas is judged a magnificent achievement, reflecting devoted cooperative labor and setting a high standard for national atlases worldwide. It successfully demonstrates how physical and human factors interweave to produce the fabric of Canadian life.