Report: National Atlas of Senegal

Summary

This review critically examines the *Atlas National du Sénégal*, a pedagogical dossier coordinated by Régine Van Chi-Bonnardel and published by the Institut Géographique National (France) for the Republic of Senegal. The purpose is to assess the atlas as both a cartographic product and an educational tool. The analysis covers its graphic design, thematic scope, and accompanying explanatory notices, focusing on its dual ambition of serving teaching and research. The review finds that the atlas succeeds in synthesizing diverse geographical and historical data into clear, legible maps, supported by well‑structured notices that fill data gaps and provide bibliographies. Nevertheless, several shortcomings are identified: the omission of numerical scales on plates, occasionally excessive use of colour, outdated population statistics (based on the 1971 census), insufficient treatment of rural livelihoods—agriculture, livestock, and fishing—which sustain 80% of Senegal’s population, and a lack of cross‑thematic spatial syntheses. More fundamentally, the review points to an ambiguity between map and text: the extensive notices tend to overshadow the maps, reducing them to illustrations rather than primary carriers of progressively refined information. This tension reflects a deeper ambivalence between presenting solid pedagogical knowledge and showcasing recent research. The author concludes that the controversy sparked by a single notice demonstrates how tenuous the perception of cartographic facts remains, even among academics. The atlas’s ultimate value depends on clearly defining its intended audience and whether it aims to be a teaching resource or a synthesis of cutting‑edge research.