Review: Atlas of Haiti

Summary

This review examines the Atlas d'Haïti (1985), the third comprehensive national atlas published in the Caribbean, following Cuba and Puerto Rico. Compiled by the Centre d'Etude de Géographie Tropicale with French financial support, directed by Christian Girault and involving 26 francophone specialists and Haitian institutions, the atlas is analyzed for its structure, content, and cartographic execution. The atlas comprises thirty chapters following a conventional thematic progression from physical geography and history to population, economy, and sociocultural services. Each chapter pairs a concise textual synthesis with a full-page color map and bibliography. Cartography is of the highest order: maps at a 1:1,000,000 scale are flawlessly designed, with detailed town plans and a remarkably clear Landsat satellite montage. While the maps constitute the core strength, the accompanying black-and-white photographs are criticized for uneven quality and an overemphasis on poverty, resulting in an unbalanced visual narrative. Designed with a loose-leaf binding to permit future chapter insertion, the atlas lacks page numbers and an index limited to chapter headings, somewhat reducing navigability. Overall, despite minor editorial shortcomings, the atlas stands as an important cartographic document due to its superb maps and up-to-date geographic information.