Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Topics Called Atlases
Atlases can be understood as a logically organised collection of maps with a
specific purpose and compiled in the form of a topic, which usually includes tables,
graphs, figures and text. Generally, atlases are likely the first cartographic products
that people use because they are introduced to pupils in early at school. Atlases can
be considered the most widely known cartographic products (Kraak
2001
) and a top
of cartography (Kraak and Ormeling
1996
; Kraak
2001
; Vozenilek
2005
).
The topics published as atlases (mentioning the word
atlas
in the title of the
'
'
topic) can be divided into four groups:
A—an atlas as non-cartographic product (
)
Such atlas as a type of topic (literary work) is introduced and used across all
branches of science. Here, however, defining the term atlas is missing. Only da
Silva Ramos and Cartwright (
2006
) states that the word
non-atlas
'
'
can also be used to
describe a collection of information that covers a field of knowledge, for example,
an Atlas of Anatomy or History. Nevertheless there is no definition of atlas in
medicine (Atlas of Anatomy), in botany (Atlas of Mushrooms) neither in military
industry (Atlas of Firearms). The apposite appellations for the products of this
concept are
'
atlas
'
.
B—an atlas as a collection of maps (
'
primitive atlas
'
)
A large number of map series generated as a representative selection of museum
exhibitions or archival collections are often referred to as atlas. This approach,
which initially complied with the concept of the atlas, is currently unsatisfactory.
Such map series do not form a thematically or regionally organized whole and the
maps are not drawn in a unified map language. The apposite appellation for the
products of this concept is
lexicon
,
encyclopaedia
or
catalogue
'
'
'
'
'
'
the map collection
.
'
'
C—an atlas as a cut up map (
)
The large format maps compiled in large or medium scale, the scope of which is
beyond the capabilities of printing on one map sheet, are printed in the sheet layout
in the page size of the topic. These map sheets arranged in a topic form and
accompanied by registers are referred to as an atlas, although it is still a single
map (e. g. road atlases, atlases of orthophotomaps). The apposite appellation for the
products of this concept is
false atlas
'
'
(e. g. road map, orthophotomap).
D—an atlas as a systematically organised maps compiled in a unified map language
(
a map
or
maps
'
'
'
'
)
Current cartography understands
true atlas
'
'
an atlas as a set of targeted compiled maps
systematically organized according to the thematic content, the spatial extent and
temporal viewpoint and assembled in a unified map language
'
'
(the author
'
s
.
The use of the word atlas to describe a collection of maps was introduced by the
famous cartographer Gerhardus Mercator in the sixteenth century (Thrower
1972
).
Mercator used the term
definition). Only such topics may be called
'
atlases
'
for a topic of maps that it is in use today. The term
atlas as an indication of the literary forms of professional publications has been
atlas
'
'
