Description of the geographic map

Geographic atlas - a systematic collection of geographic maps, made according to the general program as a holistic work. The Atlas is not just a set of different geographical maps, not their mechanical combination in the form of a book or album; it includes a system of maps, organically linked together and complementing each other, a system due to the purpose of the atlas and the features of its use.

Geographic atlases are usually compiled for planet Earth. There are also atlases for other planets of the solar system and their satellites.

Usually an atlas is a book, but some modern atlases are presented in electronic form. To better present information about the planet Earth or its regions, the atlas often includes not only a physical map that reflects the relief, but also a political, climatic, religious map (the spread of religions in various regions of the world), a map of time zones, various types of social maps (population density, average income, fertility, mortality), climate and economic (development of various industries) maps.

Often maps of the atlas are enclosed in a common binding, but this is not an organic sign of the atlas. For the convenience of using individual maps, some atlases are available collapsible - their sheets are enclosed in a common folder with valves or a box-case. Sometimes atlas maps are published and published gradually, in separate editions.

There are various atlases in terms of territorial scope, subject, purpose and volume. Their classification is generally built according to the classification of geographical maps.

According to the territory displayed on the maps of the atlas, there are:

• •    atlases of the world (or world atlases) covering the entire globe (for example, the Great Soviet Atlas of the world);

• •    atlases of individual continents or their large parts (for example, the Atlas of the Antarctic);

• •    atlases of individual states (Ukraine, Russia, USA, France);

• •    regional atlases - parts of states, individual regions, provinces and regions (for example, Atlas of Crimea, Atlas of the Leningrad region);

• •    atlases of cities (for example, Atlas of Kiev, Atlas of Moscow).

A similar unit is used for atlases of water areas - oceans and their large parts, seas, straits, large lakes, etc.

Atlases are distinguished by subject:

• •    general geographic, consisting mainly of general geographic maps (for example, the Soviet Atlas of the World, 1967); often these atlases are replenished with a small number of thematic maps, which generally does not change the type of atlas; for small countries they become topographic atlases;

• •    physical and geographical, reflecting natural phenomena: narrow industry, containing the same type of map (;

• •    complex industry maps containing various but complementary maps of a natural phenomenon;

• •    complex, showing a number of interconnected natural phenomena or giving a diverse characterization of nature;

• •    socio-economic with a unit similar to that indicated for physical and geographical atlases (for example, narrow industry - Atlas of highways of the USSR, complex industry - Atlas of agriculture of the USSR, complex - Atlas of development of economy and culture of the USSR);

• •    comprehensive comprehensive, including maps of physical, economic and political geography and giving a multilateral characteristic of the territory being mapped (for example, national atlases of different countries: Ukraine (2008), Russia (2004-2008), Belarus).

The term “thematic atlases” is often used, referring to industry-specific natural and socio-economic atlases. A two-stage combination of territorial and thematic classifications forms a grouping of atlases by content.

Atlases are also classified according to their intended purpose for a certain circle of consumers - educational, local history, tourism, travel, propaganda, etc. Another aspect of this classification is the division of atlases into scientific and reference atlases, containing possibly a complete description of the phenomena being mapped, and popular, designed for the general reader. Finally, they distinguish atlases by format: large or desktop, medium, small, and among the latter also pocket ones.

The first atlases did not bear such a name until the atlas of 1595 from Gerard Mercator. The first book that can be called an atlas is the atlas, which was compiled by Claudius Ptolemy, a geographer from Alexandria, around 150 AD. The first edition was published in Bologna in 1477 and contained 27 maps. Beginning in 1544, many maps began to be published, especially in large shopping centers such as Rome and Venice. Each publisher of cards issued them in accordance with their ideas and needs, so the cards of that time were very different from each other, including in size. It took time to bring them into line with each other. Although the term “atlas” was not yet used in 1544, these maps are called “IATO Atlas” (Italian, Assembled to Order - Italian map collection) or “Lafreri atlases” by the name of the main map publisher of those times.

Abraham Ortelius published his atlas on May 20, 1570. The main feature of this atlas is that it is most similar to the modern one, unlike its predecessors. The spectacle of the globe (Theatrum Orbis Terrarum) contained 53 map pages, reflecting various countries of the world. This was the first book containing the best cards of a uniform size, which was very important for shopping trips.

However, the term “atlas” appeared a little later and came into use with the atlas of Gerard Mercator, which was called “Atlas, Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes De Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura”. At the end of the 19th -beginning of the 20th centuries, the appearance of the term “Atlas” was explained on the pages of the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary as follows: “on the cover of such a collection the titan Atlas was usually depicted holding a globe on its shoulders. Subsequently, this name was also transferred to collections of images of other genera.”