An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today, many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geography, geographical features and border, political boundaries, many atlases often feature geopolitical, social, religious, and economic statistics. They also have information about the map and places in it.

Etymology

The use of the word "atlas" in a geographical context dates from 1595 when the German-Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator published ("Atlas or cosmographical meditations upon the creation of the universe and the universe as created"). This title provides Mercator's definition of the word as a description of the creation and form of the whole universe, not simply as a collection of maps. The volume that was published posthumously one year after his death is a wide-ranging text but, as the editions evolved, it became simply a collection of maps and it is in that sense that the word was used from the middle of the 17th century. The neologism coined by Mercator was a mark of his respect for the Titan Atlas (mythology), Atlas, the "King of Mauretania", whom he considered to be the first great geographer.

History

The first work that contained systematically arranged maps of uniform size representing the first modern atlas was prepared by Italian cartographer Pietro Coppo in the early 16th century; however, it was not published at that time, so it is conventionally not considered the first atlas. Rather, that title is awarded to the collection of maps by the Duchy of Brabant, Brabantian cartographer Abraham Ortelius printed in 1570. Atlases published nowadays are quite different from those published in the 16th–19th centuries. Unlike today, most atlases were not bound and ready for the customer to buy, but their possible components were shelved separately. The client could select the contents to their liking, and have the maps coloured/gilded or not. The atlas was then bound. Thus, early printed atlases with the same title page can be different in contents. States began producing national atlases in the 19th century.

Types

A ''travel atlas'' is made for easy use during travel, and often has spiral bindings, so it may be folded flat. National atlases in Europe are typically printed at a scale of 1:250,000 to 1:500,000; city atlases are 1:20,000 to 1:25,000, doubling for the central area (for example, Geographers' A-Z Map Company's A–Z atlas of London is 1:22,000 for Greater London and 1:11,000 for Central London). A travel atlas may also be referred to as a ''road map''. A ''desk atlas'' is made similar to a reference book. It may be in hardback or paperback form. Star atlases depict the celestial sphere in cartographic format, focusing on the major named asterism (astronomy), asterisms. There are atlases of the other planets (and their satellites) in the Solar System. Atlases of anatomy exist, mapping out organs of the human body or other organisms.

Selected atlases

Some cartographically or commercially important atlases are: 17th century and earlier: * 1570 atlas by Abraham Ortelius * (Mercator, Duisburg, in present-day Germany, 1595) * (Joan Blaeu, Netherlands, 1635–1658) * (Blaeu, Netherlands, 1662–1667) * (France, 1658–1676) * (Robert Dudley (explorer), Robert Dudley, England/Italy, 1645–1661) *Piri Reis map (Piri Reis, Ottoman Empire, 1570–1612) * (Ortelius, Netherlands, 1570–1612) *''Klencke Atlas'' (1660; one of the world's largest books) * ''Britannia (atlas)#Ogilby's Britannia, Britannia'' (1675), John Ogilby (1600–1676), first to be printed at a specific scale (1:63,360 or one inch to one mile 18th century * (Amsterdam, 1742) * (London, 1720) *''John Cary, Cary's New and Correct English Atlas'' (London, 1787) 19th century: * (Germany, 1881–1939; in the UK as ''Times Atlas of the World'', 1895) *''Rand McNally, Rand McNally Atlas'' (United States, 1881–present) * (Germany, 1817–1944) *''Times Atlas of the World'' (United Kingdom, 1895–present) 20th century: * (Italy, 1927–1978) *''Atlas Linguisticus'' (Austria, 1934) * (Soviet Union/Russia, 1937–present) *''Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas'' (United Kingdom, 1938–present) * (Spain, 1969/1970) *''The Historical Atlas of China'' (China) *''National Geographic Society, National Geographic Atlas'' of the World (United States, 1963–present) *''Pergamon World Atlas'' (1962/1968) 21st century: *''North American Environmental Atlas''

Notes

References

External links

Sources
On the origin of the term "Atlas"
Online atlases
Wikimedia Commons Atlas of the WorldWorld AtlasÖROK-Atlas Online
Atlas on spatial development in Austria
Geography NetworkMapChart EarthAtlas
free online atlas with interactive maps about topics like demography, economy, health and environment.
National Geographic MapMachine
History of atlases

- a discussion of many significant atlases, with some illustrations. Part of

Historical atlases online
Centennia Historical Atlas
required reading at the US Naval Academy for over a decade.

Perry–Castañeda Library, University of Texas
Ryhiner Collection
Composite atlas with maps, plans and views from the 16th-18th centuries, covering the globe, with about 16,000 images in total.

- fully digitized with descriptions. *[https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/ Historical Atlas in Persuasive Cartography, The PJ Mode Collection], Cornell University Library Other links
Google Earth:
a visual 3D interactive atlas.

Wikimapia
a wikiproject designed to describe the entire world. {{Authority control Atlases,