National atlas of Cuba

Summary

This review evaluates the National Atlas of Cuba, published in Havana in 1970 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Produced jointly by geographical institutes of the Cuban and Soviet academies of sciences, with contributions from scholars in other countries including Czechoslovakia, the atlas exemplifies international scientific cooperation and reflects the methods of the Soviet cartographic school. It contains 141 maps, cartograms, and plans, supplemented by graphs, diagrams, and profiles, and is judged to be technically accomplished and substantively rigorous. Its strongest and most extensive component is the physical-geographical section, comprising 56 geological, geomorphological, geophysical, soil, cyclone, and related maps. This emphasis demonstrates both Cuba’s need for detailed knowledge of its natural environment during early industrialization and the advanced state of relevant research. The economic section presents 44 maps covering agriculture, water management, industry, fisheries, and transportation, mostly using data from 1965–1967. However, the frequent representation of industry through monetary production values may distort geographical patterns. Population receives limited treatment because no comprehensive census had been conducted since 1953, preventing adequate mapping of ethnicity, demographic structure, and natural population change. By contrast, education, culture, health care, sport, and tourism are treated more extensively, highlighting sectors transformed after the revolution. The final historical section traces the cartographic exploration of Cuba and struggles for independence and revolution, ending with the 1953–1959 revolutionary campaign and the 1961 Playa Girón invasion. Despite unnumbered maps, absent source citations, partially outdated economic data, and limited historical-demographic coverage, the atlas is assessed as a representative, informative, and highly successful national cartographic achievement.