Review: National atlas of Romania

Summary

This is a review of the National Atlas of Romania. Compiled by the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences (attached to the Faculty of Geography and Geology of Bucharest in 1975), the atlas follows the recommendations of the specialized commission of the International Geographical Union. It comprises 13 chapters and 76 plates, with 20 currently in print and the first eight released in autumn 1975. The edition is of high quality, presented in a luxurious binding with the official seal of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The chapter structure is carefully designed: the first six chapters cover physical geography (geology, relief, climate, waters, soils, vegetation, fauna, and geoecology), while the remaining seven address history, toponymy, ethnography, population, settlement, industry, agriculture, communication routes, transport, economic flows, and tourism. The published plates are of remarkable quality, produced by teams from the Institute and universities. Each plate features maps on the front and legends, graphs, cross-sections, statistics, and commentaries on the back, with Romanian texts fully translated into French, English, and Russian. The atlas offers new content, with particular anticipation for plates on toponymy, population migration, nationalities, traffic types, industry, and land reclamation. Upon completion, it will succeed the geographical atlas compiled between 1958 and 1965 under Professor V. Tufescu, which had not been updated.