Reviews: Atlas of Israel

Summary

This review introduces the first three installments of the Atlas of Israel, launched in 1957 through cooperation among Israel’s Department of Surveys, the Bialik Institute, and the Jewish Agency. The projected atlas comprises about 100 sheets covering cartography, physical geography, history, population, agriculture, industry, transport, climate, and related fields. Particular attention is given to the initial climate sheet, which situates Israel within the Middle East through regional temperature maps and presents detailed Palestinian maps of daily and annual temperature ranges, monthly extremes, and annual means. Two-degree isolines and sophisticated color printing ensure high cartographic quality. Although the explanatory text is available only in Hebrew, limiting international accessibility until an English edition appears, the reviewer concludes that the atlas promises to become an important and valuable geographical reference work.