An atlas of Morocco

Summary

This paper reports on recent advances in the scientific mapping of Morocco and presents provisional results of the 1954 Algerian population census. Regarding Morocco, the author describes the rapid progress in cartography, including revisions of reconnaissance maps and aerial photographic coverage, alongside expanding research in geology, geophysics, geomorphology, oceanography, hydrology, biogeography, and human geography. In 1951, a Comité de l’Atlas du Maroc was established to produce a comprehensive national atlas modelled on the Atlas de France, with maps at 1:2,000,000 or 1:1,000,000 accompanied by explanatory booklets. The first thematic map sheets were published in 1955, covering livestock and railways. The sheep and goat map, based on 1941–1948 averages, shows concentration in humid Atlantic regions with goats dominant in dry woodlands. The multispecies map of cattle, pigs, camels, and equids reveals cattle and pigs predominating along the northern coast and western plains, camels in lowland Doukkala, and horses absent from the arid south. Railway maps document infrastructure types, average speeds, passenger and freight traffic, with cartons on mineral and agricultural commodities. The author notes the geographical—rather than technical—orientation, while suggesting additions such as pasture and transhumance maps. The atlas is deemed promising, with future editions planned for forests, diseases, precipitation, mineral deposits, vertebrate palaeontology, and European colonisation. The second part provides provisional data from the Algerian census of 31 October 1954: the total present population was 9,370,000, an increase from 8,681,785 in 1948. The European population numbered 1,052,400, and the Jewish population, counted with non-Muslims since 1872, was estimated at 130,000.