Atlas & Book Reviews: Atlas de la Republica de Chile, 2nd ed.

Summary

This review evaluates the newly published national atlas of Chile, a full-color cartographic work presenting the country's physical geography, economy, and population. The atlas is organized into five sections: general historical maps and border delineations; a 1:1,009,800 hypsometric topographic map series with Antarctic territorial claims; national thematic maps covering geology, climate, phytogeography, demography, and economy; an extensive set of eight-page regional thematic atlases for the thirteen administrative regions, all arranged with consistent topics and color schemes; and a gazetteer, bibliography, and index. The reviewer adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, examining content organization, cartographic design, and production quality. The atlas is generally well-produced, with data largely from the mid- to late-1970s and the 1970 census, offering fairly current information. Strengths include attractive colors, a convenient format, and durable sewn binding. Several design and printing flaws are identified: topographic maps use identical typefaces for settlements and physiographic labels, reducing clarity; city administrative rank is indicated by type size but not explained in the legend; yellow circular symbols for manufacturing categories are difficult to discern on a white background; and approximately ten pages suffer from printing misregistration, which blurs photographs and distorts dot distribution maps—most notably a livestock map where red and blue dots misalign to create false purple clusters. Although distracting, these minor defects are too few to deter acquisition. Overall, the atlas is a valuable and competitively priced ($99.09) repository of information on Chile. A practical note advises specifying surface shipment to avoid unexpected air freight charges.