Recenzje: Atlas de Cuba; Atlas Censal de el Salvador.

Summary

This review examines three notable geographical reference publications. The first, the Atlas of Cuba (1949) by G. Canat, with collaboration from American cartographer E. Raisz, presents the country’s geography across 64 pages. It includes maps on discovery, colonial history, climate, geology, geomorphology, soils, vegetation, and demography, using point and choropleth methods, accompanied by diagrams, illustrations, and bilingual (Spanish/English) explanatory texts. Economic topics are covered on 12 maps, while a separate landscape map at 1:1,333,000 employs Raisz’s relief shading. The atlas is well-edited for school use and tourism, though some maps lack a scale bar. The second work, the Census Atlas of El Salvador (1955), published by the Ministry of Economy and the General Directorate of Statistics and Censuses, is among the country’s first comprehensive atlases, spanning 110 pages. It comprises three parts: Central American overview maps (geology, hypsometry, climate, vegetation) at 1:6,500,000 with historical text; El Salvador maps at various scales (1:1,000,000 and 1:475,000) covering physical geography and socio-economic distributions based on the 1950 census, enriched with statistics and diagrams; and monographic city plans at 1:50,000. Shortcomings include loose-leaf binding, absence of scale on some maps, and Spanish-only text, yet it remains an unparalleled resource for students and the public. The third publication is J. Verber’s Bibliography of Physical Limnology 1781–1954, a 57-page compilation of roughly 1600 entries arranged alphabetically by author, with an index structured by subject and lake name. It notably covers works on the American Great Lakes and publications of U.S. military and geological agencies. The bibliography’s clarity is enhanced by its graphic design and detailed cross-referencing, making it a valuable tool for researchers.