Morocco

This report reviews the second series of cartographic works prepared by the Geography Committee of Morocco for the Atlas of Morocco. Publications issued in 1958 include an explanatory volume on forests, a plate on annual precipitation, and a four-sheet plate on European rural holdings. Based chiefly on 1925–1949 observations, the precipitation materials map annual means, rainy days, dry months, and the pluviometric network. Agricultural maps use survey data to depict the distribution and size of European-owned rural estates as of July 1955, together with cereal, industrial-crop, horticultural, and livestock production. Each plate is supported by specialist documentation and maps at several scales. Planned sections on saline waters, maritime traffic, hydrography, and hydrology indicate the Atlas’s continuing development as a systematic geographical record of Morocco’s environment and rural economy.

This article reviews the first installments of the Atlas du Maroc, published by the Geographical Committee of Morocco. The atlas features a large format (56×47 cm) allowing scales of 1:2 million for full-page maps or 1:4 million for four maps per sheet. The first four plates cover livestock distribution (sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, camels, horses, mules, donkeys), railway infrastructure (track gauge, traction, passenger traffic), and freight transport (overall, mining, agricultural products). The atlas includes explanatory notes on French transliteration of Arabic and Berber names, along with descriptive booklets. The author commends the ambitious project and wishes its successful completion.

This is a review of the Atlas du Maroc, published in installments by the Comité de Géographie du Maroc in 1954/55. The atlas aims to provide a systematic representation of all geographical aspects of Morocco, with a planned total of 54 map sheets organized into 11 sections, covering topics such as relief, biogeography, oceanography, human and economic geography. The author highly praises the cartographic quality, the inclusion of statistical diagrams, and the detailed explanatory booklets accompanying each map, considering the atlas an essential reference for regional geographical research on Morocco. However, the author also regrets the exclusion of the Spanish Zone of Morocco (mainly the Rif Mountains) and expresses the hope that the remaining sheets will be published in quick succession to form a complete work.

The Comité de Géographie du Maroc initiated an ambitious cartographic project in French Morocco, aiming to publish a comprehensive atlas systematically covering all geographical disciplines. The atlas began publication in Rabat in 1954/55 under the direction of French geographer M. J. Célérien, with collaboration from geographers, geologists, geophysicists, and botanists. It was planned to include 54 map sheets organized into 11 groups, encompassing neglected or related scientific fields such as biogeography, oceanography, and history. The sections on human geography and economic geography were the most extensive, with 10 sheets each, while geomorphology also received considerable attention. Unfortunately, the Spanish zone of Morocco could not be included due to the lack of preliminary work. Four sheets have been published so far, covering livestock breeding, railways, and freight transport. The maps employ various scales and are accompanied by supplementary booklets of 30–50 pages. The authors hope the atlas will be completed promptly to avoid becoming an unfinished monumental fragment like many similar undertakings.

This article reviews the progress of scientific mapping and research in Morocco, noting that while Algeria and Tunisia had long possessed atlas works, Morocco lacked a comparable tool. To address this, an Atlas Committee for Morocco was established in 1951, modeled on the Atlas of France, planning to publish maps at scales of 1:2,000,000 and 1:1,000,000 in separate sheets, each accompanied by explanatory notes, with the aim of creating a comprehensive geographical reference. The first maps appeared in 1955, covering livestock and railways. The livestock map uses dot symbols to depict animal distribution and proposes a new regional division, while the railway map compiles data on track types, traction, speeds, and passenger and freight traffic. These contributions provide a valuable foundation for Moroccan geographical studies, with potential for further enhancement through additional maps on pastures and pastoral migrations.

This review assesses the first five sheets of the Atlas du Maroc, published under the direction of F. Joly by the Institut scientifique chérifien through the end of 1955. Three sheets address livestock distribution, breeds, markets, veterinary facilities, and administrative organization; two examine railway networks, passenger services, operating speeds, ownership, and freight flows. The maps employ proportional symbols, dot distributions, color coding, and supplementary diagrams at multiple scales. The reviewer praises the atlas’s generally clear and economical cartographic design, particularly the freight-traffic maps, and emphasizes the scholarly value of the accompanying explanatory booklets as geographical and methodological monographs. Some shortcomings are nevertheless identified: livestock-market symbols overlap excessively, certain ancillary maps contain too few place names, lettering quality is uneven, and the broad sheet margins appear wasteful. Although five sheets are insufficient for a definitive evaluation, the project is considered an important contribution because it fills a major cartographic gap between existing atlases of Algeria and Tunisia. Established in 1951, the atlas committee also prepares related studies and documentation, including work on toponymy. With 54 planned titles grouped into eleven sections and more than 100 projected sheets, the atlas promises to become a comprehensive representation of Morocco’s physical and economic geography, provided that the intended annual publication rate can be maintained.

This review examines three geographical works. First, the Atlas du Maroc, published by the Institut Scientifique Chérifien in Rabat, plans to cover 54 topics with 150–200 maps; fifteen sheets have appeared with descriptive handbooks, technically well-produced though some economic maps appear somewhat empty. Second, the Ghana Population Atlas by T. E. Hilton, based on 1931 and 1948 census data, presents population distribution through dot-distribution maps and density choropleths with detailed textual analysis—a significant post-war demographic study from a tropical territory, though the text assumes considerable prior knowledge. Third, E. M. Rodger's union list of large-scale county maps of the British Isles (1596–1850) provides a valuable research aid for early map studies, representing an ongoing compilation effort. Together, these works illustrate advances in national atlas production, thematic cartography, and bibliographic scholarship.

This review assesses the thematic sheets of the Atlas du Maroc published through 1963 by Morocco’s National Committee of Geography. It examines their scales, formats, subject coverage, supplementary maps, and explanatory booklets. The atlas employs scales from 1:1,000,000 to 1:4,000,000, adapting presentation to nationwide overview, detailed mapping, or comparative analysis. The available sheets address precipitation, bioclimatic zones, mineral and saline-water distribution, forests, diseases, European land use, livestock, mining, railways, and market traffic. Multi-sheet maps can be assembled into larger formats, while explanatory texts document sources, cartographic procedures, and scientific foundations. Particularly valuable is the 1955 land-use mapping, which provides a baseline for studying postcolonial change. The reviewer concludes that the atlas is an exemplary national cartographic project whose continuing publication, including forthcoming population maps based on the 1960 census, deserves strong recognition.