Review: Atlas de la Guyane

Summary

This paper reviews the recently published Atlas of French Guiana, the third volume in the series *Atlas des Départements Français d’Outre‑Mer*. Directed by Guy Lasserre, the atlas aims to furnish a geographic instrument attuned to the department’s development plan. The review examines the work’s structure, thematic scope, and cartographic design, assessing both its scientific accomplishments and its weaknesses. The atlas contains 36 colour plates with extensive explanatory texts, produced by more than fifty specialists. Nearly half of the plates are devoted to the natural environment—geology, geomorphology, soils, climate, vegetation—reflecting the difficulties posed by a forest‑dominated, historically inaccessible terrain. Other themes cover human settlement history, population distribution and migration, land use, agriculture, forest and mineral resources, and urban infrastructure. The reviewer highlights the precision with which spatial organization is mapped and considers the atlas the most comprehensive geographical synthesis of French Guiana yet achieved. Comparisons with the earlier insular DOM atlases underscore the territory’s individuality, notably a coastal concentration of population and an almost empty interior. While the overall quality is commended, certain cartographic shortcomings are noted: cluttered rainfall maps, a confusing vegetation colour scheme, and an overloaded housing map that would be more effective as separate thematic sheets. The atlas is recognized as a major scientific undertaking, made possible through cooperation between CEGET and IGN, and its extension to overseas territories is advocated. It stands as an essential reference for both research and development planning.