View source for Atlas

{{Short description|Collection of maps}}
{{About|a collection of maps|the Titan in Greek mythology|Atlas (mythology)|other uses|Atlas (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Atlus}}
[[File:Mercator - Atlas - 1595.png|thumb|upright|Frontispiece of the 1595 Atlas of Mercator]]

An '''atlas''' is a collection of [[map]]s; it is typically a bundle of [[world map|maps of Earth]] or of a [[continent]] or region of [[Earth]]. Advances in [[astronomy]] have also resulted in atlases of the [[celestial sphere]] or of other planets.

Atlases have traditionally been bound into [[book]] form, but today, many atlases are in [[multimedia]] formats. In addition to presenting [[geography|geographical]] features and [[border|political boundaries]], many atlases often feature [[geopolitical]], social, [[religious]], and [[economic]] statistics. They also have information about the map and places in it.

==Etymology==
The use of the word "atlas" in a geographical context dates from 1595 when the Flemish geographer [[Gerardus Mercator]] published {{lang|la|Atlas Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura}} ("Atlas or cosmographical meditations upon the creation of the universe and the universe as created"). This title provides Mercator's definition of the word as a description of the creation and form of the whole universe, not simply as a collection of maps. The volume that was published posthumously one year after his death is a wide-ranging text but, as the editions evolved, it became simply a collection of maps and it is in that sense that the word was used from the middle of the 17th century. The neologism coined by Mercator was a mark of his respect for the Titan [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]], the "King of Mauretania", whom he considered to be the first great geographer.<ref>Mercator's own account of the reasons for choosing King Atlas are given in the preface of the 1595 atlas. A translation by David Sullivan is available in a digital version of the atlas published by  [https://web.archive.org/web/20050314051106/http://www.octavo.com/editions/mcrats/ Octavo]. The text is freely available    at the [http://mail.nysoclib.org/Mercator_Atlas/MCRATS.PDF New York Society Library]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310032427/http://mail.nysoclib.org/Mercator_Atlas/MCRATS.PDF|date=March 10, 2016}}, pdf page 104 (corresponding to p. 34 of Sullivan's text).</ref>

==History==
[[File:89v_90r_نزهة_المشتاق_Arabe_2221_BNF.jpg|thumb|The Maghreb (south-up) in [[Muhammad al-Idrisi|Muhammad al-Idrisi's]] ''Nuzhat al-Mushtāq'' ({{Lang|ar|نزهة المشتاق في اختراق الآفاق}}), also known as the {{Lang|la|[[Tabula Rogeriana]]}} (12th century).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Idrīsī |first1=Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Šarīf Abū ʿAbd Allâh al- (1100?-1165?) Auteur du texte |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000547t |title=Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Idrīsī. Nuzhat al-muštāq fī iḫtirāq al-āfāq. |last2=texte |first2=محمد بن محمد الإديسي Auteur du |last3=texte |first3=AL-IDRĪSĪ Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Auteur du |date=1250–1325 |language=EN}}</ref>]]
[[File:Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, by Abraham Ortelius, World, 1572.jpg|thumb|World map {{Lang|la|[[Theatrum Orbis Terrarum]]}} (''Theatre of the Orb of the World'') by [[Abraham Ortelius]], 1570]]
[[File:Nova et Accuratissima Terrarum Orbis Tabula (J.Blaeu, 1664).jpg|thumb|[[Joan Blaeu]]'s [[world map]], originally prepared by [[Joan Blaeu|Blaeu]] for his ''[[Atlas Maior]]'', published in the first book of the ''[[Atlas Van Loon|Atlas van Loon]]'' (1664).]]
[[File:Banduri, Covens et Mortier and Lisle. Imperii Orientalis et Circumjacentium Regionum.1742.jpg|thumb|''Imperii Orientalis et Circumjacentium Regionum'' by [[Guillaume Delisle]] (1742)]]
[[File:Anglia Atlas.jpg|thumb|Map of England and Wales by Christopher Saxton, ''Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales'', 1579]]
The first work that contained systematically arranged maps of uniform size representing the first modern atlas was prepared by Italian cartographer [[Pietro Coppo]] in the early 16th century; however, it was not published at that time, so it is conventionally not considered the first atlas. Rather, that title is awarded to the collection of maps {{Lang|la|[[Theatrum Orbis Terrarum]]}} by the [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabantian]] cartographer [[Abraham Ortelius]] printed in 1570.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlas {{!}} Geography, Cartography, Navigation {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/atlas-maps#ref21651 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Atlases published nowadays are quite different from those published in the 16th–19th centuries. Unlike today, most atlases were not bound and ready for the customer to buy, but their possible components were shelved separately. The client could select the contents to their liking, and have the maps coloured/gilded or not. The atlas was then bound. Thus, early printed atlases with the same title page can be different in contents.<ref>Jan Smits, Todd Fell (2011). Early printed atlases: shaping Plato's 'Forms' into bibliographic descriptions. In: ''Journal of map & geography libraries : advances in geospatial information, collections & archives'', (ISSN 1542-0353), 7(2011)2, p. 184-210.</ref>

States began producing national atlases in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Short |first=John Rennie |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2s2pp1m |title=The Rise and Fall of the National Atlas in the Twentieth Century: Power, State and Territory |date=2022 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-83998-304-7 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv2s2pp1m|jstor=j.ctv2s2pp1m |s2cid=250944397 }}</ref>

==Types==
A ''travel atlas'' is made for easy use during travel, and often has spiral bindings, so it may be folded flat. National atlases in Europe are typically printed at a scale of 1:250,000 to 1:500,000;{{efn|about 4 miles to the inch to about 7{{sfrac|2}} miles/inch}} city atlases are 1:20,000 to 1:25,000,{{efn|about 3 inches/mile to 2{{sfrac|2}} inches/mile}}  doubling for the central area (for example, [[Geographers' A-Z Map Company]]'s A–Z atlas of [[London]] is 1:22,000 for [[Greater London]] and 1:11,000 for [[Central London]]).{{efn|About 4 inches/mile and 8 inches/mile.}}<ref>{{cite book |title=A-Z London |publisher=Geographers' A-Z Map Company |isbn=9780850394900}}</ref>  A travel atlas may also be referred to as a ''road map''.<ref>{{cite dictionary| url= http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/road%20map|title=Road map|dictionary= Merriam Webster|access-date=2012-05-31}}</ref>

A ''desk atlas'' is made similar to a [[reference book]]. It may be in hardback or paperback form.

[[Star atlas]]es depict the [[celestial sphere]] in cartographic format, focusing on the major named [[asterism (astronomy)|asterism]]s. There are atlases of the other planets (and their satellites) in the [[Solar System]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The NASA Atlas of the Solar System|isbn=978-0521561273|author1=Greeley, Ronald|author2=Batson, Raymond}}</ref>

Atlases of [[anatomy]] exist, mapping out organs of the human body or other organisms.<ref>{{cite news |last=Schwartz |first=John |date=2008-04-22 |title=The Body in Depth |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/science/22bass.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2015-05-07 }}</ref>

==Selected atlases==
{{Main|List of atlases}}

Some cartographically or commercially important atlases are:

'''17th century and earlier''':
*{{lang|la|[[Theatrum Orbis Terrarum]]}} 1570 atlas by [[Abraham Ortelius]]
*{{lang|la|[[Gerardus_Mercator#atlas1595|Atlas Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura]]}} (Mercator, Duisburg, in present-day Germany, 1595)
*{{lang|la|[[Atlas Novus]]}} (Joan Blaeu, Netherlands, 1635–1658)
*{{lang|la|[[Atlas Maior]]}} (Blaeu, Netherlands, 1662–1667)
*{{Lang|fr|Cartes générales de toutes les parties du monde}} (France, 1658–1676)
*{{lang|it|[[Dell'Arcano del Mare]]}} ([[Robert Dudley (explorer)|Robert Dudley]], England/Italy, 1645–1661)
*[[Piri Reis map]] ([[Piri Reis]], Ottoman Empire, 1570–1612)
*{{Lang|la|[[Theatrum Orbis Terrarum]]}} (Ortelius, Netherlands, 1570–1612)
*''[[Klencke Atlas]]'' (1660; one of the world's largest books)
* ''[[Britannia (atlas)#Ogilby's Britannia|Britannia]]'' (1675), [[John Ogilby]] (1600–1676), first to be printed at a specific scale (1:63,360 or one inch to one mile

'''18th century'''
*{{Lang|fr|Atlas Nouveau}} (Amsterdam, 1742)
*{{lang|la|[[Britannia Depicta]]}} (London, 1720)
*''[[John Cary|Cary's New and Correct English Atlas]]'' (London, 1787)

'''19th century''':
*{{Lang|de|[[Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas]]}} (Germany, 1881–1939; in the UK as ''[[Times Atlas of the World]]'', 1895)
*''[[Rand McNally|Rand McNally Atlas]]'' (United States, 1881–present)
*{{Lang|de|[[Stielers Handatlas]]}} (Germany, 1817–1944)
*''[[Times Atlas of the World]]'' (United Kingdom, 1895–present)

'''20th century''':
*{{lang|it|[[Atlante Internazionale del Touring Club Italiano]]}} (Italy, 1927–1978)
*''[[Atlas Linguisticus]]'' (Austria, 1934)
*{{Lang|ru-latn|[[Atlas Mira]]}} (Soviet Union/Russia, 1937–present)
*''[[Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas]]'' (United Kingdom, 1938–present)
*{{Lang|es|[[Gran Atlas Aguilar]]}} (Spain, 1969/1970)
*''[[The Historical Atlas of China]]'' (China)
*''[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic Atlas]]'' of the World (United States, 1963–present)
*''[[Pergamon World Atlas]]'' (1962/1968)

'''21st century''':
*''[[North American Environmental Atlas]]''

==See also==
{{Div col|small=yes}}
*''[[Atlas of Our Changing Environment]]''
* {{Annotated link |Bird atlas}}
* {{Annotated link |Cartography}}
* {{Annotated link |Cartopedia}}
* {{Annotated link |Cloud atlas}}
* {{Annotated link |European Atlas of the Seas}}
* {{Annotated link |Fictitious entry}}
* {{Annotated link |Geography}}
* {{Annotated link |Google Maps}}
* {{Annotated link |Manifold}}
* {{Annotated link |NASA World Wind}}
* {{Annotated link |National Atlas of the United States}}
* {{Annotated link |Star atlas}}
* {{Annotated link |TerraServer-USA}}
{{Div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
'''Sources'''
*[http://www.mapforum.com/01/atlas.htm On the origin of the term "Atlas"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726110819/http://www.mapforum.com/01/atlas.htm |date=2020-07-26 }}

'''Online atlases'''
* [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas%20of%20the%20world Wikimedia Commons Atlas of the World]
*[http://www.worldatlas.com/ World Atlas]
*[http://www.oerok-atlas.at/ ÖROK-Atlas Online]: Atlas on spatial development in Austria
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060923180906/http://www.geographynetwork.com/ Geography Network]
*[http://www.earthatlas.mapchart.com MapChart EarthAtlas], free online atlas with interactive maps about topics like demography, economy, health and environment.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070628234601/http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/ National Geographic MapMachine]

'''History of atlases'''
*[https://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/guide/gmillatl.html Atlases, at the US Library of Congress site] - a discussion of many significant atlases, with some illustrations.  Part of  [https://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/guide/gmilltoc.html Geography and Maps, an Illustrated Guide.]

'''Historical atlases online'''
*[http://www.HistoricalAtlas.com/ Centennia Historical Atlas] required reading at the US Naval Academy for over a decade.
*[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/hist_sites.html Historical map web sites list], Perry–Castañeda Library, University of Texas
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070426103049/http://www.stub.unibe.ch/stub/ryhiner/collection/ Ryhiner Collection] Composite atlas with maps, plans and views from the 16th-18th centuries, covering the globe, with about 16,000 images in total.
*[http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/medren/search.html?fq=genre_facet%3A%22Atlases%22 Manuscript Atlases held by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706230644/https://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/medren/search.html?fq=genre_facet%3A%22Atlases%22 |date=2022-07-06 }} - fully digitized with descriptions.
*[https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/ Historical Atlas in Persuasive Cartography, The PJ Mode Collection], [[Cornell University Library]]

'''Other links'''
*[http://earth.google.com Google Earth:] a visual 3D interactive atlas.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041216050203/http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/worldwind/index.html NASA's World Wind software].
*[http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=19.4342&lon=-99.1386&z=3&l=0&m=a&v=2 Wikimapia] a wikiproject designed to describe the entire world.

{{Atlas}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Atlases| ]]