The World Almanac World Atlas

by Hammond World Atlas Corporation

Book Overview

The World Almanac 2007 World Atlas offers a new twist in world atlas publishing. This innovative book combines the exceptional cartography of renowned Hammond Map with authoritative and compelling... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 084371364X
• ISBN13: 9780843713640
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Hammond World Atlas Corporation
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 9.3" x 12.2"

Customer Reviews

World Almanac 2005 World Atlas

Excellent. I do alot of traveling for business and it's invaluable. I would highly recommend.

World Atlas Review

Excellent to me especially because of the ability to open wide. The spirals allow this.

Pairing the World Almanac data with maps and 3-D shading

'Another atlas?' many will sigh - but wait, this is something far different. For one its plastic spiral binding assumes it'll be used for easy lay-flat access, lending it to quick consultations without the restraints of the usual atlas binding. For another, it provides a satisfying blend of geography facts with an atlas format, pairing the World Almanac data with maps and 3-D shading. Yes, HAMMOND WORLD ALMANAC 2006 WORLD ATLAS will prove a shelving challenge for libraries: but it lends exceptionally well to home reference and will prove an eye-catching display item. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

This almanac is a magnificent achievement to be savored and repeatedly enjoyed.

The Hammond World Atlas Corporation has teamed up with the bestselling World Almanac and Book of Facts in putting together a superb and educational publication, Hammond World Almanac 2006 World Atlas. You can probably call this Almanac the bible for world class cartography and data with its 200 pages of facts and figures about people, ethnic groups, languages, religions, area, capital, GDP, head of state, and governments. And then there are the 100 pages of digital TerraScape Maps that feature three dimensional relief of land and ocean floor terrain. When I looked at the "Contents" section of the Almanac, I was delighted to see that there is a section pertaining to the interpretation of maps. How often have you looked at a map and you haven't a clue as to what all the symbols mean or the map scales and projections? In clear and precise language the authors of this publication explain what are map projections and explore some of the most widely used projections. They also introduce us to a new projection, the Hammond Optimal Conformal. For those of us who are unfamiliar with the term map projection, we are informed that the challenge faced by mapmakers is to project the earth's curved surface onto a flat plane. Consequently, to accomplish this feat, cartographers have developed map projections or formulas that govern this conversion of geographic data. It is possible to identify every point on earth with the help of a geographic coordinate grid, and this grid is projected onto a flat surface. From this starting point we are given explanations of general principles and terms, how to flatten a sphere, selected examples of projections, conic projection and the Hammond Optimal Conformal. This initial section is followed with a comprehensive explanation as to how to use the map section. It is here where we find out how boundaries are determined, sources of names, map symbols, colors, labels and map scales. Armed with all this introductory data we are now prepared to examine the world maps starting with the Europe and Northern Asia and then Asia, Australia and Pacific, Africa, Antarctica, South America, and North America. On the bottom of each map there are color codes differentiating the population of the various cities and towns. There is also a mileage scale denoted in either miles or kilometers. Detailed and comparative thematic maps, tables, graphs pertaining to each continent, topography, population, land use, mineral resources and consumption are also included. The concluding section or the World Almanac Section presents key facts and figures concerning every nation such as their rankings by population and area, major oceans, ocean depths, and islands, rivers, waterfalls, continental altitudes, lakes, reservoirs, dams, highest mountains, temperatures, top languages, precipitation, population growth, energy and environment. Examining facts and figures about a particular nation we notice that what is included is the following: topography