World Atlases

in the UMD Library Reference Collection

Compiled by Tom Zogg

In the atlases display case behind the Reference Desk in UMD Library (second floor) are located oversize reference atlases. Their call numbers begin REF FOLIO. Among them are thirteen World Atlases, listed in the chart below, containing several geographic features in varying levels of detail. World Atlases that have outstanding coverage in any of the following four features receive an " X " for that geographic feature. All of the atlases have good indices, which alphabetically list place-names with page or plate-number references.

Below the chart are links to a list of other important geography websites, links to URLs on evaluation of Web sites, and to a list of standard-size recent world atlases in the UMD Library Reference Collection, adjacent to the atlases display case and Reference Desk.

Definitions of types of features:

Political - features that illustrate human interaction with the earth's surface, e.g., boundaries, transportation networks, and settlements/land use.

Physical - features that illustrate the form of land, water, and biota on the earth's surface, e.g., topographic elevations, climate, and ocean depth.

Remote Sensing Imagery - images created by aerial techniques, particularly orbital, which show political and physical geographic features.

Textual/Statistical - economic, demographic, and other geographic information presented in descriptive, graphic, or tabular formats.

Atlases are listed in call number order.

Title / Call Number	Political	Physical	Remote Sensing Imagery	Textual/ Statistical
Oxford Atlas of the World REF FOLIO G 1021 .A7545 2005		X	X	X
DK World Atlas REF FOLIO G 1021 .D625 2005	X			X
Great World Atlas REF FOLIO G 1021 .G743 2006		X	X	X
Hammond World Atlas REF FOLIO G 1021 .H2665 2003		X	X	X
Book of the World REF FOLIO G 1021 .K3842 1995	X	X	X	X
MacMillan Centennial Atlas of the World REF FOLIO G 1021 .M2 1996	X	X	X
MacMillan World Atlas REF FOLIO G 1021 .M2382 1996	X		X
National Geographic Atlas of the World REF FOLIO G 1021 .N38 2005	X		X	X
New International Atlas REF FOLIO G 1021 .R35 1999	X			X
The World, Afghanistan to Zimbabwe REF FOLIO G 1021 .R4882 1996				X
Times Atlas of the World REF FOLIO G 1021 .T563 2003	X	X	X	X
World Atlas Millennium Edition REF FOLIO G 1021 .W6 1999	X		X	X
World Atlas of the Oceans REF FOLIO G 2800 .W4413 2001		X		X

Standard-size Atlases in UMD Library Reference

Atlas title	Call Number
Atlas of Canada and the World	REF G 1021 .A75 1996x
DK Complete Atlas of the World	REF G 1021 .D55 2007
Encyclopedic World Atlas	REF G 1021 .G417 1994
Rand McNally Goode's World Atlas	REF G 1021 .G67 2005
Citation World Atlas	REF G 1021 .H2446 1991
Hammond Ambassador World Atlas	REF G 1021 .H265 1991
Hammond Atlas of the World	REF G 1021 .H2667 1993
Hammond Gold Medallion World Atlas	REF G 1021 .H2685 1990
Hammond New Century World Atlas	REF G 1021 .H2735 1996
Planet Earth	REF G 1021 .P655 1997

Links to Other Important Geography Sites

What is a Good Web Site?

updated April 2008 by Tom Zogg; maintained by Pam Enrici