An atlas is a book or collection of maps. Many
atlases
also contain facts and history about certain places. There are many kinds of specialized
atlases
, such as road
atlases
and historical
atlases
. There are also star
atlases
, which give the location and placement of stars, planets and other celestial objects.
Besides showing maps of all the countries and continents, a world
atlas
may also provide facts about the countries. Individual maps of major cities or other points of interest may also be included in a world
atlas
. Population statistics, the location of natural resources, cultural and religious information and political data are frequently found in an
atlas
.
Although people have been using maps for thousands of years, civilizations really didnt begin producing large
atlases
until the 1500s. During this time, European and Asian countries were exploring the world through trade and colonization. They depended on
atlases
to guide them through unfamiliar territory. As European explorers mapped the "New World" (the Americas), they also updated
atlases
with their discoveries.
In 1595, a collection of maps prepared by the Flemish mapmaker Gerardus Mercator was published with the word "
atlas
" in the title.
Atlas
referred to a portrait of King
Atlas
, a mythical African monarch. King
Atlas
invented the first celestial globe. A
celestial
globe
is a ball-shaped map of the stars and constellations.
Celestial
globes
were very important in navigation, when sailors used stars to determine their position at sea. Mercator showed King
Atlas
to demonstrate his importance to
navigation
. This was the first time the term was applied to a collection of maps. Eventually, "
atlas
" came to be used for any book of maps.
Fast Fact
Carrying the World
on his Shoulders
The mythological creature Atlas is often associated, and pictured, on atlases. Atlas was a giant (called a Titan) who was forced to carry the Earth and the heavens (usually pictured as a sphere) on his back.
