In a rich blend of cartography & photography, National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World celebrates the diverse natural & cultural treasures of the world, through photographic coverage of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, that correlates to beautiful, informative, & accurate maps. In addition to hundreds of brilliant photographs, these newly compiled & designed map spreads provide accompanying textual descriptions. From the vast plains of the Serengeti to historic cities such as Vienna, Lima, & Kyoto; from the prehistoric rock art on the Iberian Peninsula to the statue of Liberty; from the Kasbah of Algiers to the Imperial Palace in Beijing
- all of these places, as varied as they are, have one thing in common. All are World Heritage sites of outstanding cultural or natural value to humanity & are worthy of protection for future generations to know & enjoy. World thematic maps reflect fresh, dynamic compilations with the most accurate data available. These skillfully edited maps provide invaluable reference to the trends & characteristics of the critical issues of today: energy, population, religion, economy & trade, natural disasters, conflicts, & climate change. The atlas is organized by a succinct how-to-use section, an extensive world thematic section covering more than 30 natural & human topics, & the seven continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia & Oceania, & Antarctica. All of the continents include regional map coverage, continental physical & political maps at the same scale, & continental thematic maps
- all at the same scale for effective comparative views
- that speak to population density, energy consumption, economies, climate, natural events & water availability. Following the continents are the remaining divisions of the atlas: Oceans, Space, an appendix of national flags, country facts & tables, & finally an enhanced, easy-to-use, comprehensive place-name index filled with over 50, 000 entries, that grounds the atlas as an essential, practical, world reference tool.