BENJAMIN E SMITH, A. M.

MANAGING EDITOR OF THE CENTURY DICTIONARY BY THE MATTHEWS-NORTHRUP CO., BUFFALO, N.Y. I The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia PREFACE. N the plan of this Atlas the unequal division of space between the two hemispheres, which often is a marked characteristic of works of its kind, has been avoided. The United States, with Canada, Mexico, the other portions of the two American continents, and the West Indies, have been exhibited with great detail; and a closely corresponding degree of completene will be found in the maps of the more important sections of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The practical needs of the user, as regards all parts of the earth's surface, have thus carefully been considered; and by devoting a relatively large share of space to those sections, both of the New World and the Old, about which information is most likely to be desired, an exceptionally large amount of serviceable geographical information has been brought within a volume of, reasonable bulk. The double-page maps devoted to all parts of the globe number 117, and the corner or inset maps about 138; to these are to be added the pages of historical maps, which raise the total number in the Atlas to about 295. All the maps have been made especially for this Atlas, and have been based upon the latest and best official information, with a comparison of the results of recent explorations. Those of the United States are founded upon maps i ued by the United States government, and also upon many others published by State and local authorities; those of England, on the map of the Ordnance Survey; and those of all other countries upon similar authoritative materials. The railroads, which are printed in red to increase the legibility and attractivene of the maps, are shown in accordance with the most recent official information; the figures for depth of water in seas, bays, and harbors have been taken from the British Admiralty charts and those of the United States Hydrographic Office; the heights of mountains and the elevations of lakes are those given by the latest surveys; and the various political divisions are exhibited in accordance with the most recent adjustments. In portraying the mountain systems of the United States a feature has been introduced which is a novelty in general atlases, namely, lines of equal elevation above the sea (contour-lines), which have been printed in olive or brown. These have been taken from the published results of the Government Surveys, and are given for elevations of 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000 feet, etc. This method has been extended to the maps of Mexico also, by means of determinations furnished by Mr. H. M. Wilson of the Geological Survey. The selection of names of places has been determined, in general, by their population; the intention has been, however, to include, as far as po ible, all places, however small, which are of considerable interest from their historical significance, or to the tourist. In the spelling of these names the authority followed (with a few exceptions) for the United States has been the United States Postal Guide; and in other countries in which characters identical, or nearly identical, with those of the English alphabet are used, the local spelling has been adopted, except for certain names for which well-established Anglicized forms exist. In such cases the local or native spelling or name is placed under the English form. Wherever, as in maps of Africa and the East, it is nece ary to give to entirely foreign names an English dre , the use of accented letters and of extreme and unusual methods of spelling has been avoided, and those forms (among the many existing and permi ible) have been chosen which seemed likely to be the simplest to an English eye. Where several familiar spellings of important foreign names exist, these spellings (particularly those recorded in "The Century Cyclopedia of Names") are entered in the index. DEC 11314 320/57 These place-names are, as a rule, printed in type graded in size according to the population; but the most detailed information on this point will be found in the population-figures which are given in the indexes for all places of considerable size. The number of names of all kinds given in the Atlas, and recorded in the indexes, is about 170,000, a total considerably larger than that found in most atlases heretofore published. Besides the general geographical and political matter, a number of details have been added to this Atlas which are not usually included, and which give it exceptional completene as a work of reference. Among them are the main routes of discovery and exploration in North America (Map No. 4), the West Indies (Voyages of Columbus: Map. No. 14), South America (Map No. 16), Africa (Map No. 109), Australia (Map No. 115), and the North Polar Regions (Map No. 3, which shows all important routes down to and including those of Peary, Jackson, and Nansen); the marking (with the addition of dates) of a large number of sites of important battles, ancient and modern, on land and sea; submarine cables and important steamship routes; standard time (Maps No. 5 and No. 73), and the "date-line" (Map No. 1); important highways and caravan routes in countries where there are few railroads or none; lines of equal depth of water corresponding to the "contour-lines" on land; important lights and lighthouses; a special travel map of Central Europe; etc. A number of historical maps also have been included, in which are given many of the more important names of ancient geography, as well as certain of the main points in modern historical geography. They are about equally divided between ancient and modern history, and comprise 40 maps, including plans of the ancient cities of Jerusalem, Rome, and Athens. In the choice of types, the arrangement of the names, and the coloring of the maps, the greatest legibility po ible has first of all been sought, while variety and attractivene to the eye have not been neglected. Finally, not the least important characteristic of the book is its convenient size, since it is almost alone among the atlases which contain approximately the same amount of information, in being as easily handled and consulted as a volume of a cyclopedia. 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