A modern atlas demands not just state-of-the-art cartography but a vast array of information organized clearly, efficiently, and above all, usefully—and that’s what the Family Reference Atlas provides: more than 1,000 maps, illustrations, and photographs; more than 400 charts and tables; and 30 global thematic spreads displaying key facts and figures on everything from biodiversity and the distribution of natural resources to world health and education, global Internet connectivity, and conflict and terror hot spots.

A comprehensive index makes it easy to pinpoint more than 40,000 locations all over the globe. Need to know the population of Brunei, what the weather’s like in San Juan in March, or how to use metric conversions? These answers and thousands more are at your fingertips. Readers learn about the planet itself—landforms, the biosphere, continental drift, environmental change—and the human world’s many dimensions, from political, religious, and economic data to population trends and the effect of globalization. The atlas even reaches beyond Earth to explore the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe.

""Unlike the atlases of my childhood, it provides maps of political ‘hotspots,’ so that you can easily find Abkazia or Chechnya.""—21st Century Science & Technology

""Whether you’re looking for someplace on Earth or in the galaxy, the daily high temperature in October in Timbuktu, the world’s tallest office or why we experience seasons, the answers can be found [here].""—Asbury Park Press (New Jersey)