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"Geology" and "Landscape and Settlements" Volumes number 12 and 13 of the National Atlas of Sweden Helmfrid, Staffan, Prof. Dr., Stockholms Universitet, Kulturgeogr. Inst., S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden Karna Lidmar-Bergstr6m, Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, is the author of the chapter on geomorphology in the volume "Geology" of the National Atlas, which appeared in its Swedish language version in August 1994. Her map on the surface forms of the bed-rock enclosed in this number of Geodournal,is an example of the qualified set of new, original maps drawn for this volume. To the layman it seems that geological maps deal with very stable, only extremely slowly changing geographical patterns and forms. With few exceptions this is certainly true in a country located on one of the most solid parts of the earth's surface. But nevertheless, to a reader, who got his basic knowledge of the geology and geomorphology of Sweden 45 years ago even geology seems to have changed dramatically. This is not a result of endogene or exogene processes. It reflects remarkable scientific progress in earth sciences. In the geomorphological chapter the surface of Sweden is first represented in three maps, scale 1:5 M, beside each other, showing morphotectonics (including surrounding seas) dominated by systems of fissures and faults, hypsography and relief respectively. The relief map is based on a digital terrain model with light coming from northwest, providing the best "three-dimensional" effect. Photos help to visualize, block-diagrams help to explain and a series of east-west profiles illustrate the relations between actual land-forms and the different denudation surfaces identified. This chapter no doubt deals with some of the most difficult and most debated problems in Scandinavian physical geography. The biggest scale of maps, used in the National Atlas, 1 : 1,25 M, each map covering 8 pages, has been used no less than four times in this volume, a unique case in the whole set of volumes. The first of these maps shows the geology of bed-rock, with more than 60 colour signatures and a dozen of symbols. The second shows the magnetic properties of bed-rock, giving important information about the third dimension of bed rock bodies. The third map deals with the soils, classified in 8 types. Last but not least one big scale map is devoted to ground-water in bed-rock and soil layers showing the capacity of different acquifers. The scientific revolution in earth sciences over the last 30-40 years is evident in the short introduction on the earth at the beginning of the volume. Only new methods and insights have made possible a diagram like that showing the march of Fennoscandia over the earths surface from north of latitude N 60 to south of latitude S 60 and back to presentday location north of N 60 in 2800 million years! Another example of new knowledge is given in a 1 : 5 M map on finds of interglacial and interstadial deposits in all parts of Sweden. One chapter is devoted to ores and mineral deposits. Once Bergslagen, the Middle Swedish metal ores and steel region, with mining traditions since medieval times was the back-bone of Swedish industrial wealth, today it is a giant open-air museum of closed mines, mill ruins, abandoned settlements. Big-scale maps of the mining areas give a full account of mines including deposits which were never exploited. Geochemistry is a rapidly growing field of research and surveying. In a number of map series the content of different heavy metals in soil and bed-rock are shown for a number of observation stations all over the country or in full coverage for parts of the country. They deal with lead, mercury, copper, selen, cobalt, nickel, cadmium and other matters. Evidently the growing concern of environmental threats furthers this work. One basic environmental factor studied intensively is the acidity of soils and lakes. The last map in the volume shows a selection of places all over the country with interesting geological features and phenomena of about 70 different kinds.

GeoJournal 35.4/1995

In all this atlas volume includes 117 thematic maps, among them 27 in the second-biggest scale 1 : 2,5 M, each map covering 2 pages. The Swedish Geological Survey has carried the responsibility as theme manager of this volume with Curt Fred6n as theme editor. An atlas on cultural landscape and settlements has a very different outlook from "Geology". In many respects only the first volume of the National Atlas of Sweden, "Maps and Mapping" is similiar, with relatively few nationwide thematic maps in small scales but a great number of big-scale maps of places and localities. Only in close-up pictures, a combination of oblique air-photos, local maps and not the least drawings the complex structure of cultivated and built environment can be described and analysed. Only a set of detailed examples can give an understanding of the character of relevant regional differences between different parts of the country in a time when cultural, economic and social factors are more and more uniform. Few phenomena in modern cultural landscape are registered statistically in a way to make meanigful nationwide quantitative maps possible, except for phenomena already covered in different volumes of the atlas, such as land use, road and railroad network, or urban places. For earlier periods with clear regional differences within a traditional agrarian society, closely linked to natural resources on the other hand our information from historical records has many lacunae. Cultivated 1and and urban areas in Sweden are distributed like an archipelago of big and small islands in an ocean of forest- and wasteland kept together by a network of communications. Every place has its own history which can be a few years or up to 6000 years long. Every place has a unique combination not only of site and location but of visible remnants from all periods of its history. Thus 60 pages of local examples from the core of the volume. They can be studied separately as local histories or as illustrations to regional differences and more general processes in the history of the country. A frame-work to the "regional understanding" is given in a new, experimental division of modern Sweden into cultural landscape regions produced by Ulf Sporrong in cooperation with Mats Widgren and Clas Tollin after discussions at different departments of geography. It is made in an unsystematic combination of morphogenetic and impressionistic points of view- no other method would be meaningful. The atlas also wants to give insights into the multi-disciplinary research on landscape history as illustrated by a few research projects from the last two decades in Sweden, focussing on problems, methods and sources. As a background to the regional and local examples the main lines of the history of vegetation, cultivation and settlements are drawn with special emphasis on the effects of the major transformations since the 18th century by land reforms, industrialisation, transport revolution and urbanisation. Examples of modern physical planning on national, regional, local and building plot level are given. Torsten H~igerstrand has written the introductory chapter of this atlas volume, reflecting on the concept of landscape, the properties of landscape and our instruments to decribe and analyse the landscape both as a mosaic of elements from different periods and as a mirror of its metabolism. The then minister of environment, now vice-speaker of parliament G6rel Thurdin has the final word with her vision of a future human landscape in harmony with nature and our "interior landscape". Staffan Helmfrid was theme editor with Dr. Birgitta Rock Hansen assisting. The English version of the National Atlas of Sweden is distributed by Almquist & Wiksell International, Stockholm. Further introductory comments to the new edition of the Swedish National Atlas have been published in Geodournal 22:4, 455-456 (1990); 24:3,432 (1991); 26:1, 90 (1992); 27:9,299 (1992); 29:4,430 (1993); 30:4, 478 (1993); 31:4, 466 (1993) and 33:4, 494 (1994).