Rand McNally's Atlas of World Geography serves as a companion to classroom materials or as a stand-alone study guide. It includes 126 pages of up-to-date,accurate regional maps and 20 pages of highly illustrative world information tables. World thematic maps cover topics such as climate,vegetation,environments,and population. In addition,the atlas contains 12 pages of interesting and entertaining geographic questions and answers,a concise index,and a "Using the Atlas" section that explains map scales,the various symbols on the maps,and how to locate cities and towns quickly and easily. A special feature of this atlas is the introductory section for each continent. These four-page sections contain key facts,informative text,and maps showing landforms,climate,population,and environments,allowing easy comparisons between continents. The Atlas also provides in-depth discussions of issues that are especially relevant to each continent. Topics include the destruction of South America's rain forests,changing political boundaries in Europe,the 20th century independence movements in Africa,rural-to-urban migration in North America,the rise of the Pacific Rim in Asia,and the issue of protected lands in Australia.