This atlas gives a new perspective on how the world is made up, how it looks and how it works. It is a useful reference atlas providing a collection of images depicting the nature of the Earth. It presents new ways of visualizing the Earth through the use of maps, satellite images, space and aerial photography, three-dimensional terrain models and graphics. The information is presented in continental sections with the mapping for each continent introduced by a series of highly illustrated thematic spreads. These include detailed statistics and flags of all countries and territories, and cover such topics as landscapes and land use, climate and weather, population, cities and specific environmental and geographical issues. Similar topics are also covered in a world section at the beginning of the atlas. The detailed reference mapping provides comprehensive coverage of the world. The index contains over 80,000 place names and includes full cross-referencing and gazetteer-style entries for the world's most significant places and features. The atlas has extensive cross-referencing throughout, with "connections" devices on all the spreads allowing the user to move easily through the atlas and to build up a detailed picture of today's world.