United States Atlas for Young Explorers

Spacious skies, purple mountains, amber waves of grain... America has a lot to offer, and the National Geographic United States Atlas for Young Explorers shows it all. With easy-to-read maps, lush full-color photos and illustrations, and fascinating details about each region of the country. Political and physical maps show the entire U.S., while thematic maps cover such topics as population and territorial growth. In addition, each state has its own precisely illustrated two-page map, along with information on the capital; population; agriculture and industry; state flag, bird, and flower; and much more. Symbols indicate where national trails, economic activities, natural landmarks, and other points of interest are to be found. Big, enthralling photos of New England mountains, Texas tornadoes, and mazelike Los Angeles freeways bring the landscape to life, for better or worse.

While young explorers spend hours lost in the wonders of the nation, parents and teachers can rest easy, knowing they can rely on the National Geographic Society's well-known standards of accuracy and excellence. A great companion to the National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers, this impressive volume is a stellar resource for every schoolchild, from sea to shining sea. 176 pages. (Ages 8 to 12)

Organized around four key themes -- land-forms, forces of nature, human impact, and major cities -- the informative, always engaging text amplifies the book's arresting images with engrossing clarity, explaining how they were obtained, what they show, and what we can learn from them. Often, such views are created by recording devices that "see" far beyond our human senses into the invisible parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, exposing otherwise hidden characteristics, while radar images reveal undersea contours, buried geological features, massive weather systems, and more.

A vision that only the most modern, space-based scientific equipment can deliver, this is the Earth as you have never seen it before -- a panoramic, high-tech portrait of our planet as we stand on the threshold of a new millennium.