An atlas is a book of maps. Atlases are made with different kinds of information about different parts and areas of a country or the world. They are prepared for desk use or travel use. Desk atlases are made for different groups of people with different needs. For example, students may use desk atlases to help learn geography, and other people may use desk atlases to study a place. A popular type of the latest atlas shows the recent fact of the world. New atlases are often carefully produced to help people learn about the changes, such as the name changes, boundary  changes and other important new information. A desk atlas can also have some different maps of the same place. For example, an atlas may include maps showing population and important products of a place. Travel atlases usually show the information about both natural and man-made features . So it is not surprising to find universities, airports, forests, rivers, roads as well as cities, towns and villages in them. A travel atlas is often the first thing people need when they want to start a trip in a strange place. It often has a map of a whole country, and a map with more special information of each important place in the country. Take the atlas of the United States as an example, it often has a map of the whole country and then a map of each of the fifty states. A travel atlas may also point out the beautiful natural places. In the US, the atlas may include national parks such as the Yellow Stone Park and some others to show the beauty of nature and interesting places to tourists. An atlas is  _  according to the passage.
a guide book a history book a collection of pictures a collection of maps