"Cartography (...) is the study and practice of making and using maps."
The science of mapmaking.
Map Projection: A method of representing the curved surface of the earth on a flat plane.
Coordinate Systems: A system of geographical coordinates that provide a unique location on the earth's surface.
Scale: The ratio of the size of the map to the size of the actual area it depicts.
Symbols: Signs and shapes used to represent objects, features, and landscapes on a map.
Contour Lines: Lines used to represent topography and elevation on a map.
Map Design: The arrangement and presentation of map elements to create a visually pleasing and informative map.
Relief Mapping: A technique used to create a visual representation of the earth's terrain and features.
Geological Mapping: A technique used in mapping the earth's structures and subsurface features.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): A computer-based system used to store, analyze and visualize spatial data.
Cartographic Communication: The art of effectively conveying meaningful information through maps to diverse audiences.
Topographic Maps: These maps show the contours, elevations, and features of a landscape, including hills, mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, and other significant landmarks. They are used for navigation and planning recreational activities.
Thematic Maps: These maps focus on a specific theme, such as population density, weather patterns, or natural resources distribution. They can be used for research and analysis, as well as for planning and decision-making.
Political Maps: These maps show the borders, territories, and administrative divisions of countries, states, and other political entities. They are typically used to show territorial disputes, election results, and government policies.
Physical Maps: These maps display natural features of the earth such as mountains, rivers, and oceans. They are often used in geography education to give students an understanding of geography, geology, and natural phenomena.
Road Maps: These maps are used mainly for navigation, showing detailed information about roads, highways, and other transportation routes. They can also include landmarks and tourist attractions.
Nautical Maps: These maps are used by sailors, boaters, and other seafarers to navigate the ocean, showing depths, underwater features, and important nautical information such as lighthouses and buoys.
Aeronautical Maps: These maps are designed for pilots, air traffic controllers and navigation teams, they provide detailed information on airspace, navigation points, and aviation communication frequency.
Geological Maps: These maps show the geological structure, rock formations, and mineral resources of a geographic area. Geological maps are used in exploration, mineral extraction, and understanding earth history.
Climate Maps: These maps show the different climatic zones of a region, including temperature, precipitation, and other weather-related information. They are useful for predicting weather patterns and identifying areas prone to natural disasters.
Satellite Imagery: These maps are created using satellite imaging technology to provide high-resolution images of the earth's surface, including urban areas, forests, deserts, and other regions. The images can be used for environmental monitoring, urban planning, and resource management.
Bathymetric Maps: These maps show ocean floor topography and underwater geographical features. They are critical for marine navigation and undersea exploration.
Land Use Maps: These maps show how land is being used, such as agricultural, commercial, or residential. These maps are useful for planning and decision-making on land management, zoning, and conservation.
Fire Maps: These maps are used by firefighting teams to understand wildfire progress and establish containment strategies.
Transit Maps: These maps provide visual representations of public transportation networks such as trains, buses, and subways for easy navigation.
Historical Maps: These maps show the shape of the earth at a particular time in history, including topographical features, borders, and settlements. They allow the viewer to review historical changes, including cultural and geographic conditions that played a role in those changes.
"Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively."
"The fundamental objectives of traditional cartography are to: - Set the map's agenda and select traits of the object to be mapped. This is the concern of map editing. Traits may be physical, such as roads or land masses, or may be abstract, such as toponyms or political boundaries." - "Represent the terrain of the mapped object on flat media. This is the concern of map projections." - "Eliminate the mapped object's characteristics that are irrelevant to the map's purpose. This is the concern of generalization." - "Reduce the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped. This is also the concern of generalization." - "Orchestrate the elements of the map to best convey its message to its audience. This is the concern of map design."
"This is the concern of map editing. Traits may be physical, such as roads or land masses, or may be abstract, such as toponyms or political boundaries."
"This is the concern of map projections, to represent the terrain of the mapped object on flat media."
"This is the concern of generalization, to eliminate the mapped object's characteristics that are irrelevant to the map's purpose and reduce the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped."
"This is the concern of map design, to orchestrate the elements of the map to best convey its message to its audience."
"Traits may be physical, such as roads or land masses, or may be abstract, such as toponyms or political boundaries."
"Cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively."
"Modern cartography constitutes many theoretical and practical foundations of geographic information systems (GIS) and geographic information science (GISc)."
"Cartography (; from Ancient Greek: χάρτης chartēs, 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and γράφειν graphein, 'write')"
"Combining science, aesthetics, and technique"
"Represent the terrain of the mapped object on flat media. This is the concern of map projections."
"To orchestrate the elements of the map to best convey its message to its audience."
"To eliminate the mapped object's characteristics that are irrelevant to the map's purpose and reduce the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped."
"Cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively."
"To set the map's agenda and select traits of the object to be mapped."
"Physical traits, such as roads or land masses"
"Abstract traits, such as toponyms or political boundaries."
"The main objectives of traditional cartography are to set the map's agenda, represent the terrain, eliminate irrelevant characteristics, reduce complexity, and convey its message effectively."