Map

This article includes a list of general references,

but it remains largely unverified because it more
Learn

A map is a symbolic depiction

emphasizing relationships between
elements of some space, such as
objects, regions, or themes.
World map by Gerard van Schagen, Amsterdam,
1689

World map from 2016 CIA World Factbook

Many maps are static, fixed to paper or

some other durable medium, while others
are dynamic or interactive. Although
most commonly used to depict
geography, maps may represent any
space, real or fictional, without regard to
context or scale, such as in brain
mapping, DNA mapping, or computer
network topology mapping. The space
being mapped may be two dimensional,
such as the surface of the earth, three
dimensional, such as the interior of the
earth, or even more abstract spaces of
any dimension, such as arise in modeling
phenomena having many independent
variables.
Although the earliest maps known are of
the heavens, geographic maps of
territory have a very long tradition and
exist from ancient times. The word "map"
comes from the medieval Latin Mappa
mundi, wherein mappa meant napkin or
cloth and mundi the world. Thus, "map"
became a shortened term referring to a
two-dimensional representation of the
surface of the world.

History
Muhammad al-Idrisi's Tabula Rogeriana (1154), one
of the most advanced early world maps.

Netert Mudat Egyptian Scarab Map of the Nile River

and Ancient Egypt, one of the oldest known maps,
dating from between 1782–1570 BCE
Geographic maps

A celestial map from the 17th century, by the

cartographer Frederik de Wit

Cartography or map-making is the study

and practice of crafting representations
of the Earth upon a flat surface (see
History of cartography), and one who
makes maps is called a cartographer.
Road maps are perhaps the most widely
used maps today, and form a subset of
navigational maps, which also include
aeronautical and nautical charts, railroad
network maps, and hiking and bicycling
maps. In terms of quantity, the largest
number of drawn map sheets is probably
made up by local surveys, carried out by
municipalities, utilities, tax assessors,
emergency services providers, and other
local agencies. Many national surveying
projects have been carried out by the
military, such as the British Ordnance
Survey: a civilian government agency,
internationally renowned for its
comprehensively detailed work.

In addition to location information, maps

may also be used to portray contour lines
indicating constant values of elevation,
temperature, rainfall, etc.

Orientation of maps
The Hereford Mappa Mundi from about 1300,
Hereford Cathedral, England, is a classic "T-O" map
with Jerusalem at centre, east toward the top,
Europe the bottom left and Africa on the right.

The orientation of a map is the

relationship between the directions on
the map and the corresponding compass
directions in reality. The word "orient" is
derived from Latin oriens, meaning east.
In the Middle Ages many maps, including
the T and O maps, were drawn with east
at the top (meaning that the direction
"up" on the map corresponds to East on
the compass). The most common
cartographic convention, is that north is
at the top of a map.

Maps not oriented with north at the top:

Maps from non-Western traditions are

oriented a variety of ways. Old maps of
Edo show the Japanese imperial
palace as the "top", but also at the
centre, of the map. Labels on the map
are oriented in such a way that you
cannot read them properly unless you
put the imperial palace above your
head.
Medieval European T and O maps such
as the Hereford Mappa Mundi were
centred on Jerusalem with East at the
top. Indeed, prior to the reintroduction
of Ptolemy's Geography to Europe
around 1400, there was no single
convention in the West. Portolan
charts, for example, are oriented to the
shores they describe.
Maps of cities bordering a sea are
often conventionally oriented with the
sea at the top.
Route and channel maps have
traditionally been oriented to the road
or waterway they describe.
Polar maps of the Arctic or Antarctic
regions are conventionally centred on
the pole; the direction North would be
towards or away from the centre of the
map, respectively. Typical maps of the
Arctic have 0° meridian towards the
bottom of the page; maps of the
Antarctic have the 0° meridian towards
the top of the page.
Reversed maps, also known as Upside-
Down maps or South-Up maps, reverse
the North is up convention and have
south at the top. Ancient Africans
including in Ancient Egypt utilised this
orientation, as some maps in Brazil do
today.[1]
Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion maps
are based on a projection of the Earth's
sphere onto an icosahedron. The
resulting triangular pieces may be
arranged in any order or orientation.
Scale and accuracy
Many maps are drawn to a scale
expressed as a ratio, such as 1:10,000,
which means that 1 unit of measurement
on the map corresponds to 10,000 of
that same unit on the ground. The scale
statement can be accurate when the
region mapped is small enough for the
curvature of the Earth to be neglected,
such as a city map. Mapping larger
regions, where curvature cannot be
ignored, requires projections to map from
the curved surface of the Earth to the
plane. The impossibility of flattening the
sphere to the plane without distortion
means that the map cannot have
constant scale. Rather, on most
projections the best that can be attained
is accurate scale along one or two paths
on the projection. Because scale differs
everywhere, it can only be measured
meaningfully as point scale per location.
Most maps strive to keep point scale
variation within narrow bounds. Although
the scale statement is nominal it is
usually accurate enough for most
purposes unless the map covers a large
fraction of the earth. At the scope of a
world map, scale as a single number is
practically meaningless throughout most
of the map. Instead, it usually refers to
the scale along the equator.

Cartogram: The EU distorted to show population

distributions as of 2008.
Some maps, called cartograms, have the
scale deliberately distorted to reflect
information other than land area or
distance. For example, this map (at the
right) of Europe has been distorted to
show population distribution, while the
rough shape of the continent is still
discernible.

Another example of distorted scale is the

famous London Underground map. The
basic geographical structure is respected
but the tube lines (and the River Thames)
are smoothed to clarify the relationships
between stations. Near the center of the
map stations are spaced out more than
near the edges of map.

Further inaccuracies may be deliberate.

For example, cartographers may simply
omit military installations or remove
features solely in order to enhance the
clarity of the map. For example, a road
map may not show railroads, smaller
waterways or other prominent non-road
objects, and even if it does, it may show
them less clearly (e.g. dashed or dotted
lines/outlines) than the main roads.
Known as decluttering, the practice
makes the subject matter that the user is
interested in easier to read, usually
without sacrificing overall accuracy.
Software-based maps often allow the
user to toggle decluttering between ON,
OFF and AUTO as needed. In AUTO the
degree of decluttering is adjusted as the
user changes the scale being displayed.

Map projection
Geographic maps use a projection to
translate the three-dimensional real
surface of the geoid to a two-
dimensional picture. Projection always
distorts the surface. There are many
ways to apportion the distortion, and so
there are many map projections. Which
projection to use depends on the
purpose of the map.

Symbology
The various features shown on a map are
represented by conventional signs or
symbols. For example, colors can be
used to indicate a classification of roads.
Those signs are usually explained in the
margin of the map, or on a separately
published characteristic sheet.[2]

Some cartographers prefer to make the

map cover practically the entire screen or
sheet of paper, leaving no room "outside"
the map for information about the map
as a whole. These cartographers typically
place such information in an otherwise
"blank" region "inside" the map—
cartouche, map legend, title, compass
rose, bar scale, etc. In particular, some
maps contain smaller "sub-maps" in
otherwise blank regions—often one at a
much smaller scale showing the whole
globe and where the whole map fits on
that globe, and a few showing "regions of
interest" at a larger scale in order to
show details that wouldn't otherwise fit.
Occasionally sub-maps use the same
scale as the large map—a few maps of
the contiguous United States include a
sub-map to the same scale for each of
the two non-contiguous states.

Map design
The design and production of maps is a
craft that has developed over thousands
of years, from clay tablets to Geographic
information systems. As a form of
Design, particularly closely related to
Graphic design, map making
incorporates scientific knowledge about
how maps are used, integrated with
principles of artistic expression, to create
a product that is aesthetically attractive,
carries an aura of authority, and
functionally serves a particular purpose
for an intended audience.
Designing a map involves bringing
together a number of elements and
making a large number of decisions. The
elements of design fall into several broad
topics, each of which has its own theory,
its own research agenda, and its own
best practices. That said, there are
synergistic effects between these
elements, meaning that the overall
design process is not just working on
each element one at a time, but an
iterative feedback process of adjusting
each to achieve the desired gestalt.
Map projections: The foundation of the
map is the plane on which it rests
(whether paper or screen), but
projections are required to flatten the
surface of the earth. All projections
distort this surface, but the
cartographer can be strategic about
how and where distortion occurs.[3]
Generalization: All maps must be
drawn at a smaller scale than reality,
requiring that the information included
on a map be a very small sample of
the wealth of information about a
place. Generalization is the process of
adjusting the level of detail in
geographic information to be
appropriate for the scale and purpose
of a map, through procedures such as
selection, simplification, and
classification.
Symbology: Any map visually
represents the location and properties
of geographic phenomena using map
symbols, graphical depictions
composed of several visual variables,
such as size, shape, color, and pattern.
Composition: As all of the symbols are
brought together, their interactions
have major effects on map reading,
such as grouping and Visual hierarchy.
Typography or Labeling: Text serves a
number of purposes on the map,
especially aiding the recognition of
features, but labels must be designed
and positioned well to be effective.[4]
Layout: The map image must be
placed on the page (whether paper,
web, or other media), along with
related elements, such as the title,
legend, additional maps, text, images,
and so on. Each of these elements
have their own design considerations,
 as does their integration, which largely
follows the principles of Graphic
design.
Map type-specific design: Different
kinds of maps, especially thematic
maps, have their own design needs
and best practices.

Map types

Map of large underwater features. (1995, NOAA)

Maps of the world or large areas are
often either 'political' or 'physical'. The
most important purpose of the political
map is to show territorial borders; the
purpose of the physical is to show
features of geography such as
mountains, soil type or land use including
infrastructure such as roads, railroads
and buildings. Topographic maps show
elevations and relief with contour lines or
shading. Geological maps show not only
the physical surface, but characteristics
of the underlying rock, fault lines, and
subsurface structures.
Electronic maps …

A USGS digital raster graphic.

From the last quarter of the 20th century,

the indispensable tool of the
cartographer has been the computer.
Much of cartography, especially at the
data-gathering survey level, has been
subsumed by Geographic Information
Systems (GIS). The functionality of maps
has been greatly advanced by technology
simplifying the superimposition of
spatially located variables onto existing
geographical maps. Having local
information such as rainfall level,
distribution of wildlife, or demographic
data integrated within the map allows
more efficient analysis and better
decision making. In the pre-electronic
age such superimposition of data led Dr.
John Snow to identify the location of an
outbreak of cholera. Today, it is used by
agencies of the human kind, as diverse
as wildlife conservationists and militaries
around the world.

Relief map Sierra Nevada

Even when GIS is not involved, most

cartographers now use a variety of
computer graphics programs to generate
new maps.
Interactive, computerised maps are
commercially available, allowing users to
zoom in or zoom out (respectively
meaning to increase or decrease the
scale), sometimes by replacing one map
with another of different scale, centered
where possible on the same point. In-car
global navigation satellite systems are
computerised maps with route-planning
and advice facilities which monitor the
user's position with the help of satellites.
From the computer scientist's point of
view, zooming in entails one or a
combination of:
1. replacing the map by a more
detailed one
2. enlarging the same map without
enlarging the pixels, hence showing
more detail by removing less
information compared to the less
detailed version
3. enlarging the same map with the
pixels enlarged (replaced by
rectangles of pixels); no additional
detail is shown, but, depending on
the quality of one's vision, possibly
more detail can be seen; if a
computer display does not show
 adjacent pixels really separate, but
overlapping instead (this does not
apply for an LCD, but may apply for
a cathode ray tube), then replacing a
pixel by a rectangle of pixels does
show more detail. A variation of this
method is interpolation.

A world map in PDF format.

For example:
Typically (2) applies to a Portable
Document Format (PDF) file or other
format based on vector graphics. The
increase in detail is limited to the
information contained in the file:
enlargement of a curve may eventually
result in a series of standard geometric
figures such as straight lines, arcs of
circles or splines.
(2) may apply to text and (3) to the
outline of a map feature such as a
forest or building.
(1) may apply to the text as needed
(displaying labels for more features),
while (2) applies to the rest of the
image. Text is not necessarily enlarged
when zooming in. Similarly, a road
represented by a double line may or
may not become wider when one
zooms in.
The map may also have layers which
are partly raster graphics and partly
vector graphics. For a single raster
graphics image (2) applies until the
pixels in the image file correspond to
the pixels of the display, thereafter (3)
applies.
See also: Webpage (Graphics), PDF
(Layers), MapQuest, Google Maps, Google
Earth, OpenStreetMap or Yahoo! Maps.

Climatic maps …

The maps that reflect the territorial

distribution of climatic conditions based
on the results of long-term observations
are called climatic maps. These maps
can be compiled both for individual
climatic features (temperature,
precipitation, humidity) and for
combinations of them at the earth's
surface and in the upper layers of the
atmosphere. Climatic maps show
climatic features across a large region
and permit values of climatic features to
be compared in different parts of the
region. When generating the map,
interpolation can be used to synthesize
values where there are no
measurements, under the assumption
that conditions change smoothly.

Climatic maps generally apply to

individual months and to the year as a
whole, sometimes to the four seasons, to
the growing period, and so forth. On
maps compiled from the observations of
ground meteorological stations,
atmospheric pressure is converted to
sea level. Air temperature maps are
compiled both from the actual values
observed on the surface of the earth and
from values converted to sea level. The
pressure field in free atmosphere is
represented either by maps of the
distribution of pressure at different
standard altitudes—for example, at every
kilometer above sea level—or by maps of
baric topography on which altitudes
(more precisely geopotentials) of the
main isobaric surfaces (for example, 900,
800, and 700 millibars) counted off from
sea level are plotted. The temperature,
humidity, and wind on aeroclimatic maps
may apply either to standard altitudes or
to the main isobaric surfaces.

Isolines are drawn on maps of such

climatic features as the long-term mean
values (of atmospheric pressure,
temperature, humidity, total precipitation,
and so forth) to connect points with
equal values of the feature in question—
for example, isobars for pressure,
isotherms for temperature, and isohyets
for precipitation. Isoamplitudes are
drawn on maps of amplitudes (for
example, annual amplitudes of air
temperature—that is, the differences
between the mean temperatures of the
warmest and coldest month). Isanomals
are drawn on maps of anomalies (for
example, deviations of the mean
temperature of each place from the
mean temperature of the entire
latitudinal zone). Isolines of frequency
are drawn on maps showing the
frequency of a particular phenomenon
(for example, annual number of days with
a thunderstorm or snow cover).
Isochrones are drawn on maps showing
the dates of onset of a given
phenomenon (for example, the first frost
and appearance or disappearance of the
snow cover) or the date of a particular
value of a meteorological element in the
course of a year (for example, passing of
the mean daily air temperature through
zero). Isolines of the mean numerical
value of wind velocity or isotachs are
drawn on wind maps (charts); the wind
resultants and directions of prevailing
winds are indicated by arrows of
different length or arrows with different
plumes; lines of flow are often drawn.
Maps of the zonal and meridional
components of wind are frequently
compiled for the free atmosphere.
Atmospheric pressure and wind are
usually combined on climatic maps.
Wind roses, curves showing the
distribution of other meteorological
elements, diagrams of the annual course
of elements at individual stations, and
the like are also plotted on climatic
maps.

Maps of climatic regionalization, that is,

division of the earth's surface into
climatic zones and regions according to
some classification of climates, are a
special kind of climatic map.

Climatic maps are often incorporated

into climatic atlases of varying
geographic range (globe, hemispheres,
continents, countries, oceans) or
included in comprehensive atlases.
Besides general climatic maps, applied
climatic maps and atlases have great
practical value. Aeroclimatic maps,
aeroclimatic atlases, and agroclimatic
maps are the most numerous.

Non-geographical spatial maps …

Maps exist of the Solar System, and

other cosmological features such as star
maps. In addition maps of other bodies
such as the Moon and other planets are
technically not geographical maps.

Topological maps …
In a topological map, like this one showing inventory
locations, the distances between locations is not
important. Only the layout and connectivity between
them matters.

Diagrams such as schematic diagrams

and Gantt charts and treemaps display
logical relationships between items,
rather than geographical relationships.
Topological in nature, only the
connectivity is significant. The London
Underground map and similar subway
maps around the world are a common
example of these maps.

General-purpose maps …

General-purpose maps provide many

types of information on one map. Most
atlas maps, wall maps, and road maps
fall into this category. The following are
some features that might be shown on
general-purpose maps: bodies of water,
roads, railway lines, parks, elevations,
towns and cities, political boundaries,
latitude and longitude, national and
provincial parks. These maps give a
broad understanding of location and
features of an area. The reader may gain
an understanding of the type of
landscape, the location of urban places,
and the location of major transportation
routes all at once.

List of map types …

Aeronautical chart
Atlas
Cadastral map
Climatic map
Geologic map
Nautical map
Physical map
Political map
Relief map
Resource map
Star map
Street map
Thematic map
Topographic map
 Weather map
World map
Cultural map
Technical map (Infrastructure map)

Legal regulation
Some countries required that all
published maps represent their national
claims regarding border disputes. For
example:

Within Russia, Google Maps shows

Crimea as part of Russia.[5]
 Both the Republic of India and the
People's Republic of China require that
all maps show areas subject to the
Sino-Indian border dispute in their own
favor.[6]

In 2010, the People's Republic of China

began requiring that all online maps
served from within China be hosted
there, making them subject to Chinese
laws.[7]

See also
General
Counter-mapping
Map–territory relation
Censorship of maps
List of online map services
Map collection
Map designing and types
Automatic label placement
City map
Compass rose
Contour map
Estate map
Fantasy map
Floor plan
Geologic map
Hypsometric tints
Map design
Orthophotomap—A map created from
orthophotography
Pictorial maps
Plat
Road atlas
Transit map
Page layout (cartography)
Map history
Early world maps
History of cartography
List of cartographers
Related topics
Aerial landscape art
Digital geologic mapping
Economic geography
Geographic coordinate system
Index map
Global Map
List of online map services
Map database management
References
Citations
1. The orientation of the world in the
African thought
2. Ordnance Survey, Explorer Map
Symbols Archived 3 April 2016 at
the Wayback Machine; Swisstopo,
Conventional Signs Archived 28
May 2008 at the Wayback Machine;
United States Geological Survey,
Topographic Map Symbols
Archived 1 June 2008 at the
Wayback Machine.
3. Albrecht, Jochen. "Maps
projections" . Introduction to
Mapping Sciences, 2005 . Retrieved
13 August 2013.
4. Jill Saligoe-Simmel,"Using Text on
Maps: Typography in Cartography"
5. Chappell, Bill (12 April 2014). "Google
Maps Displays Crimean Border
Differently In Russia, U.S." NPR.org.
Retrieved 6 September 2018.
. Wagstaff, Jeremy (23 March 2012).
"Google charts a careful course
 through Asia's maps" . Reuters.
Retrieved 6 September 2018.
7. Guanqun, Wang (19 May 2010).
"China issues new rules on Internet
map publishing" . Xinhua News
Agency. Archived from the original
on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 27 July
2016.
Bibliography
David Buisseret, ed., Monarchs,
Ministers and Maps: The Emergence of
Cartography as a Tool of Government in
Early Modern Europe. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1992,
ISBN 0-226-07987-2
Denis E. Cosgrove (ed.) Mappings.
Reaktion Books, 1999 ISBN 1-86189-
021-4
Freeman, Herbert, Automated
Cartographic Text Placement. White
paper.
Ahn, J. and Freeman, H., “A program
for automatic name placement,” Proc.
AUTO-CARTO 6, Ottawa, 1983. 444–
455.
 Freeman, H., “Computer Name
Placement,” ch. 29, in Geographical
Information Systems, 1, D.J. Maguire,
M.F. Goodchild, and D.W. Rhind, John
Wiley, New York, 1991, 449–460.
Mark Monmonier, How to Lie with
Maps, ISBN 0-226-53421-9
O'Connor, J.J. and E.F. Robertson, The
History of Cartography . Scotland : St.
Andrews University, 2002.

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Geography and Maps, an Illustrated
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the University of Wisconsin, a
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history of maps and mapping
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