A
short definition of a map and a description of what cartographers do.
The
Earth’s pattern. “Like an ant
upon a rug,” says E. P. James, “man may know very exactly the nature of the
fabric near by, but the general design is beyond his range of vision. In
order to reduce the larger patterns of the face of the earth to suck proportions
that they can be comprehended in a single view, the geographer makes use of a
map.”
-- from Erwin Raisz, 1948, Principles of Cartography, Ch 1.
The ever-present map is a phenomenon of our society and culture. We see maps in our everyday activities that take on a number of representations (e.g., weather, highway, and topographic maps) depicting different kinds of geographical (spatial based) information. As more spatial-based information becomes available, new technologies allow maps to be made by almost anyone with a computer, and disseminated across the World Wide Web, it is important to understand some of the basic principles that govern map construction as well as their meanings and use.