What is cartography?
Cartography is the art and science of creating maps. It involves the gathering of geographical information, the storage, processing, and editing of this information, and the presentation of the data in map form. Cartography depends on sound geographical knowledge of the surface being mapped, as well as the many skills and tools instrumental to the mapping process.
Cartography or mapmaking (in Greek chartis = map and graphein = write) is the study and practice of making representations of the Earth on a flat surface. The discipline of cartography combines science, aesthetics, and technical ability to create a balanced and readable representation that is capable of communicating information effectively and quickly. One problem in creating maps is the simple reality that the surface of the Earth, a curved surface in three-dimensional space, must be represented in two dimensions as a flat surface. This necessarily entails some degree of distortion, which can be dealt with by utilizing projections that minimize distortion in certain areas. Furthermore, the Earth is not a regular sphere, but its shape is instead known as a geoid, which is a highly irregular but exactly knowable and calculable shape. Maps of all scales have traditionally been drawn and made by hand, but the recent advent and spread of computers has revolutionized cartography. Most comm
Cartography is the art and science of map making, practiced by cartographers. Humans have been drawing maps for thousands of years, as part of an effort to understand their environment. The quest for an accurate map drove explorers to adventure to far-flung areas well into the 1700s, and cartographers in the modern day find frequent employment still, thanks to constant political and geological changes around the world. To train in cartography, a student should be prepared to take years of courses in multiple disciplines. The term comes from two Greek words, chartis, meaning map, and graphos, meaning to draw or write. In historic times, an individual cartographer hand drew a map in entirety, often with limited information. Modern practitioners of cartography have the advantage of computers and other equipment to assist them, making their maps more precise. The science of cartography has also evolved, as many maps have become multimedia data explosions, chock full of information for the
Cartography is the scientific name for mapmaking. It is one of the most versatile of human creations. It is useful for activities ranging from the sciences to the arts, from the speculative to the practical and from the real to the unreal. Maps are a way of organizing geographic or spatial data for use in human activities. The map serves as an intermediary between a person and the environment by helping people to manage or navigate the environment. Maps have a wide variety of uses and aid us in many ways. When we think of maps, we often think of them as navigation tools. They also have other uses as in helping us to interpret data like land elevations, weather patterns, crop production, etc. A cartographer (mapmaker) possesses the technical knowledge and skill to design maps. One of the great eras of human growth and expansion, the Age of Exploration, spanning the late 15th and 16th centuries, witnessed the production of thousands of maps. These maps detailed the mundus novus, the “new
Cartography From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Cartography or mapmaking (in Greek chartis = map and graphein = write) is the study and practice of making maps or globes. Maps have traditionally been made using pen and paper, but the advent and spread of computers have revolutionized cartography. Most commercial-quality maps are now made with map-making software that falls into one of three main types; CAD, GIS, and specialized map illustration software. Maps function as visualization tools for spatial data. Spatial data is acquired from measurement and can be stored in a database, from which it can be extracted for a variety of purposes. Current trends in this field are moving away from analog methods of mapmaking and toward the creation of increasingly dynamic, interactive maps that can be manipulated digitally. The cartographic process rests on the premise that the world is measurable and that we can make reliable representations or models of that reali
