1               Introduction To Cartography and Mapping

 

The following sections provides with the definition of cartography. It will explain the cartographic process and how map information is best communicated. In the last section will be explained which functions maps have and which map types are existing.

 

1.1           Definition of cartography

Cartography (from Greek Χάρτης, khartes = papyrus (paper) and graphein = to write) is the study and practice of making maps. It involves data collection, evaluation, compilation, design, construction and reproduction of maps.

But the meaning of cartography has changed fundamentally since 1960. The change in the definition has originated from the fact that the subject has been put in the field of communication science and by the advent of the computer. Under the influence of the former cartography nowadays is seen as ‘the conveying of geospatial information by means of maps’. This results in the view that not only the manufacturing of maps but also their use is regarded as belonging to the field of cartography. And its indeed evident that only by investigating the use of maps and the processing of the mapped information by their beholders is it possible to check whether the information in the maps was represented in the best way.

What is a map?

The unsatisfactory aspect in the definition above of ‘conveying of geospatial data by the means of maps’ is that the concept ‘map’ has not been defined. A map is a graphical representation of geospatial data, such as natural and artificial features on earth, on a plane surface (usually in 2D). The representation is usually at a specific scale. The features on a map are positioned as accurately as possible relative to a coordinate reference system.

A map is a manual creation of man and gives only those details of information, which its creator wants to give. Instead of showing the details in their true or visible shape and size, it uses symbols which may or may not have similarities with the shape and size of the objects represented. A map can also show us objects or patterns which may be invisible (e.g. boundaries).

But today, maps are no longer only the final products they used to be. The advances of new technologies, like databases and other computer graphic techniques, lead the cartographers to new alternative presentation options such as three-dimensional and animated maps.

The rise of Internet brought the next revolution in mapping. Access to interactive maps is no longer limited to professionals. Products such as Google Maps/Earth even allow people to add their own data to the maps and share it with other in a mouse click.

 

Cartographic communication process

The cartographic process (see figure 1) is a cycle that begins with a real or imagined environment. As the map maker collects data from the environment (through technology and/or remote sensing), they use their perception to detect patterns and subsequently prepare the data for map creation (i.e. they think about the data and its patterns as well as how to best visualize them on a map). Next, the map maker uses the data and attempts to signify it visually on a map, applying generalization, symbolization, and production methods that will (hopefully) lead to a depiction that can be interpreted by the map user in the way the map maker intended (its purpose). Next, the map user reads, analyzes, and interprets the map by decoding the symbols and recognizing patterns. Finally, users make decisions and take action based upon what they find in the map.