Keyword: Cartography

Cartography

Cartography is the study of and making of maps. A person who specializes in cartography is called a cartographer.

The earliest maps date some 5,000 years -- before the invention of language! The first official published map was drawn in 1569 by the Flemish geographer, Gerardus Mercator, who set the standard for modern mapmaking.

Today, there are many different types of maps highlighting bodies of land and water, stars, galaxies, highways, and mountains. Maps can be three-dimensional, highly detailed, patterned to the specific missions of various explorers, and even color-coded to show climate, rock, and wind patterns.

The 4 major types of maps that cartographers design and print are:

General Reference Maps: Maps that highlight geographic or political features. A map that displays all of the mountains on earth is a general reference map.

Mobility Maps: Maps that give specific directions from one place to another. A road map from Florida to California is a mobility map.

Thematic Maps: Maps that illustrate distribution patterns for specific features. A map that highlights the annual rainfall throughout a region is a thematic map.

Inventory Maps: Maps that differentiate certain areas of a location by developing keys to its unique features. For example, highlighting rural areas with the color red and urban cities with the color blue would be a characteristic of an inventory map.