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What is a map?
How do they present information? Who gathers information for them and how much? How do they show spatial patterns? How do these patterns form?
A two-dimensional (flat) representation of a geographic area or place.
- Maps present information about the world in a simple, visual way.
- Carographers gather and use a large amount of data to draw to draw maps.
- Maps use a spatial perspective to show spatial patterns.
- These patterns form from a specific process.
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Who is a cartographer?
What do they do? How?
Can cartographers show everything on one map? Do they use little amounts of data?
A person who makes maps.
They use a large amount of data to create maps.
- No they are selective, they will choose what a map will show and what it will not.
- Cartographers use a tremendous amount of data to draw maps.
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What is data aggregation?
What is the scale analysis?
The process of collecting and organizating large amounts of information.
A scale analysis of a person or even at a scale analysis of a country.
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What is spatial perspective?
What does it help explain?
A geographic perspective that seeks to identify and explain the uses of space. A spatial perspective explains when events happened, where they happened, and why they happened when they did.
It helps explain spatial patterns.
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What are spatial patterns?
What do they include?
How can objects be distributed to show spatial patterns? What do these terms mean? What objects?
The placements or arrangements of objects on Earth’s surface; also includes the space between those objects.
These patterns also include the space between those objects.
- These objects (buildings, apartments, stores, etc.) can be either clustered, dispersed, or random.
- Clustered (clumpted together), dispersed (spread out in some organized fashion), or random (no organization, not clustered nor dispersed).
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What is time-distance decay?
“The first law of geography”. What does it explain?
What does it imply?
The idea that near things are more related than distant things, and interaction between two places decreases the farther apart they are.
It explains many urban patterns.
It implies that the farther people have to travel for goods and services, the less likely they are to do so.
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What do spacial patterns result from?
And what shows this?
Can every process be mapped? What does every geographic pattern have?
A specific process.
Maps often reveal spatial patterns that result from a specifc process.
- Yes, every process can be mapped.
- Every geographic pattern has some sort of geographic process.
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What are map symbols?
Maps contain a number of ____ to help read and understand them?
Graphic elements that help organize the information in a map, such as (but not limited to) dots, stars, arrows, squares, and dotted lines.
* Features.
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What is a legend?
Where are they loacted?
A key to the meaning of the symbols and colors on a map.
The title of legends tells you what the map is showing.
Usually the legend is presented in a box in a corner of the map.
Data Aggregation
Data aggregation is the process of collecting and organizing large amounts of information. The information can be aggregated can be at the scale analysis of a small city or even globally.
Map scale
The distance on a map in relation to distance in actual space; for example, 1 inch on a map might indicate a distance of 100 miles. It is different from scale as scale is the territorial extent of any object.
Map projections
Viewing the map as a globe is very impractical, so we use MAP PROJECTIONS, which is a representation of a spherical object on a flat plane.
The Mercator Projection
This map shows accurate longtitude and latitude lines, showing accurate direction, great for navigation and. But it displays the shape, size, and landmass incorrectly, and distorts it near the poles.
Map Distortion
A fundamental problem of all maps is that maps will be distort either direction, shape, area, or distance.
Interrupted map
A map that tries to remove distortion by removing parts of the globe, such as the goode homolosine map.
Goode Homolosine Projection
The Goode Homolosine project is an interrupted map, that excels in showing the true size and shape of Earth’s landmasses. But distorts with distance and the edges of the map. It’s not great for navigation due to the interruptions.
Fuller projection
The fuller map projection shows land masses without interrupting, remaining true land mass sizes. But the direction is incorrect.
Uninterrupted Map
A map that displays the entirety of the earth’s surface.
The Robinson’s projection
The Robinson’s project keeps most distribution at the poles, but keeps the size and shape of all landmasses accurate. It is a combination of both the Peter’s projection and the Mercator projection.
The Peter’s projection
The Peter’s projection is the best map in showing the true size and shape of landmasses.
Reference Maps
Reference maps are informational maps that sho boundaries, names of places, and geographic features of an area. They display accurate locations.
Topographic Map
A map that uses contour lines to display the terrian and elevation differences.
Absolute distance
Absolute distance is an accurate measurement of a length in a standard unit (miles, kilometers, etc.)
Absolute Direction
Absolute direction is the exact direction you’re heading usually corresponds to compass direction (N, E, S, W).
