1. Maps—The Geographer’s
Tool
Cartography: The art and
science of making maps

2. A 2-D View of a 3-D World

3. Maps Illustrate and Reinforce Our
Ideas about the World Around Us

4. Maps Illustrate and Reinforce Our
Ideas about the World Around Us
 What we see, what we don’t see,
and what we’re not willing to see…

5. Maps Illustrate and Reinforce Our
Ideas about the World Around Us
 What we see, what we don’t see,
and what we’re not willing to see…
 How we think about the world
around us…

6. Maps Illustrate and Reinforce Our
Ideas about the World Around Us
 What we see, what we don’t see,
and what we’re not willing to see…
 How we think about the world
around us…
 What is important to us and what is
not…

7. Maps Illustrate and Reinforce Our
Ideas about the World Around Us
 What we see, what we don’t see,
and what we’re not willing to see…
 How we think about the world
around us…
 What is important to us and what is
not…
These things all “appear” on our maps

8. 1600’s

9. 1700’s

10. 1800’s

13. G.I.S.
 Geographic
Information Systems
has revolutionized the
way we make maps
 However, the
computer program
only depicts what we
tell it to…

17. A Simplification or a Lie?

18. A Simplification or a Lie?
“cartographic censorship”

19. A Simplification or a Lie?
“cartographic censorship”
“[B]asic maps of most cities show streets, landmark structures,
elevations, parks, churches, and large museums--but not
dangerous intersections, impoverished neighborhoods, high crime
areas, and other zones of danger and misery that could be
accommodated without sacrificing information about infrastructure
and terrain.

20. A Simplification or a Lie?
“cartographic censorship”
“[B]asic maps of most cities show streets, landmark structures,
elevations, parks, churches, and large museums--but not
dangerous intersections, impoverished neighborhoods, high crime
areas, and other zones of danger and misery that could be
accommodated without sacrificing information about infrastructure
and terrain.
“By omitting politically threatening or aesthetically unattractive
aspects of geographic reality...our topographic ‘base maps’ are
hardly basic to the concerns of public health and safety officials,
social workers, and citizens rightfully concerned about the well-
being of themselves and others.”

21. A Simplification or a Lie?
“cartographic censorship”
“[B]asic maps of most cities show streets, landmark structures,
elevations, parks, churches, and large museums--but not
dangerous intersections, impoverished neighborhoods, high crime
areas, and other zones of danger and misery that could be
accommodated without sacrificing information about infrastructure
and terrain.
“By omitting politically threatening or aesthetically unattractive
aspects of geographic reality...our topographic ‘base maps’ are
hardly basic to the concerns of public health and safety officials,
social workers, and citizens rightfully concerned about the well-
being of themselves and others.”
-Monmonier, How to Lie with Maps, p. 122

22. Globe vs. Map

23. Globe vs. Map

25. All flat maps distort shape or size or direction

26. All flat maps distort shape or size or direction
We can hold one constant, but not all three

27. Map Projections

28. Map Projections
 Trying to take something round and
make it flat isn’t easy (especially if
you’re trying to make it into a
rectangle)!

29. Map Projections
 Trying to take something round and
make it flat isn’t easy (especially if
you’re trying to make it into a
rectangle)!
 Map projections attempt to do this
by “projecting” an image of Earth’s
surface onto a piece of paper

30. Cylindrical Projection

31. Cylindrical Projection
Imagine a light bulb in the center of a globe, with a sheet of paper
wrapped around it in the form of a cylinder. Meridians and parallels
would be "projected'' onto the cylinder as straight, parallel lines.
Meridians on these projections do not meet at the poles, so these
maps are increasingly stretched and distorted toward the poles.

32. Azimuthal or Planar Projection

33. Azimuthal or Planar Projection
A perfectly flat piece of paper (a
plane) would touch the globe at a
point (the tangent). This projection is
a good choice for maps with circular
or square shapes. When the point of
tangency is one of the poles,
meridians are shown as straight lines
radiating from the pole. If parallels
are then drawn as equally spaced
concentric circles, this projection
would be equidistant (scale is true
along any line radiating from the
center point, in this case the pole).

34. Conic Projection

35. Conic Projection
A cone of paper placed over a globe would touch its surface along
one standard line (usually a parallel). A cone that sliced through the
globe would intersect it twice, creating two standard parallels. Such
a projection is well-suited for showing areas in the middle-latitudes
with a mostly east-west extent (like the United States).

36. Pseudocylindrical Projection
Pseudocylindrical (or elliptical) projections normally have straight
parallels and curved meridians (usually equally spaced). The
Robinson Projection is a popular example. It was created to make
the world "look" right by keeping angular and areal distortions to a
minimum.

37. Interrupted Projection

38. Conformal vs. Equivalent Projections

39. “Reading” Maps

40. “Reading” Maps
(Lat.°)

41. “Reading” Maps
(Lat.°)(min')

42. “Reading” Maps
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”)

43. “Reading” Maps
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S)

44. “Reading” Maps
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S) (Long.°)

45. “Reading” Maps
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S) (Long.°)(min')

46. “Reading” Maps
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S) (Long.°)(min') (sec”)

47. “Reading” Maps
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S) (Long.°)(min') (sec”) (E/W)

48. “Reading” Maps
In order to find your way around a map,
you need to know how standard map
coordinates are written:
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S) (Long.°)(min') (sec”) (E/W)

49. “Reading” Maps
In order to find your way around a map,
you need to know how standard map
coordinates are written:
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S) (Long.°)(min') (sec”) (E/W)

50. “Reading” Maps
In order to find your way around a map,
you need to know how standard map
coordinates are written:
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S) (Long.°)(min') (sec”) (E/W)

51. “Reading” Maps
In order to find your way around a map,
you need to know how standard map
coordinates are written:
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S) (Long.°)(min') (sec”) (E/W)
Quest of the day: Where is this place?

52. “Reading” Maps
In order to find your way around a map,
you need to know how standard map
coordinates are written:
(Lat.°)(min') (sec”) (N/S) (Long.°)(min') (sec”) (E/W)
Quest of the day: Where is this place?
37°32’12”N 122°20’02”W

53. Quick Quiz:
Which of the following is written incorrectly?

54. Quick Quiz:
Which of the following is written incorrectly?
a) 0º0º

55. Quick Quiz:
Which of the following is written incorrectly?
a) 0º0º
b) 0º180º

56. Quick Quiz:
Which of the following is written incorrectly?
a) 0º0º
b) 0º180º
c) 38ºS 120ºE

57. Quick Quiz:
Which of the following is written incorrectly?
a) 0º0º
b) 0º180º
c) 38ºS 120ºE
d) 89º56’62”W 179º01’59”N

58. Elements of a Good Map

59. Elements of a Good Map
All maps need certain characteristics in
order to be easily readable.

60. Elements of a Good Map
All maps need certain characteristics in
order to be easily readable.


61. Elements of a Good Map
All maps need certain characteristics in
order to be easily readable.

So what is it that makes a map

62. Elements of a Good Map
All maps need certain characteristics in
order to be easily readable.

So what is it that makes a map
a “good” map?

66. Elements of a Good Map

67. Elements of a Good Map
 Title

68. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date

69. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date
 Legend/Key

70. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date
 Legend/Key
 Direction

71. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date
 Legend/Key
 Direction
 Location

72. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date
 Legend/Key
 Direction
 Location
 Index

73. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date
 Legend/Key
 Direction
 Location
 Index
 Data Source

74. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date
 Legend/Key
 Direction
 Location
 Index
 Data Source
 Projection Type

75. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date
 Legend/Key
 Direction
 Location
 Index
 Data Source
 Projection Type
 Scale

76. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date
 Legend/Key
 Direction
 Location
 Index
 Data Source
 Projection Type
 Scale
 Relief and Topography

77. Elements of a Good Map
 Title
 Date
 Legend/Key
 Direction
 Location
 Index
 Data Source
 Projection Type
 Scale
 Relief and Topography
 Design

78. Topographic Maps
 USGS—United
States Geological
Survey

83. How a Topographic Map is Made

84. Isolines

85. Isolines
Four basic characteristics:

86. Isolines
Four basic characteristics:

87. Isolines
Four basic characteristics:
1. Isolines always form closed shapes. The connecting section
may be cut off at the edges of the map, but at some point
all isolines meet and close.

88. Isolines
Four basic characteristics:
1. Isolines always form closed shapes. The connecting section
may be cut off at the edges of the map, but at some point
all isolines meet and close.

89. Isolines
Four basic characteristics:
1. Isolines always form closed shapes. The connecting section
may be cut off at the edges of the map, but at some point
all isolines meet and close.
2. Except in rare cases (such as an overhanging cliff), isolines
do not cross.

90. Isolines
Four basic characteristics:
1. Isolines always form closed shapes. The connecting section
may be cut off at the edges of the map, but at some point
all isolines meet and close.
2. Except in rare cases (such as an overhanging cliff), isolines
do not cross.

91. Isolines
Four basic characteristics:
1. Isolines always form closed shapes. The connecting section
may be cut off at the edges of the map, but at some point
all isolines meet and close.
2. Except in rare cases (such as an overhanging cliff), isolines
do not cross.
3. The elevation difference between one isoline and the next
is called an “interval”. Intervals may differ between maps,
but are usually the same throughout any one map.

92. Isolines
Four basic characteristics:
1. Isolines always form closed shapes. The connecting section
may be cut off at the edges of the map, but at some point
all isolines meet and close.
2. Except in rare cases (such as an overhanging cliff), isolines
do not cross.
3. The elevation difference between one isoline and the next
is called an “interval”. Intervals may differ between maps,
but are usually the same throughout any one map.

93. Isolines
Four basic characteristics:
1. Isolines always form closed shapes. The connecting section
may be cut off at the edges of the map, but at some point
all isolines meet and close.
2. Except in rare cases (such as an overhanging cliff), isolines
do not cross.
3. The elevation difference between one isoline and the next
is called an “interval”. Intervals may differ between maps,
but are usually the same throughout any one map.
4. Where isolines are close together, there is a steep
gradient, or slope, or a rapid change of some sort. Where
they are further apart, there is a gentle gradient, slope, or
slow change.

94. USGS Topo Maps
Take one and check it out!

95. Scale