Download What`s in a map?

5 Ways Geographers think
about the World
• Space: geographers observe regularities across
the Earth and depict them on maps
• Place: geographers describe unique locations of
everything on Earth
• Regions: geographers identify areas of the
world formed by distinctive combinations of
features
• Scale: geographers understand how each place
is unique and yet also similar to other places
• Connections: geographers explain relationships
among places and regions across space
What is a map?
Examine some of the images on
the following slides.
Are they maps?
So, Have you decided yet?
• According to your textbook:
“A map serves two purposes: a tool for storing
reference material and a tool for communicating
geographic information.” p.7
Do these maps tell us geographic information, or
where to find something? Do they tell us
something about the area that is being mapped?
YES
All of the images, though from vastly
different sources, with vastly different uses
are maps. First, we will look at each
image and see WHY it is a map.
Then, we will look at some maps made in
the past few thousand years
Emmett’s map of Disney World
(okay- it still needs labels to be a TRUE map, but he can’t write!)
• This image, drawn by a 4 year
old stores both reference
material and geographic
information. If he could spell,
and there were labels, it would
be more convincing!
• Black = scary ride (Pirates,
Peter Pan)
• Green= good ride (Tree
House, Buzz Lightyear is the
largest one, his favorite!)
Ga-Sur 2500 B.C.
• This is the oldest
know map, drawn on
a clay tablet in
Ancient Babylon.
• The line drawing is a
clearer image of the
map, which explains
the position of the
town on a river, in a
valley.
What makes this a map?
• You are likely most
familiar with this sort
of image, from
Mapquest. Why is it a
map?
• Reference Material?
• Geographic
information?
• Both?
The London Underground
• The “Tube” map from
London is one of the most
famous maps from the
20th century.
• The color coding and
geometric lines make
reading the map and
riding the tube very
simple.
• However, it is a
TERRIBLE indicator of
where things are on
ground level!
Catal Hyuk 6200BC
Posidonius 130-150BC
Mosaic of Palestine 565AD
10th century Bede
1109 Beatus
Catalan 1375 (Europe)
Catalan 1375 (Asia)
Ch’onhado 18th century China
Ptolemy 1482
Roselli 1508
Mercator 1569
Mercator (North America)
Scale
Scale: Meaning #1
•The size/scope of places being studied
•Local  Global
•Think in terms of local issues vs
regional, national, or global issues
Scale: Meaning #2
• Shows the ratio of distance and area on Earth to the
distance and area on a map
• Example: one cm on map equals 1 km
• Representations:
– proportional fraction (1/100,000)
– ratio (1:100,000)
– bar scale
– verbal statement
Scale
Opposite meaning of “scale”
• A large-scale map shows a small area
• A small-scale map shows a larger area
• A scale of 1/5,000 is a large-scale map
compared to a scale of 1/1,000,000.
Scale
Location Questions
1. In figure 1-6 what is the distance between the New York Stock Exchange
and City Hall?
2. In Fig 1.7 what is the distance between the town of Johar Bahuru and
Singapore's airport?
3. In Fig 1.19 what is the distance between the home of the Atlanta Braves
and the Kansas City Royals?
4. In Fig 1.15 what is the distance between Amsterdam and Rotterdam?
5. In Fig 1.2 what is the approximate area of the state of Colorado?
6. One inch on the map equals what distance on the ground in Fig 1.16? In
Fig 1.14?
Projections
• The scientific method of transferring locations on
the Earth’s surface to a flat map.
• This causes distortion. Types of distortion are:
–
–
–
–
Shape
Distance
Relative size
Direction
Types of Projections: Mercator
Mercator Projection
• Shows no curves - all straight lines
• exaggerates the size and distorts the shape of
areas far from the equator.
– Greenland is presented as being roughly as large as
Africa, when in fact Africa's area is approximately 14
times that of Greenland.
– Alaska is presented as being slightly larger in size
than Brazil, when Brazil's area is actually almost 5
times that of Alaska.
• At equator direction is true, but at latitudes
higher than 70° north or south, the Mercator
projection is practically unusable.
Types of Projections: Robinson
Robinson Project
• Uninterrupted
• The meridians curve gently, avoiding
extremes and stretch the poles into long
lines instead of leaving them as points.
– Hence distortion close to the poles is severe
but quickly declines to moderate levels
moving away from them
• Good for showing ocean topics, but land
masses are smaller
Mercator
Robinson
Equal Area Projections (such as
Goode’s holosine)
Equal Area Projections (Goode’s)
• Fig 1-2 in textbook
• Interrupts the oceans
• Tucks Australia and NZ farther west than
reality
• Land masses look larger than oceans
• Minimizes distortion in shape of land
masses and the size of one in relation to
another
Land Ordinance of 1785
•
•
•
•
Township
Principal meridians
Base lines
sections
Types of Maps
•Choroplethic
–Uses choropleths, or existing (political) units
•Isometric
–Uses isolines, or data lines (such as contours)
•Symbolic
–Proportional representation, located charts, etc.
•Cartograms
•Or a combination of the above
Choropleth
Isometric Map: Spatial Diffusion
of College Soccer
Isometric Map: Time-Space
Compression
Topographic Map (using
elevation contour isolines)
Dot Density (or Dot Distribution)
• Each dot represents a measurement unit
distributed randomly inside the territorial
unit (a postal code for example.)
Graduated (or Proportional)
Symbol Map: AIDS victims
GIS
Geographic Information
Systems (GIS)
• Data-driven systems
• Allows merging (comparison) of data using
layers of information on a map.
• Fastest growing area of geographic jobs
• Highly technical, centered in government and
business
Mental Maps
• Mental
(cognitive)
maps of our
geographical
perceptions
• New Yorkers’
View of the
world.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.