ASSIGNMENT 2 GLS362

INTRODUCTION
A map is a visual representation of an entire area or a part of an area, typically represented on
a flat surface. The work of a map is to illustrate specific and detailed features of a particular
area, most frequently used to illustrate geography. There are many kinds of maps; static, two-
dimensional, three-dimensional, dynamic and even interactive. Maps attempt to represent
various things, like political boundaries, physical features, roads, topography, population,
climates, natural resources and economic activities.

Maps for conducting agricultural censuses and surveys have three main purposes
whereas the first aim is for planning and supervising operations.These are usually small-scale
topographic maps, say 1/50,000, 1/100,000 or smaller, showing political and administrative
boundaries. They may include data on vegetation, land use or land cover features, and may be
satellite images. Maps used for the construction of the frames are also included in this category
of maps.

The second purpose is for the field data collection. These are large-scale field maps,
1/10,000, 1/5,000 or larger, which should help the enumerator locate the agricultural holders or
holdings' addresses to assure complete coverage of areas without omission and duplication,
determine the best route of travel to and within the enumeration area, measure distances,
determine directions, show the progress of the field work and, ideally, to identify the
agricultural holdings (land and even buildings, if possible).

The third aim is for presentation and analysis of results. Maps can be used to relate
statistical data with the corresponding geographic area, facilitate the understanding of statistics
and assure a more extended and appropriate use of data. Maps provide a means by which
statistical information can be presented simply and effectively. Atlases produced from the
statistical results, are often useful publications

There are variety of maps have been created such as atlas, climatic map, geologic map,
physical map, political map, relief map, resource map, star map, street map, thematic map,
topographical map, weather map, world map and cadastral map.

For every map that have been produced, it has their own purposes as in why they are
exists. Atlas is to presenting geographic features and political boundaries, many atlases often
feature geopolitical, social, religious and economic statistics. They also have information about
the map and places in it. While the political map, is to show territorial boundaries.

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QUESTION 1: TOPOGRAPHIC MAP AND THEMATIC MAP

As for today, the discussion will be between topographic map and thematic map. From what
we understand, topographic map and thematic map is a whole different representation of map
and discrete purposes. Topographic map shows the elevation and relief with the shading of the
contour lines while thematic map displays a specific theme connected with details from the
geographic area.

Topographic map
The term topography derives from the Greek topographein, "to describe a place" and it is also
means "the shape of the land". Thus topographic maps illustrate the scale, width, length, and
height of land surface features. Besides, The International Cartographic Association defines
Topographic Maps as the following: "Topographic maps are maps at large and medium scales
which incorporate a huge variety of information. The basic coverage (a country’s largest map
series) is based on measurements made in the field and/or from aerial photographs. Derived
topographical maps (of medium and small scales) are prepared by reduction and generalisation
from the original basic maps. All components of a topographic map at a specified scale are of
equal importance: water, terrain, communication, built-up areas, vegetation, etc., as well as the
lettering of place-names and geographical and cultural features." (Anson et al. 1984, p. 17)
(Anson et al. 1984, p. 17).

Topographic map is a map created to show the surface of the earth with certain details
such as contour lines, the types of roads included in the map, the plantations in the area, the
buildings and so on. Topographic surveys for topographic map were also prepared by the
military to assist in planning for battle and for defensive emplacements. In the present days,
topographic map is used to any type of geographical planning, earth sciences and other
geographical disciplines, mining, civil engineering and recreational uses such as hiking.

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Features on topographic maps can be divided into three major groups:

i. Relief
 Depicted with brown contour lines that show hills, valleys, mountains, plains,
etc. Elevations are given in meters (or feet) above mean sea level. There are also
spot elevations (shown in black), where lake level, summit of a hill or road
intersections are marked for elevation.

ii. Water features

 Depicted in blue, they represent oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, swamps, and so
on.

Drainages Swamp Rivers

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iii. Cultural features

 Depicted in black, they represent all the man-made features: buildings, roads,
railroads, land boundaries, and so on.

iv. Vegetation and cultivation

 Depicted in green, they represent rubber, oil palm, coconut, sundry tree
cultivation, primary forest, secondary jungle and so on.

One of the important classification criterion is the scale. One can differentiate within
topographic maps:

 Large scale: larger than 1:25 000

 Medium scale: 1:25 000 to approximately 1:250 000
 Small scale: smaller than 1:250 000 to approximately 1:2 500 000
 Very small scale: smaller than 1:2 500 000, usually atlas-maps

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Topographic maps use standardised cartographic colours to represent features:

 Black: Man-made or cultural features, such as roads, buildings, names, boundaries, and
transmission lines.
 Blue: Water or hydrographic features, such as lakes, rivers, canals, glaciers, and
swamps.
 Brown: Contour lines, which show relief, but also terrain variation.
 Green / White: Landscape cover.
 Red: Important roads.
 Yellow: Secondary roads

Contour lines are an effective device for representing relief on topographic maps. They
can be defined as an imaginary line connecting points of equal elevation on the ground surface.
They show the height of ground above mean sea level (MSL) either in metres or feet, and can
be drawn at any desired interval. For example, numerous contour lines that are close to one
another indicate hilly or mountainous terrain; when further apart they indicate a gentler slope;
and when far apart they indicate flat terrain as shown in the figure below.

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Thematic map

A thematic map is also called a special-purpose, single-topic, or statistical map. A thematic map
focuses on the spatial variability of a specific distribution or theme (such as population density
or average annual income). The function of the thematic maps is to provide the specific
information about the location. They are also providing general information about the spatial
patterns. Thematic maps are used to compare patterns of two or more maps.

All thematic maps are composed of two important elements: a base map and statistical
data. Normally, the two are available as digital files, such as a cartographic boundary file and
census data. Thematic maps can be used for exploratory spatial data analysis, confirming
hypotheses, synthesizing spatial data by revealing patterns and relationships, and data
presentation.

The level of measurements in thematic maps are:

 Numerical Data are the real engine that fuels thematic maps. Anything that can be
counted (e.g., people, barrels of oil) or measured (e.g., temperature, income) makes for
great thematic maps. There are two types of numerical data:
 Interval data
 The categorization of data
 The ordering of data, but with explicit numerical indication of the
categories value.
 Ratio data
Ratio data has the same characteristics as interval data. However, contrary to
interval data, ratio data has no arbitrary but an absolute zero point.

Interval Data Example, Atlas of Switzerland 3 (Bundesamt für

Landestopografie swisstopo (eds.) 2010)

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 Nominal Data (also known as categorical or qualitative data) are categories that are
inherently unorderable, such as dominant religion, soil types, or land-use categories.
They have no numbers attached to them, nor are they rankable.

Nominal Data Example (Spiess 1993)

 Ordinal Data are inherently orderable categorical data like shirt sizes (s / m / l / xl), flood
risk (low risk / medium risk / high risk) or age (young / middle aged / old).

Ordinal Data Example (Buri et al. 1999)

The importance of the classification:

a) The sieve analogy in classification.

 Each sieve functions as a screen allowing only balls of a certain size to drop
through to the next level. Each sieve can be compared to a taxonomic criteria
established for the particular study. Spaces between the sieves become the
classes, and the sieves are the class boundaries (Dent 1999).
b) Discover interactively the sieve analogy
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QUESTION 2: PROCEDURE OF MAP MAKING

The cartographic process is a cycle that begins with a real or imagined environment. As map
makers, they do a data collection process 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). The data collection is a need because the data needs to be inserts into the map.
Getting to know the map purpose first is important because it is easier to find the data when the
purpose is identified without getting confused of which kind of information will be needed in
the maps. With the purpose of the map is known, the cartographer needs to know the current
issue of the location so the map will be presented within the present days. A cartographer will
also:

 Collect and analyse geographical data, such as population density, demographic

characteristics, and annual precipitation patterns
 Examine and compile data from ground surveys, reports, aerial photographs, and
satellite images to prepare thematic maps
 Revise existing maps and charts to make corrections, adjustments, and updates

Cartographers use information from geodetic surveys and remote sensing systems,
including aerial cameras, satellites, and technologies such as light-imaging detection and
ranging (LIDAR). LIDAR uses lasers attached to planes and other equipment to digitally map
the topography of the earth. LIDAR is often more accurate than traditional surveying methods
and also can be used to collect other forms of data, such as the location and density of forest
canopies. A cartographer will also work from existing maps, surveys, and other records. To do
so, they must be able to determine thematic and positional accuracy of each feature being
mapped. They must make decisions about the accuracy and reliability of the final map. In
addition, they must decide what further information they need to meet the client's needs. They
must focus on details when including features needed on a final map, and must be able to
identify and resolve issues with the tools available to them.

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After the selection of the data, the next step is to do the classification of the information
into a few classes. By grouping attributes into a few discernible classes, new visual patterns in
the data can emerge and the map becomes more legible. For example, the colour of the seas are
separated into three different colour of blue to show the different depth of the seas such as the
light blue is for the less deep while the darker shade of blue is to show the depth is more
fathomable than the lighter blue.

Next, for the map design process, the map maker uses the data and attempts to signify
it visually on a map (encoding), 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). In the encoding aspect, colour, along with position,
size, shape, value, orientation, and texture is one of the primary means to encode data
graphically. This seven elements of encoding aspect are called visual variable; a set of symbols
that can be applied to data in order to convey the underlying information. In that sense the wise
and often conservative use of colour is a prerequisite for accuracy in the graphic interpretation
of data. When not used properly, colour in maps can obscure the data and mislead the reader
by concealing the actual state of the observed problem.

For generalization, there are three methods; smoothing, typification and aggregation.
Smoothing is the act of eliminating unnecessary elements in the geometry of features, such as
the superfluous details of a nation’s shoreline that can only be seen at a larger, zoomed-in
regional scale. Typification depicts just the most typical components of the mapped feature. The
visibility map above is a good example of typification in which the actual geographic shape of
state boundaries is replaced with what might be considered a caricature that retains only key
aspects of each state’s shape. Going beyond the simplification processes that act on one feature
at a time, aggregation combines multiple features into one. Imagine a river composed of
numerous meandering streams at a large scale (i.e., zoomed in), but when moving to a smaller
scale (i.e., zooming out), the streams are merged into one larger river as it becomes impossible
to maintain the detail.

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In the final process of creating a map, the cartographer applies symbolization method as
he symbolizes the selected features on a map. These features can be symbolized in visually
realistic ways, such as a river depicted by a winding blue line. But many depictions are much
more abstract, such as a circle or star representing a city. Map symbols are constructed from
more primitive “graphic variables, the elements that make up symbols. Below, we provide a
brief overview of these core graphic variables; then we focus on how colour in particular is
used (or should be used).

Next, the map user reads, analyses, and interprets the map by decoding the symbols
and recognizing patterns. Finally, for decision-making process, map users make decisions and
take action based upon what they find in the map. The below figure shows the cartographic
process of making maps.

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CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, we came to understand that maps have been produced to show the information
of the certain whereabouts in an easier and understandable way. With the process of the map
making, the production of the map is for the representation of the features that needs to be
included in the map. Map is also an important thing for the data representation for the purpose
of deliver the information in a straightforward way so the users will get the information without
occurring inaccuracy data collection. We also learnt that maps have been published in variety
types of maps that show different kinds of information. We also learnt that topographic maps
and thematic maps shown different kinds of representations. Most topographic maps are general
purpose which shows the visible features of the landscape such as relief, water bodies and roads.
Thematic maps have special purpose, where the emphasis is placed on a particular element.

The conclusion for the procedure of map making is we believe that every map making
is made according to the data collection and the requests from the clients of what kind of map
that they want the cartographers produced. Map making provides different level of abstraction
that will attract attention for the users to be able to notice the features in the map. Every method
for map making is for the best resolution of the map to satisfy the users. Map making also
should decide what kind of information suitable for the map because, to avoid the abundance
of inefficacious information. In this modern era, we are thankful for the existence of the
technology like ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator to facilitate the map makers and users for the
map productions that we could not imagine how the early eras of cartography did their job
where the real work of art is shown using their bare hands.

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REFERENCES

 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2011001/other-autre/theme/def-
eng.htm
 http://www.gitta.info/TopoCart/en/html/ContTopo_learningObject2.html#
 http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/2d.html
 https://www.e-education.psu.edu/natureofgeoinfo/c6_p4.html
 http://www.gitta.info/Statistics/en/text/Statistics.pdf
 https://www.sokanu.com/careers/cartographer/
 https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog160/node/1882
 http://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/7308/1/map
 http://www.fao.org/economic/the-statistics-division-ess/world-census-of-
agriculture/conducting-of-agricultural-censuses-and-surveys/chapter-5-cartographic-
preparation/en/
 https://www.mapsofindia.com/what-is-map.html
 https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-pro/mapping/map-making-step-by-
step/
 https://gisgeography.com/map-elements-how-to-guide-map-making/
 https://pmantler.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/assignment-7.pdf
 https://www.quora.com/How-is-a-process-map-made

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