A map is the basic tool of a geographer and a location guide. It is defined as the miniature image of the 3 dimensional earth's surface on paper, cloth or any flat surface. Maps are drawn to a scale and direction, and have legends to explain their symbols and colours. The art of map-making is called Cartography. Surveying is the process of recording the measurement of a land area; its outcomes are the data sources of maps.
1. Maps and Cartography
- Maps are drawings of an area as seen from above; they can show a whole or part of the world.
- A map illustrates the earth's surface through a combination of drawings, words and symbols.
- A cartographer measures, analyses and interprets geographical information to create maps and charts for political, cultural and educational purposes.
- Anaximander was the first ancient Greek to draw a map of the known world.
- The actual shape of the Earth is termed Geoid, which is an oblate spheroid.