Maps and globe are important tools for geographers. Maps help geographers compare places and relate people's activities to the locations where they live. Cartographers use various methods to make maps as precise as possible, and design them so that they can be read and understood by people throughout the world.
1. Map, Map Reading and Cartography
- Map: a visual representation of an entire or a part of an area, typically represented on a flat surface. Its work is to illustrate specific and detailed features of a particular area, most frequently geography.
- Map reading: an act of interpreting or understanding the geographic information portrayed on a map. By map reading, the reader can develop a mental map of the real-world information by processing the symbolised information shown on maps.
- Cartography: the study and practice of many facets of maps and map making. It can be described as the art and science of map making.