Portal:Maps

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The Maps and Cartography Portal

World map by Gerard van Schagen, Amsterdam, 1689

A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on a transitory medium such as a computer screen. Some maps change interactively. Although maps are commonly used to depict geographic elements, they may represent any space, real or fictional. The subject being mapped may be two-dimensional such as Earth's surface, three-dimensional such as Earth's interior, or from an abstract space of any dimension.

Maps of geographic territory have a very long tradition and have existed from ancient times. The word "map" comes from the medieval Latin: Mappa mundi, wherein mappa meant 'napkin' or 'cloth' and mundi 'of the world'. Thus, "map" became a shortened term referring to a flat representation of Earth's surface. (Full article... )

Cartography (/kɑːrˈtɒɡrəfi/ ; from Ancient Greek: χάρτης chartēs, 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and γράφειν graphein, 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively. (Full article... )

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The Geography (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικὴ Ὑφήγησις, Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, lit. "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the Geographia and the Cosmographia, is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, compiling the geographical knowledge of the 2nd-century Roman Empire. Originally written by Claudius Ptolemy in Greek at Alexandria around 150 AD, the work was a revision of a now-lost atlas by Marinus of Tyre using additional Roman and Persian gazetteers and new principles. Its translation – Kitab Surat al-Ard – into Arabic by Al-Khwarismi in the 9th century was highly influential on the geographical knowledge and cartographic traditions of the Islamic world. Alongside the works of Islamic scholars – and the commentary containing revised and more accurate data by Alfraganus – Ptolemy's work was subsequently highly influential on Medieval and Renaissance Europe. (Full article... )

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The following are images from various map-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Clay tablet with map of the Babylonian city of Nippur (c. 1400 BC) (from History of cartography)

Image 1Clay tablet with map of the Babylonian city of Nippur (c. 1400 BC) (from History of cartography )
Image 2Reconstruction of Pomponius Mela's world map. (from History of cartography)

Image 2Reconstruction of Pomponius Mela's world map. (from History of cartography )
Image 3Blaeu's world map, originally prepared by Joan Blaeu for his Atlas Maior, published in the first book of the Atlas Van Loon (1664) (from History of cartography)

Image 3Blaeu's world map, originally prepared by Joan Blaeu for his Atlas Maior , published in the first book of the Atlas Van Loon (1664) (from History of cartography )
Image 4CIA map of Iraq, following typical labeling guidelines to maximize legibility and association (from Cartographic design)

Image 4CIA map of Iraq, following typical labeling guidelines to maximize legibility and association (from Cartographic design )
Image 5World map Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Ortelius (1570) (from History of cartography)

Image 5World map Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Ortelius (1570) (from History of cartography )
Image 6Infinitesimal elements on the sphere and a normal cylindrical projection (from Scale (map))

Image 6Infinitesimal elements on the sphere and a normal cylindrical projection (from Scale (map) )
Image 7A well-composed transit map of Istanbul, with a high degree of contrast between the symbols, creating a strong visual hierarchy (transit lines are and look most important), figure-ground, and selectivity (the green national rail line can be isolated when necessary). Also note the harmonizing subdued tones of green and blue in the background. (from Cartographic design)

Image 7A well-composed transit map of Istanbul, with a high degree of contrast between the symbols, creating a strong visual hierarchy (transit lines are and look most important), figure-ground, and selectivity (the green national rail line can be isolated when necessary). Also note the harmonizing subdued tones of green and blue in the background. (from Cartographic design )
Image 8The pundit (explorer) cartographer Nain Singh Rawat (19th century) received a Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1876. (from History of cartography)

Image 8The pundit (explorer) cartographer Nain Singh Rawat (19th century) received a Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1876. (from History of cartography )
Image 9An early Western Han dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD) silk map found in tomb 3 of Mawangdui Han tombs site, depicting the Kingdom of Changsha and Kingdom of Nanyue in southern China (note: the south direction is oriented at the top, north at the bottom). (from History of cartography)

Image 9An early Western Han dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD) silk map found in tomb 3 of Mawangdui Han tombs site, depicting the Kingdom of Changsha and Kingdom of Nanyue in southern China (note: the south direction is oriented at the top, north at the bottom). (from History of cartography )
Image 10A US civil war hachure paper map made in 1867 by Cartographer Nathaniel Michler vs. modern aerial photos over Chancellorsville, Virginia (from History of cartography)

Image 10A US civil war hachure paper map made in 1867 by Cartographer Nathaniel Michler vs. modern aerial photos over Chancellorsville, Virginia (from History of cartography )
Image 11Martin Behaim's Erdapfel (1492) is considered to be the oldest surviving terrestrial globe. (from History of cartography)

Image 11Martin Behaim's Erdapfel (1492) is considered to be the oldest surviving terrestrial globe. (from History of cartography )
Image 12The world according to Hekatæus, 500 BC (from History of cartography)

Image 12The world according to Hekatæus, 500 BC (from History of cartography )
Image 13The Gough Map, a road map of 14th-century Britain (from History of cartography)

Image 13The Gough Map, a road map of 14th-century Britain (from History of cartography )
Image 14A survey of Boston Harbor from Atlantic Neptune. (from History of cartography)

Image 14A survey of Boston Harbor from Atlantic Neptune . (from History of cartography )
Image 15A graphical or bar scale. A map would also usually give its scale numerically ("1:50,000", for instance, means that one cm on the map represents 50,000cm of real space, which is 500 meters) (from Scale (map))

Image 15A graphical or bar scale. A map would also usually give its scale numerically ("1:50,000", for instance, means that one cm on the map represents 50,000cm of real space, which is 500 meters) (from Scale (map) )
Image 16Scale variation for the Lambert (green) and Gall (red) equal area projections. (from Scale (map))

Image 16Scale variation for the Lambert (green) and Gall (red) equal area projections. (from Scale (map) )
Image 17Lambert's normal cylindrical equal-area projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation (from Scale (map))

Image 17Lambert's normal cylindrical equal-area projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation (from Scale (map) )
Image 18The first Japanese printed map to depict the world, including Europe and America. Printed by woodblock in 1710, composed by the Buddhist monk Rokashi Hotan. (from History of cartography)

Image 18The first Japanese printed map to depict the world, including Europe and America. Printed by woodblock in 1710, composed by the Buddhist monk Rokashi Hotan. (from History of cartography )
Image 19Scale variation near the equator for the tangent (red) and secant (green) Mercator projections. (from Scale (map))

Image 19Scale variation near the equator for the tangent (red) and secant (green) Mercator projections. (from Scale (map) )
Image 20Map of Biscayne National Park, Florida, using a variety of point symbols, along with line and area symbols. Note the use of coordinated fill and stroke symbols for the national park area to solve the challenge of a water boundary. (from Cartographic design)

Image 20Map of Biscayne National Park, Florida, using a variety of point symbols, along with line and area symbols. Note the use of coordinated fill and stroke symbols for the national park area to solve the challenge of a water boundary. (from Cartographic design )
Image 21Universalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller wall map dated 1507, depicts the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Ocean separating Asia from the Americas, by the Italian Amerigo Vespucci. (from History of cartography)

Image 21Universalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller wall map dated 1507, depicts the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Ocean separating Asia from the Americas, by the Italian Amerigo Vespucci. (from History of cartography )
Image 22"Mapa de los Estados Unidos de Méjico by John Distrunell, the 1847 map used during the negotiations of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican–American War. (from History of cartography)

Image 22"Mapa de los Estados Unidos de Méjico by John Distrunell, the 1847 map used during the negotiations of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican–American War. (from History of cartography )
Image 23World Map by Juan de la Cosa (1500), the first map showing the Americas. (from History of cartography)

Image 23World Map by Juan de la Cosa (1500), the first map showing the Americas. (from History of cartography )
Image 24Nautical chart by Pedro Reinel (c. 1504), one of the first based on astronomical observations and to depict a scale of latitudes. (from History of cartography)

Image 24Nautical chart by Pedro Reinel (c. 1504), one of the first based on astronomical observations and to depict a scale of latitudes. (from History of cartography )
Image 25Surviving fragment of the first World Map of Piri Reis (1513) showing parts of the Americas. (from History of cartography)

Image 25Surviving fragment of the first World Map of Piri Reis (1513) showing parts of the Americas. (from History of cartography )
Image 26The Winkel tripel projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation (from Scale (map))

Image 26The Winkel tripel projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation (from Scale (map) )
Image 27The Mercator 1569 world map (from History of cartography)

Image 27The Mercator 1569 world map (from History of cartography )
Image 28Map of the "Inhabited Quarter" by Sadiq Isfahani from Jaunpur c.1647. This was one of the only surviving Indian made maps. (from History of cartography)

Image 28Map of the "Inhabited Quarter" by Sadiq Isfahani from Jaunpur c.1647. This was one of the only surviving Indian made maps. (from History of cartography )
Image 29The world according to Anaximenes, c. 500 BC (from History of cartography)

Image 29The world according to Anaximenes, c. 500 BC (from History of cartography )
Image 30The world according to Herodotus, 440 BC (from History of cartography)

Image 30The world according to Herodotus, 440 BC (from History of cartography )
Image 31The equidistant projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation (from Scale (map))

Image 31The equidistant projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation (from Scale (map) )
Image 32Map of the Holy Land, Pietro Vesconte, 1321. Described by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld as "the first non-Ptolemaic map of a definite country". (from History of cartography)

Image 32Map of the Holy Land, Pietro Vesconte, 1321. Described by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld as "the first non-Ptolemaic map of a definite country". (from History of cartography )
Image 33A portrait of a Dutch mapmaker looking up intently from his charts and holding a caliper, 1714. (from History of cartography)

Image 33A portrait of a Dutch mapmaker looking up intently from his charts and holding a caliper, 1714. (from History of cartography )
Image 34The cartographic process (from Cartographic design)

Image 34The cartographic process (from Cartographic design )
Image 35The Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by Muhammad al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154. Note that the north is at the bottom, and so the map appears "upside down" compared to modern cartographic conventions. (from History of cartography)

Image 35The Tabula Rogeriana , drawn by Muhammad al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154. Note that the north is at the bottom, and so the map appears "upside down" compared to modern cartographic conventions. (from History of cartography )
Image 36A general map of the world by Samuel Dunn, 1794, containing star chart, map of the Solar System, map of the Moon and other features along with Earth's both hemispheres. (from History of cartography)

Image 36A general map of the world by Samuel Dunn, 1794, containing star chart, map of the Solar System, map of the Moon and other features along with Earth's both hemispheres. (from History of cartography )
Image 37The Propaganda Map, a 1529 version of the Padrón Real now held by the Vatican Library. (from History of cartography)

Image 37The Propaganda Map, a 1529 version of the Padrón Real now held by the Vatican Library. (from History of cartography )
Image 38A map of Sikkim, India using shaded relief and hypsometric tints (a form of isarithm) to visualize terrain (from Cartographic design)

Image 38A map of Sikkim, India using shaded relief and hypsometric tints (a form of isarithm) to visualize terrain (from Cartographic design )
Image 39A bar scale with the nominal scale expressed as "1:600 000", meaning 1 cm on the map corresponds to 600,000 cm=6 km on the ground. (from Scale (map))

Image 39A bar scale with the nominal scale expressed as "1:600 000", meaning 1 cm on the map corresponds to 600,000 cm=6 km on the ground. (from Scale (map) )
Image 40The Mercator projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation. (The distortion increases without limit at higher latitudes) (from Scale (map))

Image 40The Mercator projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation. (The distortion increases without limit at higher latitudes) (from Scale (map) )
Image 41Charles Joseph Minard's map of Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812 (1844) has been long recognized as a masterwork of cartographic design at a time when such was difficult and rare. (from Cartographic design)

Image 41Charles Joseph Minard's map of Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812 (1844) has been long recognized as a masterwork of cartographic design at a time when such was difficult and rare. (from Cartographic design )
Image 42Infinitesimal elements on the sphere and a normal cylindrical projection (from Scale (map))

Image 42Infinitesimal elements on the sphere and a normal cylindrical projection (from Scale (map) )
Image 43Modern version of the Roman Tabula Peutingeriana (5th century). (from History of cartography)

Image 43Modern version of the Roman Tabula Peutingeriana (5th century). (from History of cartography )
Image 44The Da Ming Hun Yi Tu map, dating c. 1390, exists in multicolour format. (from History of cartography)

Image 44The Da Ming Hun Yi Tu map, dating c. 1390, exists in multicolour format. (from History of cartography )
Image 45The Equal Earth projection (2018), an increasingly popular equal-area pseudocylindrical projection for world maps (from Cartographic design)

Image 45The Equal Earth projection (2018), an increasingly popular equal-area pseudocylindrical projection for world maps (from Cartographic design )
Image 46Possibly the oldest surviving map has been engraved on this mammoth tusk, dated to 25,000 BC, found from Pavlov in the Czech Republic. (from History of cartography)

Image 46Possibly the oldest surviving map has been engraved on this mammoth tusk, dated to 25,000 BC, found from Pavlov in the Czech Republic. (from History of cartography )
Image 47A chart of an unidentified area (from History of cartography)

Image 47A chart of an unidentified area (from History of cartography )
Image 48The Salviati Planisphere, a 1526 version of the Padrón Real provided by Charles V to the cardinal who officiated his wedding to Isabella of Portugal. (from History of cartography)

Image 48The Salviati Planisphere, a 1526 version of the Padrón Real provided by Charles V to the cardinal who officiated his wedding to Isabella of Portugal. (from History of cartography )
Image 49The Fra Mauro map, a medieval European map, was made around 1450 by the Italian monk Fra Mauro. It is a circular world map drawn on parchment and set in a wooden frame, about two meters in diameter. (from History of cartography)

Image 49The Fra Mauro map, a medieval European map, was made around 1450 by the Italian monk Fra Mauro. It is a circular world map drawn on parchment and set in a wooden frame, about two meters in diameter. (from History of cartography )
Image 50The Yu Ji Tu, or Map of the Tracks of Yu Gong, carved into stone in 1137, located in the Stele Forest of Xi'an. This 3 ft (0.91 m) squared map features a graduated scale of 100 li for each rectangular grid. China's coastline and river systems are clearly defined and precisely pinpointed on the map. Yu Gong is in reference to the Chinese deity described in the geographical chapter of the Classic of History, dated 5th century BC. (from History of cartography)

Image 50The Yu Ji Tu, or Map of the Tracks of Yu Gong, carved into stone in 1137, located in the Stele Forest of Xi'an. This 3 ft (0.91 m) squared map features a graduated scale of 100 li for each rectangular grid. China's coastline and river systems are clearly defined and precisely pinpointed on the map. Yu Gong is in reference to the Chinese deity described in the geographical chapter of the Classic of History , dated 5th century BC. (from History of cartography )
Image 51Illustrated map (from Cartographic design)

Image 51Illustrated map (from Cartographic design )
Image 523D cartography of Washington State, Mount Rainier National Park, Pinnacle Peak trail. (from Cartographic design)

Image 523D cartography of Washington State, Mount Rainier National Park, Pinnacle Peak trail. (from Cartographic design )
Image 53A chorochromatic map of world land cover, using hue, value, and saturation to differentiate nominal values (from Cartographic design)

Image 53A chorochromatic map of world land cover, using hue, value, and saturation to differentiate nominal values (from Cartographic design )
Image 54Al-Masudi's world map (10th century) (from History of cartography)

Image 54Al-Masudi's world map (10th century) (from History of cartography )

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— Henry Fielding, Rape upon Rape, 1730

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Image of a cartographer, assumed to be Pietro Vesconte himself, from the 1318 Vesconte atlas (Museo Correr, Venice)

Pietro Vesconte (fl. 1310–1330) was a Genoese cartographer and geographer. A pioneer of the field of the portolan chart, he influenced Italian and Catalan mapmaking throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. He appears to have been the first professional mapmaker to sign and date his works regularly.

Although Vesconte was born in Genoa, he produced much of his work in Venice. He was active between 1310 and 1330, producing numerous maps. His nautical charts are among the earliest to map the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions accurately. He also produced progressively more accurate depictions of the coastlines of northern Europe, in particular that of Britain and, to a lesser extent, Ireland. (Full article... )

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Gibraltar

Credit: Eric Gaba

Gibraltar , a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north. Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a Royal Navy base.

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