Cartography

Dr. Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq

Atiq.Tariq@gmail.com
 What is cartography
ESRI’s online dictionary defines
cartography as …

“the art and science of expressing

graphically, usually through maps, the natural
and social features of the earth “
 What is on a map?
• Cultural features
– Roads, lakes, buildings, rivers, contours, etc.
• Numeric data
– income, population data (census data), etc
• Physical Features
– Geology, landuse, forestry, soils, vegetation,
landcover etc.
How is this data represented?
The Earth as a Globe

http://www.jonessoda.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/globe.png
 Flat surface is needed
The earth is a sphere. It has to be
developed into a flat surface. To do
this the globe or earth has to be
flattened out or projected.
 Maps versus Globes
• Map: a representation of the world or part of
it, in two dimensions

• Globe: a 3-D representation of the entire

earth surface.

What are some advantages and disadvantages

of each?
http://www.genekeyes.com/CAHILL_GALLERY/1913-Cahill-rubber-ball.jpg
 Map Projections
• Mathematical method for systematically
transforming a 3-D earth into a 2-D map.
• Three traditional types:
– cyllindrical
– conical
– planar (azimuthal-zenithal)
• Newer Mathematical Projections
– Robinson
 Cartographer’s Dilemma
• All maps introduce distortion:
– shape (conformance)
– size (equivalence)
– direction
– distance
• Maps can be either equivalent or
conformal, but cannot emphasize both
characteristics.
Cylindrical
Conic
Planar
 Scales
Representative Fraction
1:50,000

Verbal Statements
One cm to 0.5 km

Scale Bar

image from http://depts.washington.edu/natmap/education/protocols/maps/map_scale_bar.jpg

 Scale
– Large Scale
• 1:5,000 …..City map

– Small Scale
• 1:30,000,000 …..Map of Canada
Large Scale Map 1:2,500

Source: Toronto property data map

Small Scale Map 1:30,000,000

Source: ArcCanada data

 Types of Maps
• Thematic
A map designed to convey information
about a single topic or theme, such as
population density or geology.

http://resources.arcgis.com/glossary/term/1109

• General purpose (Topographic)

A topographic map is a detailed and accurate
graphic representation of cultural and natural
features on the ground.

http://maps.nrcan.gc.ca/topo101/faq_e.php
Thematic Map
 Topographic Map

From www.geogratis.ca
 Map Features
– Point
– City
– Church

– Line
– River
– Street
– railway

– Area
– City
– Geological features
– Forest
– Landuse
Source:DMTI Spatial Inc. V2009.4, Canmap Route Logistics
 Data and Mapping
• Qualitative
– Shows spatial distribution or a location of data
e.g. geology map, soils, land use, etc.
– Not dependent on numeric data

• Quantitative
– Shows the spatial aspects of numerical data e.g.
income data, population density etc
Qualitative Map
Quantitative Values
Quantitive Map
 COLOUR

Source: http://static.colourlovers.com/uploads/2009/03/ http://dailyartist.blogspot.com/2010/12/

3178130243_508e7584bf.jpg mark-rothko-september-25-1903-february.html
COLOUR CHOICES
10 Colour Intervals
7 Colour Intervals
5 Colour Interval
 Colour Brewer
Colour Advice for Cartography

http://colorbrewer2.org/
 Rules for Placing
Text and Graphics

http://portal.survey.ntua.gr/main/courses/geoinfo/admcarto/lecture_notes/name_placement/bibliography/belbin_1996.pdf
 Text Placement

http://portal.survey.ntua.gr/main/courses/geoinfo/admcarto/lecture_notes/name_placement/bibliography/belbin_1996.pdf
 Map Layout
Use of white space

Fill white space with map title,

legend, scale bar, source, projection
information, north arrow

Space map elements with equal white space

Map Layout
Map Layout
Map Layout
 ESRI Mapping Centre

http://mappingcenter.esri.com/
USE ARCGIS HELP