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{{Short description|Study and practice of making maps}}
{{Distinguish|Cartogram}}
{{Redirect2|Cartographer|Cartographist|other uses|Cartographer (disambiguation)|the song|Shrines (Purity Ring album){{!}}''Shrines'' (Purity Ring album)}}
[[File:Claudius Ptolemy- The World.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A medieval depiction of the [[Ecumene]] (1482, Johannes Schnitzer, engraver), constructed after the coordinates in Ptolemy's [[Geography (Ptolemy)|''Geography'']] and using his second map projection. The translation into Latin and dissemination of ''Geography'' in Europe, in the beginning of the 15th century, marked the rebirth of scientific cartography, after more than a millennium of stagnation.]]

'''Cartography''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ɑːr|ˈ|t|ɒ|g|r|ə|f|i}}){{efn|from {{langx|grc|χάρτης}} {{lang|grc-latn|chartēs}}, 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and {{lang|grc|γράφειν}} {{lang|grc-latn|graphein}}, 'write')}} is the study and practice of making and using [[map]]s. 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.

The fundamental objectives of traditional cartography are to:
* Set the map's agenda and select traits of the object to be mapped. This is the concern of map editing. Traits may be physical, such as roads or land masses, or may be abstract, such as [[toponyms]] or political boundaries.
* Represent the terrain of the mapped object on flat media. This is the concern of [[map projection]]s.
* Eliminate the mapped object's characteristics that are irrelevant to the map's purpose. This is the concern of [[Cartographic generalization|generalization]].
* Reduce the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped. This is also the concern of generalization.
* Orchestrate the elements of the map to best convey its message to its audience. This is the concern of [[#Map design|map design]].

Modern cartography constitutes many theoretical and practical foundations of [[geographic information system]]s (GIS) and [[geographic information science]] (GISc).

==History==
{{Main|History of cartography|List of cartographers}}
{{see also|Surveying#History|Cadastre#History|Topographic mapping#History}}

===Ancient times===
[[File:Paspardo roccia Vite29 rilievo foto.jpg|thumb|[[Rock Drawings in Valcamonica|Valcamonica rock art]] (I), Paspardo r. 29, topographic composition, 4th millennium BCE]]

What is the earliest known map is a matter of some debate, both because the term "map" is not well-defined and because some artifacts that might be maps might actually be something else. A wall painting that might depict the ancient Anatolian city of [[Çatalhöyük]] (previously known as Catal Huyuk or Çatal Hüyük) has been dated to the late 7th millennium BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A Tale of two obsessed archeologists, one ancient city, and nagging doubts about whether science can ever hope to reveal the past |first=Robert |last=Kunzig |journal=[[Discover Magazine]] |date=May 1999 |url=http://discovermagazine.com/1999/may/archeologist |access-date=2011-07-08 |archive-date=2019-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120061946/http://discovermagazine.com/1999/may/archeologist |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=A bird's eye view – of a leopard's spots. The Çatalhöyük 'map' and the development of cartographic representation in prehistory |first=Stephanie |last=Meece |journal=[[Anatolian Studies]] |volume=56 |pages=1–16 |year=2006 |jstor=20065543 |doi=10.1017/S0066154600000727 |s2cid=160549260 |url=http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/195777 |access-date=2008-12-02 |archive-date=2013-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725015218/http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/195777 |url-status=live }}</ref> Among the prehistoric alpine rock carvings of [[Mount Bego]] (France) and [[Val Camonica|Valcamonica]] (Italy), dated to the 4th millennium BCE, geometric patterns consisting of dotted rectangles and lines are widely interpreted<ref>{{cite book|last=Bicknell |first=Clarence |date=1913 |title=A Guide to the prehistoric Engravings in the Italian Maritime Alps, Bordighera}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Delano Smith |first=Catherine |date=1987 |chapter=Cartography in the Prehistoric Period in the Old World: Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa |editor1-last=Harley |editor1-first=J.B. |editor2-last=Woodward |editor2-first=D. |title=The History of Cartography: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient and Mediaeval Europe and the Mediterranean |volume=1 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |pages=54–101 |chapter-url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V1/HOC_VOLUME1_chapter4.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107172706/http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V1/HOC_VOLUME1_chapter4.pdf |archive-date=2011-11-07 |url-status=live |access-date=December 2, 2014}}</ref> in archaeological literature as depicting cultivated plots.<ref>{{cite book |last=Arcà |first=Andrea |date=2004 |chapter=The topographic engravings of the Alpine rock-art: fields, settlements, and agricultural landscapes |editor1-last=Chippindale |editor1-first=C. |editor2-last=Nash |editor2-first=G. |title=The figured landscapes of Rock-Art |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=318–349 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1154206 |access-date=December 2, 2014 |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326025635/https://www.academia.edu/1154206 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other known maps of the ancient world include the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] "House of the Admiral" wall painting from {{Circa|1600 BCE}}, showing a seaside community in an oblique perspective, and an engraved map of the holy [[Babylonia]]n city of [[Nippur]], from the [[Kassites|Kassite]] period (14th{{spaced ndash}}12th centuries BCE).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/nippur-expedition |website=University of Chicago |title=The Nippur Expedition |access-date=2015-01-14 |archive-date=2022-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321164802/https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/nippur-expedition |url-status=live }}</ref> The oldest surviving world maps are from 9th century BCE [[Babylonian world map|Babylonia]].<ref name="Kurt A. Raaflaub & Richard J. A. Talbert 2009 147">{{Cite book|title=Geography and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in Pre-Modern Societies |first1=Kurt A. |last1=Raaflaub |first2=Richard J. A. |last2=Talbert |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4051-9146-3 |page=147}}</ref> One shows [[Babylon]] on the [[Euphrates]], surrounded by [[Assyria]], [[Urartu]]<ref>{{cite journal |first=Catherine Delano |last=Smith |year=1996 |title=Imago Mundi's Logo the Babylonian Map of the World |journal=[[Imago Mundi]] |volume=48 |pages=209–211 |jstor=1151277 |doi=10.1080/03085699608592846}}</ref> and several cities, all, in turn, surrounded by a "bitter river" ([[Oceanus]]).<ref>{{cite journal |first=Irving |last=Finel |title=A join to the map of the world: A notable discovery |year=1995 |volume=23 |pages=26–27 |journal=British Museum Magazine}}</ref> Another depicts Babylon as being north of the center of the world.<ref name="Kurt A. Raaflaub & Richard J. A. Talbert 2009 147"/>

[[File:Bedolina roccia 1 foto rilievo.jpg|thumb|left|The ''[[Bedolina Map]]'' and its tracing, 6th–4th century BCE]]

The [[ancient Greeks]] and [[Roman Empire|Romans]] created maps from the time of [[Anaximander]] in the 6th century BCE.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Cartography |url=http://au.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_781534525/cartography_history_of.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502013409/http://au.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_781534525/Cartography_History_of.html |archive-date=2006-05-02 }}</ref> In the 2nd century CE, [[Ptolemy]] wrote his [[treatise]] on cartography, [[Geographia]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=J. L. |last1=Berggren |first2=Alexander |last2=Jones |title=Ptolemy's Geography By Ptolemy |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |date=2001 |isbn=0-691-09259-1}}</ref> This contained [[Ptolemy's world map]] – the world then known to Western society (''[[Ecumene]]''). As early as the 8th century, Arab scholars were translating the works of the [[List of Graeco-Roman geographers|Greek geographers]] into Arabic.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Geography |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552030_3/geography.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030172727/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552030_3/Geography.html |archive-date=2009-10-30 }}</ref> [[Roman roads|Roads]] were essential in the Roman world, motivating the creation of maps, called ''[[itinerarium]]'', that portrayed the world as experienced via the roads. The {{lang|la|[[Tabula Peutingeriana]]}} is the only surviving example.

[[File:Add 19391 19-20.png|thumb|right|A 14th-century [[Byzantine]] map of the British Isles from a manuscript of [[Claudius Ptolemy|Ptolemy]]'s [[Ptolemy's Geography|''Geography'']], using Greek numerals for its [[Geographic coordinate system|graticule]]: 52–63°N of the [[equator]] and 6–33°E from Ptolemy's [[Prime Meridian]] at the [[Fortunate Isles]].]]

In [[ancient China]], geographical literature dates to the 5th century BCE. The oldest extant Chinese maps come from the [[Qin (state)|State of Qin]], dated back to the 4th century BCE, during the [[Warring States period]]. In the book ''Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao'', published in 1092 by the [[China|Chinese]] scientist [[Su Song]], a [[star map]] on the equidistant cylindrical projection.<ref name="Miyajima">{{cite book |last=Miyajima |first=Kazuhiko |year=1997 |chapter=Projection methods in Chinese, Korean and Japanese star maps |title=Highlights of Astronomy |volume=11B |page=714 |editor-first=Johannes |editor-last=Andersen |location=Norwell |publisher=[[Kluwer Academic Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-7923-5556-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Needham |first=Joseph |year=1971 |series=Science and Civilization in China |volume=4 |title=Part 3: Civil Engineering and Nautics |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |page=569 |isbn=978-0-521-07060-7}}</ref> Although this method of charting seems to have existed in China even before this publication and scientist, the greatest significance of the star maps by Su Song is that they represent the oldest existent star maps in [[printing|printed]] form.

Early forms of [[cartography of India]] included depictions of the [[pole star]] and surrounding constellations.<ref name=Sircar3/> These charts may have been used for navigation.<ref name=Sircar3>{{cite book |last=Sircar |first=D. C. C. |year=1990 |title=Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-81-208-0690-0 |page=330}}</ref>

===Middle Ages and Renaissance===
[[File:T and O map Guntherus Ziner 1472.jpg|thumb|left|Copy (1472) of [[Isidore of Seville|St. Isidore's]] [[TO map]] of the world.]]

{{lang|la|[[Mappa mundi|Mappae mundi]]}} ('maps of the world') are the medieval European maps of the world. About 1,100 of these are known to have survived: of these, some 900 are found illustrating manuscripts, and the remainder exist as stand-alone documents.<ref>Woodward, p.&nbsp;286 {{citation needed|reason=incomplete|date=July 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Tabula Rogeriana 1929 copy by Konrad Miller.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The ''[[Tabula Rogeriana]]'', drawn by [[Muhammad al-Idrisi]] for [[Roger II of Sicily]] in 1154. South is at the top.]]

The [[Geography in medieval Islam|Arab geographer]] [[Muhammad al-Idrisi]] produced his medieval atlas ''[[Tabula Rogeriana]] (Book of Roger)'' in 1154. By combining the knowledge of [[Africa]], the [[Indian Ocean]], [[Europe]], and the [[Far East]] (which he learned through contemporary accounts from Arab merchants and explorers) with the information he inherited from the classical geographers, he was able to write detailed descriptions of a multitude of countries. Along with the substantial text he had written, he created a world map influenced mostly by the Ptolemaic conception of the world, but with significant influence from multiple Arab geographers. It remained the most accurate world map for the next three centuries.<ref name=Scott>{{cite book|first=S. P. |last=Scott |date=1904 |title=History of the Moorish Empire |pages=461–462}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Idrisi. |publisher=Encyclopedia of World Biography |access-date=27 Jul 2018 |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/ |archive-date=28 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128123037/http://encyclopedia.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The map was divided into seven [[Climate|climatic]] zones, with detailed descriptions of each zone. As part of this work, a smaller, circular map depicting the south on top and Arabia in the center was made. Al-Idrisi also made an estimate of the circumference of the world, accurate to within 10%.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parry |first=James |date=January 2004 |title=Mapping Arabia |url=http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200401/mapping.arabia.htm |journal=Saudi Aramco World |volume=55 |pages=20–37 |access-date=2018-07-27 |archive-date=2018-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727114915/http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200401/mapping.arabia.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Europe As A Queen Sebastian Munster 1570.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Europa regina]]'' in [[Sebastian Münster]]'s "''[[Cosmographia (Sebastian Münster)|Cosmographia]]''", 1570]]

In the [[Age of Discovery]], from the 15th century to the 17th century, European cartographers both copied earlier maps (some of which had been passed down for centuries) and drew their own based on explorers' observations and new [[surveying]] techniques. The invention of the [[magnetic compass]], [[telescope]] and [[sextant]] enabled increasing accuracy. In 1492, [[Martin Behaim]], a German cartographer and advisor to the king [[John II of Portugal]], made the oldest extant globe of the Earth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/guide/gmillgtm.html |title=Globes and Terrain Models – Geography and Maps: An Illustrated Guide |website=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=2017-12-29 |archive-date=2017-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216062424/http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/guide/gmillgtm.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1507, [[Martin Waldseemüller]] produced a globular world map and a large 12-panel world wall map (''[[Universalis Cosmographia]]'') bearing the first use of the name "America." [[Portugal|Portuguese]] cartographer [[Diogo Ribeiro (cartographer)|Diogo Ribero]] was the author of the first known planisphere with a graduated Equator (1527). [[Italy|Italian]] cartographer [[Battista Agnese]] produced at least 71 manuscript atlases of sea charts. [[Johannes Werner]] refined and promoted the [[Werner projection]]. This was an equal-area, heart-shaped world map projection (generally called a cordiform projection) that was used in the 16th and 17th centuries. Over time, other iterations of this map type arose; most notable are the [[sinusoidal projection]] and the [[Bonne projection]]. The Werner projection places its standard parallel at the North Pole; a sinusoidal projection places its standard parallel at the equator; and the Bonne projection is intermediate between the two.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Henry |last=Bottomley |title=Between the Sinusoidal projection and the Werner: an alternative to the Bonne |journal=Cybergeo: European Journal of Geography |volume=241 |date=13 June 2003 |access-date=27 July 2018 |url=http://journals.openedition.org/cybergeo/3977 |doi=10.4000/cybergeo.3977 |doi-access=free |archive-date=27 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727115136/https://journals.openedition.org/cybergeo/3977 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V3_Pt1/HOC_VOLUME3_Part1_chapter10.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204061312/http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V3_Pt1/HOC_VOLUME3_Part1_chapter10.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-04 |url-status=live |title=Map Projections in the Renaissance |last=Snyder |first=John |date=2007-09-01 |website=[[University of Chicago Press]]}}</ref>

In 1569, mapmaker [[Gerardus Mercator]] first published [[Mercator 1569 world map|a map]] based on his [[Mercator projection]], which uses equally-spaced parallel vertical lines of longitude and parallel latitude lines spaced farther apart as they get farther away from the equator. By this construction, courses of constant bearing are conveniently represented as straight lines for navigation. The same property limits its value as a general-purpose world map because regions are shown as increasingly larger than they actually are the further from the equator they are. Mercator is also credited as the first to use the word "atlas" to describe a collection of maps. In the later years of his life, Mercator resolved to create his Atlas, a book filled with many maps of different regions of the world, as well as a chronological history of the world from the Earth's creation by God until 1568. He was unable to complete it to his satisfaction before he died. Still, some additions were made to the Atlas after his death, and new editions were published after his death.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/Mercator-projection |title=Mercator Projection |last=Britannica |first=Encyclopedia |date=2018-01-25 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2018-07-27 |archive-date=2018-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727085753/https://www.britannica.com/science/Mercator-projection |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gerardus-Mercator |title=Gerardus Mercator |last=Britannica |first=Encyclopedia |date=2018-02-26 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2018-07-27 |archive-date=2019-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327074515/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gerardus-Mercator |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1570, the [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabantian]] cartographer [[Abraham Ortelius]], strongly encouraged by [[Gillis Hooftman]], created the first true modern atlas, ''[[Theatrum Orbis Terrarum]].''<ref>{{cite web |title=Gillis Hooftman: Businessman and Patron |publisher=[[KU Leuven]] |first=Katrien |last=Derde |access-date=2023-10-11 |df=dmy-all |url=https://www.netpoint.be/abc/castro/en/n_29.htm |archive-date=2023-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101233515/https://www.netpoint.be/abc/castro/en/n_29.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In a rare move, Ortelius credited mapmakers who contributed to the atlas, the list of which grew to 183 individuals by 1603.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title = The Map and the Development of the History of Cartography|volume = 1|editor = J.B. Harley & David Woodward|last = Harley|first = J.B.|page = 11|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago}}</ref>

In the [[Renaissance]], maps were used to impress viewers and establish the owner's reputation as sophisticated, educated, and worldly. Because of this, towards the end of the Renaissance, maps were displayed with equal importance of painting, sculptures, and other pieces of art.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Carlton |first=Genevieve |date=2011 |title=Worldly Consumer: The Demand for Maps in Renaissance Italy |journal=[[Imago Mundi]] |volume=63 |pages=123–126}}</ref> In the sixteenth century, maps were becoming increasingly available to consumers through the introduction of printmaking, with about 10% of Venetian homes having some sort of map by the late 1500s.

There were three main functions of maps in the Renaissance:<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Woodward |first=David |title=Cartography and the Renaissance: Continuity and Change |journal=[[The History of Cartography]] |volume=3 |pages=3–24}}</ref>
* General descriptions of the world
* Navigation and wayfinding
* Land surveying and property management

In medieval times, written directions of how to get somewhere were more common than the use of maps. With the Renaissance, cartography began to be seen as a metaphor for power.<ref name=":0" /> Political leaders could lay claim to territories through the use of maps, and this was greatly aided by the religious and colonial expansion of Europe. The Holy Land and other religious places were the most commonly mapped during the Renaissance.

In the late 1400s to the late 1500s, Rome, Florence, and Venice dominated map-making and trade. It started in Florence in the mid-to late 1400s. Map trade quickly shifted to Rome and Venice but then was overtaken by atlas makers in the late 16th century.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Woodward |first=David |title=The Italian Map Trade: 1480-1650 |journal=[[The History of Cartography]] |volume=3 |pages=773–790}}</ref> Map publishing in Venice was completed with humanities and book publishing in mind, rather than just informational use.

====Printing technology====
There were two main printmaking technologies in the Renaissance: [[woodcut]] and [[Intaglio (printmaking)|copper-plate intaglio]], referring to the medium used to transfer the image onto paper.

In woodcut, the map image is created as a relief chiseled from medium-grain hardwood. The areas intended to be printed are inked and pressed against the sheet. Being raised from the rest of the block, the map lines cause indentations in the paper that can often be felt on the back of the map. There are advantages to using relief to make maps. For one, a printmaker doesn't need a press because the maps could be developed as rubbings. Woodblock is durable enough to be used many times before defects appear. Existing printing presses can be used to create the prints rather than having to create a new one. On the other hand, it is hard to achieve fine detail with the relief technique. Inconsistencies in linework are more apparent in woodcut than in intaglio. To improve quality in the late fifteenth century, a style of relief craftsmanship developed using fine chisels to carve the wood, rather than the more commonly used knife.

In intaglio, lines are engraved into workable metals, typically copper but sometimes brass. The engraver spreads a thin sheet of wax over the metal plate and uses ink to draw the details. Then, the engraver traces the lines with a stylus to etch them into the plate beneath.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Delano-Smith |first=Catherine |date=2005 |title=Stamped Signs on Manuscripts Maps in the Renaissance |journal=[[Imago Mundi]] |volume=57 |pages=59–62 |doi=10.1080/0308569042000289842 |s2cid=140557612}}</ref> The engraver can also use styli to prick holes along the drawn lines, trace along them with colored chalk, and then engrave the map.&nbsp;Lines going in the same direction are carved at the same time, and then the plate is turned to carve lines going in a different direction. To print from the finished plate, ink is spread over the metal surface and scraped off such that it remains only in the etched channels. Then the plate is pressed forcibly against the paper so that the ink in the channels is transferred to the paper. The pressing is so forceful that it leaves a "plate mark" around the border of the map at the edge of the plate, within which the paper is depressed compared to the margins.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Woodward |first=David |title=Techniques of Map Engraving, Printing, and Coloring in the European Renaissance |journal=[[The History of Cartography]] |volume=3 |pages=591–610}}</ref> Copper and other metals were expensive at the time, so the plate was often reused for new maps or melted down for other purposes.<ref name=":2" />

Whether woodcut or intaglio, the printed map is hung out to dry. Once dry, it is usually placed in another press to flatten the paper. Any type of paper that was available at the time could be used to print the map, but thicker paper was more durable.

Both relief and intaglio were used about equally by the end of the fifteenth century.

====Lettering====
Lettering in mapmaking is important for denoting information. Fine lettering is difficult in woodcut, where it often turned out square and blocky, contrary to the stylized, rounded writing style popular in Italy at the time.<ref name=":2" /> To improve quality, mapmakers developed fine chisels to carve the relief. Intaglio lettering did not suffer the troubles of a coarse medium and so was able to express the looping cursive that came to be known as [[Italic script|cancellaresca]].<ref name=":2" /> There were custom-made reverse punches that were also used in metal engraving alongside freehand lettering.<ref name=":1" />

====Color====
{{Main|Map coloring}}

The first use of color in map-making cannot be narrowed down to one reason. There are arguments that color started as a way to indicate information on the map, with aesthetics coming second. There are also arguments that color was first used on maps for aesthetics but then evolved into conveying information.<ref name=":2" /> Either way, many maps of the Renaissance left the publisher without being colored, a practice that continued all the way into the 1800s. However, most publishers accepted orders from their patrons to have their maps or atlases colored if they wished. Because all coloring was done by hand, the patron could request simple, cheap color, or more expensive, elaborate color, even going so far as silver or gold gilding. The simplest coloring was merely outlines, such as of borders and along rivers. Wash color meant painting regions with inks or watercolors. Limning meant adding silver and gold leaf to the map to illuminate lettering, heraldic arms, or other decorative elements.

===Early modern period===
{{See also|Iberian cartography, 1400–1600|l1=Early modern Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese) cartography|Early modern Netherlandish cartography|l2=Early modern Netherlandish (Dutch and Flemish) cartography}}

The early modern period saw the convergence of cartographical techniques across Eurasia and the exchange of mercantile mapping techniques via the Indian Ocean.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Richards |first=John F. |date=1997 |title=Early Modern India and World History |journal=[[Journal of World History]] |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=197–209 |doi=10.1353/jwh.2005.0071 |s2cid=143582665 |issn=1527-8050}}</ref>

In the early seventeenth century, the [[Selden Map|Selden map]] was created by a Chinese cartographer. Historians have put its date of creation around 1620, but there is debate in this regard. This map's significance draws from historical misconceptions of East Asian cartography, the main one being that East Asians did not do cartography until Europeans arrived. The map's depiction of trading routes, a compass rose, and scale bar points to the culmination of many map-making techniques incorporated into Chinese mercantile cartography.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Batchelor |first=Robert |date=January 2013 |title=The Selden Map Rediscovered: A Chinese Map of East Asian Shipping Routes, {{circa|1619}} |journal=[[Imago Mundi]] |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=37–63 |doi=10.1080/03085694.2013.731203 |s2cid=127283174 |issn=0308-5694 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 1689, representatives of the Russian tsar and Qing Dynasty met near the border town of Nerchinsk, which was near the disputed border of the two powers, in eastern Siberia.<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Peter C. |last=Perdue |date=2010 |title=Boundaries and Trade in the Early Modern World: Negotiations at Nerchinsk and Beijing |journal=[[Eighteenth-Century Studies]] |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=341–356 |doi=10.1353/ecs.0.0187 |s2cid=159638846 |issn=1086-315X}}</ref> The two parties, with the Qing negotiation party bringing [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] as intermediaries, managed to work a treaty which placed the Amur River as the border between the Eurasian powers, and opened up trading relations between the two. This treaty's significance draws from the interaction between the two sides, and the intermediaries who were drawn from a wide variety of nationalities.

===Age of Enlightenment===
[[File:Nova totius Terrarum Orbis geographica ac hydrographica tabula (Hendrik Hondius) balanced.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Double hemisphere map by [[Henricus Hondius II|Hendrik Hondius]], 1630]]

Maps of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment period]] practically universally used copper plate intaglio, having abandoned the fragile, coarse woodcut technology. Use of map projections evolved, with the double hemisphere being very common and Mercator's prestigious navigational projection gradually making more appearances.

Due to the paucity of information and the immense difficulty of surveying during the period, mapmakers frequently plagiarized material without giving credit to the original cartographer. For example, a famous map of North America known as the "Beaver Map" was published in 1715 by [[Herman Moll]]. This map is a close reproduction of a 1698 work by [[Nicolas de Fer]]. De Fer, in turn, had copied images that were first printed in books by [[Louis Hennepin]], published in 1697, and François Du Creux, in 1664. By the late 18th century, mapmakers often credited the original publisher with something along the lines of, "After [the original cartographer]" in the map's title or [[Cartouche (cartography)|cartouche]].<ref>"Map Imitation" in [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/forgery/002035-3000-e.html Detecting the Truth: Fakes, Forgeries and Trickery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024140427/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/forgery/002035-3000-e.html |date=2018-10-24 }}, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada</ref>

===Modern period===
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2024}}
[[File:Fernão Vaz Dourado 1571-1.jpg|thumb|right|A pre-Mercator nautical chart of 1571, from Portuguese cartographer [[Fernão Vaz Dourado]] ({{Circa|1520|1580}}). It belongs to the so-called ''plane chart'' model, where observed latitudes and magnetic directions are plotted directly into the plane, with a constant scale, as if the Earth were a plane (Portuguese National Archives of Torre do Tombo, Lisbon).]]

[[File:Structureforet.jpg|thumb|right|Mapping can be done with [[GPS]] and [[laser rangefinder]] directly in the field. Image shows mapping of forest structure (position of trees, dead wood and canopy).]]
[[File:Renaissance-styled-map-MAX-4K.jpg|thumb|A stylized map inspired by Renaissance cartographic traditions, created using GIS technology and complemented by a hand-crafted linocut.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Juśkiewicz |first=Włodzimierz |last2=Jaszewski |first2=Jakub |last3=Brykała |first3=Dariusz |last4=Piotrowski |first4=Robert |last5=Alexander |first5=K. M. |last6=Juśkiewicz |first6=Kacper B. |date=2025-12-31 |title=A new and extensive geographical description of supernatural phenomena in Polish and German Pomerania (POMERANIÆ POLONICÆ ET GERMANICÆ PHÆNOMENA SUPERNATURALIA NOVA ET EMPLA DESCRIPTIO GEOGRAPHICA), 1:720,000 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/suppl/10.1080/17445647.2024.2434015 |journal=Journal of Maps |language=EN |doi=10.1080/17445647.2024.2434015 |via=Taylor & Francis|doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
In cartography, technology has continually changed in order to meet the demands of new generations of mapmakers and map users. The first maps were produced manually, with brushes and parchment; so they varied in quality and were limited in distribution. The advent of magnetic devices, such as the [[compass]] and much later, [[magnetic storage]] devices, allowed for the creation of far more accurate maps and the ability to [[Computer cartography|store and manipulate them digitally]].

Advances in mechanical devices such as the [[printing press]], [[quadrant (instrument)|quadrant]], and [[vernier scale|vernier]] allowed the mass production of maps and the creation of accurate reproductions from more accurate data. [[Hartmann Schedel]] was one of the first cartographers to use the printing press to make maps more widely available. Optical technology, such as the [[telescope]], [[sextant]], and other devices that use telescopes, allowed accurate land surveys and allowed mapmakers and navigators to find their [[latitude]] by measuring angles to the [[North Star]] at night or the Sun at noon.

Advances in photochemical technology, such as the [[lithography|lithographic]] and [[photography|photochemical processes]], make possible maps with fine details, which do not distort in shape and which resist moisture and wear. This also eliminated the need for engraving, which further speeded up map production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lopes |first=David |last2=Machado |first2=Graciela |date=2023-01-13 |title=The use of 19th - century Cartography Printing Processes in Contemporary Printmaking |url=https://impact-journal-cfpr.uwe.ac.uk/index.php/impact/article/view/84 |journal=IMPACT Printmaking Journal |language=en |pages=24–24 |doi=10.54632/22.7.IMPJ2 |issn=2732-5490|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In the 20th century, [[aerial photography]], [[satellite imagery]], and [[remote sensing]] provided efficient, precise methods for mapping physical features, such as coastlines, roads, buildings, watersheds, and topography. The United States Geological Survey has devised multiple new map projections, notably the Space Oblique Mercator for interpreting satellite [[ground track]]s for mapping the surface. The use of satellites and space telescopes now allows researchers to map other planets and moons in outer space.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |url=https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1395 |title=Map projections: A Working Manual |last=Snyder |first=John |date=1987 |website=[[United States Geological Survey]] |series=Professional Paper |doi=10.3133/pp1395 |doi-access=free |access-date=2018-07-27 |archive-date=2011-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517082057/http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1395 |url-status=live |hdl=2027/mdp.39015034659410 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Advances in electronic technology ushered in another revolution in cartography: ready availability of [[Computer hardware|computers and peripherals]] such as monitors, plotters, printers, scanners (remote and document) and analytic stereo plotters, along with computer programs for visualization, image processing, spatial analysis, and database management, have democratized and greatly expanded the making of maps. The ability to superimpose spatially located variables onto existing maps has created new uses for maps and new industries to explore and exploit these potentials. See also [[digital raster graphic]].

In the early years of the new millennium, three key technological advances transformed cartography:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=Alexander |title=A Profession Less Ordinary? Reflections on the Life, Death and Resurrection of Cartography |journal=The Bulletin of the Society of Cartographers |date=2014 |volume=48 |issue=1,2 |pages=7–16 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282123268 |access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> the removal of Selective Availability in the [[Global Positioning System]] (GPS) in May 2000, which improved locational accuracy for consumer-grade GPS receivers to within a few metres; the invention of [[OpenStreetMap]] in 2004, a global digital counter-map that allowed anyone to contribute and use new spatial data without complex licensing agreements; and the launch of [[Google Earth]] in 2005 as a development of the virtual globe EarthViewer 3D (2004), which revolutionised accessibility of accurate world maps, as well as access to satellite and aerial imagery. These advances brought more accuracy to geographical and location-based data and widened the range of applications for cartography, for example in the development of [[satnav]] devices.

Today most commercial-quality maps are made using [[software]] of three main types: [[Computer-aided design|CAD]], [[Geographic information system|GIS]] and specialized illustration [[software]]. Spatial information can be stored in a [[database]], from which it can be extracted on demand. These tools lead to increasingly dynamic, interactive maps that can be manipulated digitally.

On the other hand, we can observe a reverse trend. In contemporary times, there is a resurgence of interest in the most beautiful periods of cartography, with various maps being created using, for example, Renaissance-style aesthetics. We encounter imitators or continuators of Renaissance traditions that merge the realms of science and art. Among them are figures such as Luther Phillips (1891–1960) and Ruth Rhoads Lepper Gardner (1905–2011),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meader |first=Benjamin |date=2023-12-21 |title=Drawing Maine: The Pictorial Maps of the Phillips Brothers |url=https://cartographicperspectives.org/index.php/journal/article/view/1877 |journal=Cartographic Perspectives |language=en |issue=102 |pages=63–71 |doi=10.14714/CP102.1877 |issn=1048-9053|doi-access=free }}</ref> who still operated using traditional cartographic methods, as well as creators utilizing modern developments based on GIS solutions<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davison |first=Warren |date=2018-12-10 |title=ArcGIS Pro project containing all the resources you'll need to 'historify' and 'antiquify' your brand new maps |url=https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=228b671f0c964ede9b4a3edf7eaf8a7b |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=Historical Map Effects}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Buckley |first=Aileen |last2=Barnes |first2=David |last3=Richards |first3=Jaynya |date=2007-03-01 |title=Achieving Historical Map Effects with Modern GIS |url=https://cartographicperspectives.org/index.php/journal/article/view/cp56-buckley-et-al/pdf |journal=Cartographic Perspectives |language=en |issue=56 |pages=63–72 |doi=10.14714/CP56.312 |issn=1048-9053|doi-access=free }}</ref> and those employing techniques that combine advanced GIS/CAD methods with traditional artistic forms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Juśkiewicz |first=Włodzimierz |last2=Jaszewski |first2=Jakub |last3=Brykała |first3=Dariusz |last4=Piotrowski |first4=Robert |last5=Alexander |first5=K.M. |last6=Juśkiewicz |first6=Kacper B. |date=2025-12-31 |title=Supernatural beings of Pomerania: postmodern mapping of folkloristic sources |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17445647.2024.2434015 |journal=[[Journal of Maps]] |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=1–15 |doi=10.1080/17445647.2024.2434015 |via=Taylor & Francis|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Rugged computer|Field-rugged computers]], [[GPS]], and [[laser rangefinder]]s make it possible to create maps directly from measurements made on site.

==Deconstruction==
There are technical and cultural aspects to producing maps. In this sense, maps can sometimes be said to be biased. The study of bias, influence, and agenda in making a map is what comprise a map's [[deconstruction]]. A central tenet of deconstructionism is that maps have power. Other assertions are that maps are inherently biased and that we search for metaphor and rhetoric in maps.<ref name=Harley/>

It is claimed that the Europeans promoted an "[[epistemology|epistemological]]" understanding of the map as early as the 17th century.<ref name=Harley>{{cite journal |url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/passages/4761530.0003.008/--deconstructing-the-map?rgn=main;view=fulltext |title=Harley, J. B. (1989). "Deconstructing the Map". Cartographica, Vol. 26, No. 2. pp 1-5 |journal=Passages |year=1992 |last1=Harley |first1=J. B. |access-date=2015-03-24 |archive-date=2015-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100247/http://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/passages/4761530.0003.008/--deconstructing-the-map?rgn=main;view=fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref> An example of this understanding is that "[<nowiki />European reproduction of terrain on maps] reality can be expressed in mathematical terms; that systematic observation and measurement offer the only route to cartographic truth…".<ref name=Harley/>

A common belief is that science heads in a direction of progress, and thus leads to more accurate representations of maps. In this belief, European maps must be superior to others, which necessarily employed different map-making skills. "There was a 'not cartography' land where lurked an army of inaccurate, heretical, subjective, valuative, and ideologically distorted images. Cartographers developed a 'sense of the other' in relation to nonconforming maps."<ref name=Harley/>

Depictions of Africa are a common target of [[deconstructionism]].<ref>Stone, Jeffrey C. (1988). "Imperialism, Colonialism and Cartography". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, N.S. 13. Pp 57.</ref> According to deconstructionist models, cartography was used for strategic purposes associated with imperialism and as instruments and representations of power<ref name="Basset">{{cite journal |last1=Bassett |first1=J. T. |year=1994 |title=Cartography and Empire Building in the Nineteenth-Century West Africa |journal=[[Geographical Review]] |volume=84 |issue=3 |pages=316–335 |doi=10.2307/215456 |jstor=215456|bibcode=1994GeoRv..84..316B }}</ref> during the conquest of Africa. The depiction of Africa and the low latitudes in general on the [[Mercator projection]] has been interpreted as imperialistic and as symbolic of subjugation due to the diminished proportions of those regions compared to higher latitudes where the European powers were concentrated.<ref name="Monmonier">{{cite book|last=Monmonier |first=Mark |date=2004 |title=Rhumb Lines and Map Wars: A Social History of the Mercator Projection |page=152 |location=Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]}} (Thorough treatment of the social history of the Mercator projection and Gall–Peters projections.)</ref>

Maps furthered imperialism and colonization of Africa in practical ways by showing basic information like roads, terrain, natural resources, settlements, and communities. Through this, maps made European commerce in Africa possible by showing potential commercial routes and made natural resource extraction possible by depicting locations of resources. Such maps also enabled military conquests and made them more efficient, and imperial nations further used them to put their conquests on display. These same maps were then used to cement territorial claims, such as at the [[Berlin Conference]] of 1884–1885.<ref name="Basset" />

Before 1749, maps of the African continent had African kingdoms drawn with assumed or contrived boundaries, with unknown or unexplored areas having drawings of animals, imaginary physical geographic features, and descriptive texts. In 1748, Jean B. B. d'Anville created the first map of the African continent that had blank spaces to represent the unknown territory.<ref name="Basset" />

==Map types==
{{See also|Map#Types}}

===General vs. thematic cartography===
[[File:Orienteringskort bygholm 2005 detail.jpg|thumb|Small section of an orienteering map]]
[[File:Easter Island map-en.svg|thumb|Topographic map of [[Easter Island]]]]
[[File:Maps-for-free Sierra Nevada.png|thumb|Relief map [[Sierra Nevada (Spain)|Sierra Nevada]]]]

In understanding basic maps, the field of cartography can be divided into two general categories: general cartography and thematic cartography. General cartography involves those maps that are constructed for a general audience and thus contain a variety of features. General maps exhibit many reference and location systems and often are produced in a series. For example, the 1:24,000 scale topographic maps of the [[United States Geological Survey]] (USGS) are a standard as compared to the 1:50,000 scale Canadian maps. The government of the UK produces the classic 1:50,000 (replacing the older 1&nbsp;inch to 1 mile) "[[Ordnance Survey]]" maps of the entire UK and with a range of correlated larger- and smaller-scale maps of great detail. Many private mapping companies have also produced thematic map series.

[[Thematic map|Thematic cartography]] involves maps of specific geographic themes, oriented toward specific audiences. A couple of examples might be a [[Thematic map#Dot|dot map]] showing [[corn production]] in [[Indiana]] or a shaded area map of [[Ohio counties]], divided into numerical [[Choropleth map|choropleth]] classes. As the volume of geographic data has exploded over the last century, thematic cartography has become increasingly useful and necessary to interpret spatial, cultural and social data.

A third type of map is known as an "orienteering," or special purpose map. This type of map falls somewhere between thematic and general maps. They combine general map elements with thematic attributes in order to design a map with a specific audience in mind. Oftentimes, the type of audience an orienteering map is made for is in a particular industry or occupation. An example of this kind of map would be a municipal utility map.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog486/node/1848 |title=Cartography and Visualization Part I: Types of Maps |last=Dutton |first=John |website=[[Pennsylvania State University]] E-Education |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911104035/https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog486/node/1848 |archive-date=2018-09-11 }}</ref>

===Topographic vs. topological===
A [[topographic map]] is primarily concerned with the [[topography|topographic]] description of a place, including (especially in the 20th and 21st centuries) the use of [[contour line]]s showing elevation. [[Terrain]] or relief can be shown in a variety of ways (see [[Cartographic relief depiction]]). In the present era, one of the most widespread and advanced methods used to form topographic maps is to use computer software to generate [[digital elevation model]]s which show shaded relief. Before such software existed, cartographers had to draw shaded relief by hand. One cartographer who is respected as a master of hand-drawn shaded relief is the Swiss professor Eduard Imhof whose efforts in hill shading were so influential that his method became used around the world despite it being so labor-intensive.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kennelly |first=Patrick |s2cid=12196808 |date=2006 |title=A Uniform Sky Illumination Model to Enhance Shading of Terrain and Urban Areas |journal=[[Cartography and Geographic Information Science]] |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=21–36 |doi=10.1559/152304006777323118|bibcode=2006CGISc..33...21K }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://icaci.org/eduard-imhof-1895-1986/ |title=Eduard Imhof (1895–1986) |last=Ormeling |first=F.J. |date=1986-12-31 |website=International Cartographic Association |access-date=2018-07-27 |archive-date=2018-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904052427/https://icaci.org/eduard-imhof-1895-1986/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A [[topological map]] is a very general type of map, the kind one might sketch on a napkin. It often disregards scale and detail in the interest of clarity of communicating specific route or relational information. [[Harry Beck|Beck's]] [[Tube map|London Underground map]] is an iconic example. Although the most widely used map of "The Tube," it preserves little of reality: it varies scale constantly and abruptly, it straightens curved tracks, and it contorts directions. The only topography on it is the [[River Thames]], letting the reader know whether a station is north or south of the river. That and the topology of station order and interchanges between train lines are all that is left of the geographic space.<ref name=Ovenden>{{cite book |last=Ovenden |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Ovenden |title=Transit Maps of the World |location=New York, New York |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-14-311265-5 |pages=22, 60, 131, 132, 135}}</ref> Yet those are all a typical passenger wishes to know, so the map fulfills its purpose.<ref>{{cite book |author=Devlin, Keith |title=The Millennium Problems |url=https://archive.org/details/millenniumproble00keit |url-access=registration |location=New York, New York |publisher=[[Basic Books]] |year=2002 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/millenniumproble00keit/page/162 162–163] |isbn=978-0-465-01730-0}}</ref>

==Map design==
{{Main|Cartographic design}}
[[File:Livingston-Greenwich-map.jpg|thumb|right|Illustrated map]]

Modern technology, including advances in [[printing]], the advent of [[geographic information system]]s and [[graphics software]], and the [[Internet]], has vastly simplified the process of map creation and increased the palette of design options available to cartographers. This has led to a decreased focus on production skill, and an increased focus on quality [[design]], the attempt to craft maps that are both [[Applied aesthetics|aesthetically pleasing]] and practically useful for their intended purposes.

===Map purpose and audience===
A map has a purpose and an audience. Its purpose may be as broad as teaching the major physical and political features of the entire world, or as narrow as convincing a neighbor to move a fence. The audience may be as broad as the general public or as narrow as a single person. Mapmakers use design principles to guide them in constructing a map that is effective for its purpose and audience.

====Cartographic process====
[[File:The Cartographic Process.png|thumb|The cartographic process]]

The cartographic process spans many stages, starting from conceiving the need for a map and extending all the way through its consumption by an audience. Conception begins with a real or imagined environment. As the cartographer gathers information about the subject, they consider how that information is structured and how that structure should inform the map's design. Next, the cartographers experiment with [[Cartographic generalization|generalization]], [[symbol]]ization, [[typography]], and other map elements to find ways to portray the information so that the map reader can interpret the map as intended. Guided by these experiments, the cartographer settles on a design and creates the map, whether in physical or electronic form. Once finished, the map is delivered to its audience. The map reader interprets the symbols and patterns on the map to draw conclusions and perhaps to take action. By the spatial perspectives they provide, maps help shape how we view the world.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog160/node/1882 |title=3.1 The Cartographic Process {{!}} GEOG 160: Mapping our Changing World |website=www.e-education.psu.edu |access-date=2019-12-14 |archive-date=2019-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214193705/https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog160/node/1882 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Aspects of map design===
Designing a map involves bringing together a number of elements and making a large number of decisions. The elements of design fall into several broad topics, each of which has its own theory, its own research agenda, and its own best practices. That said, there are synergistic effects between these elements, meaning that the overall design process is not just working on each element one at a time, but an iterative feedback process of adjusting each to achieve the desired [[Holism|gestalt]].
* [[File:Worlds animate.gif|thumb|Areal distortion caused by [[Mercator projection]]]]'''[[Map projections]]''': The foundation of the map is the plane on which it rests (whether paper or screen), but projections are required to flatten the surface of the [[Earth]] or other celestial bodies. While all projections distort the surface, cartographers strategically control how and where distortion occurs<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lambert |first1=Nicolas |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781000061703 |title=Practical Handbook of Thematic Cartography: Principles, Methods, and Applications |last2=Zanin |first2=Christine |date=2020-05-10 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-429-29196-8 |edition=1 |pages=19–27 |language=en |doi=10.1201/9780429291968 |s2cid=219413999 |access-date=2023-10-17 |archive-date=2023-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222083851/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.1201/9780429291968/practical-handbook-thematic-cartography-nicolas-lambert-christine-zanin |url-status=live }}</ref> For example, the popular [[Mercator projection]] does not distort angles on the surface, but it makes regions near the poles appear larger than they are.<ref name=":3" />
* [[Cartographic generalization|'''Generalization''']]: All maps must be drawn at a smaller scale than reality, requiring that the information included on a map be a very small sample of the wealth of information about a place. Generalization is the process of adjusting the level of detail in geographic information to be appropriate for the scale and purpose of a map, through procedures such as selection, simplification, and classification.
* [[Map symbol|'''Symbology''']]: Any map visually represents the location and properties of geographic phenomena using map symbols, graphical depictions composed of several [[visual variable]]s, such as size, shape, color, and pattern.
* '''Composition''': As all of the symbols are brought together, their interactions have major effects on map reading, such as [[Gestalt psychology#Prägnanz|grouping]] and [[visual hierarchy]].
* [[Typography (cartography)|'''Typography or labeling''']]: Text serves a number of purposes on the map, especially aiding the recognition of features, but labels must be designed and positioned well to be effective.<ref>Jill Saligoe-Simmel,[https://www.drjill.net/map-fonts-article-1-the-basics-of-typography-for-cartography/ "Using Text on Maps: Typography in Cartography"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220230516/https://www.drjill.net/map-fonts-article-1-the-basics-of-typography-for-cartography/ |date=2018-12-20 }}</ref>
* [[Page layout (cartography)|'''Layout''']]: The map image must be placed on the page (whether paper, web, or other media), along with related elements, such as the title, legend, additional maps, text, images, and so on. Each of these elements have their own design considerations, as does their integration, which largely follows the principles of [[graphic design]].
* '''Map type-specific design''': Different kinds of maps, especially [[thematic map]]s, have their own design needs and best practices.

==Deliberate cartographic errors==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2022}}
{{Further|Cartographic propaganda|Cartographic censorship|Trap street}}

Some maps contain deliberate errors or distortions, either as [[Cartographic propaganda|propaganda]] or as a "[[watermark]]" to help the copyright owner identify infringement if the error appears in competitors' maps. The latter often come in the form of nonexistent, misnamed, or misspelled "[[trap streets]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Monmonier |first=Mark |title=How to Lie with Maps |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |location=Chicago |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-226-53421-3 |page=51 |edition=2nd}}</ref> Other names and forms for this are [[Phantom settlement|paper towns]], [[fictitious entry|fictitious entries]], and copyright [[Easter egg (media)|easter eggs]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Copyright_Easter_Eggs |title=Openstreetmap.org Copyright Easter Eggs |access-date=2018-12-06 |archive-date=2019-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219214003/https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Copyright_Easter_Eggs |url-status=live }}</ref>

Another motive for deliberate errors is cartographic "vandalism": a mapmaker wishing to leave their mark on the work. Mount Richard, for example, was a fictitious peak on the [[Rocky Mountains]]' [[continental divide]] that appeared on a [[Boulder County, Colorado]] map in the early 1970s. It is believed to be the work of draftsman Richard Ciacci. The fiction was not discovered until two years later.

[[Sandy Island, New Caledonia|Sandy Island]] in New Caledonia is an example of a fictitious location that stubbornly survives, reappearing on new maps copied from older maps while being deleted from other new editions.

With the emergence of the internet and [[Web mapping]], technologies allow for the creation and distribution of maps by people without proper cartographic training are readily available. This has led to maps that ignore cartographic conventions and are potentially misleading.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Aaron |last2=Xiang |first2=Chen |last3=Weidong |first3=Li |last4=Zhang |first4=Chuanrong |title=The disguised pandemic: The importance of data normalization in COVID-19 web mapping |journal=[[Public Health (journal)|Public Health]] |date=May 2020 |volume=183 |issue=3 |pages=36–37 |doi=10.1016/j.puhe.2020.04.034 |pmid=32416476 |pmc=7203028}}</ref>

==Professional and learned societies==
{{Main category|Cartography organizations}}

[[Professional society|Professional]] and [[learned society|learned societies]] include:
* [[International Cartographic Association]] (ICA), the world body for mapping and GIScience professionals, as well as the [[International Cartographic Association#Members|ICA member organizations]]
* [[British Cartographic Society]] (BCS) a registered charity in the UK dedicated to exploring and developing the world of maps
* Society of Cartographers supports in the UK the practising cartographer and encourages and maintains a high standard of cartographic illustration
* [[Cartography and Geographic Information Society]] (CaGIS), promotes in the U.S. research, education, and practice to improve the understanding, creation, analysis, and use of maps and geographic information. The society serves as a forum for the exchange of original concepts, techniques, approaches, and experiences by those who design, implement, and use cartography, geographical information systems, and related geospatial technologies.
* [[North American Cartographic Information Society]] (NACIS), A North American-based cartography society that is aimed at improving communication, coordination and cooperation among the producers, disseminators, curators, and users of cartographic information. Their members are located worldwide and the meetings are on an annual basis
* [[Canadian Cartographic Association]] (CCA)

===Academic journals===
{{Category see also|Geography journals|Remote sensing journals}}

Journals related to cartography, as well as GIS, GISc, include:

*''[[International Journal of Cartography]]''
*''[[The Cartographic Journal]]''
*''[[Cartographica]]''
*''[[Cartography and Geographic Information Science]]''
*''[[Cartographic Perspectives]]''
*''[[KN - Journal of Cartography and Geographic Information]]''
*''[[Journal of Maps]]''
*''[[Journal of Geovisualization and Spatial Analysis]]''
*''[[Transactions in GIS]]''
*''[[Journal of Spatial Science]]''
*''[[Geocarto International]]''
*''[[GIScience & Remote Sensing]]''
*''[[International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation]]''
*''[[International Journal of Digital Earth]]''
*''[[Geoinformatica]]''
*''[[ISPRS International Journal of Geo-information]]''
*''[[Journal of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Science]]''
*''[[Geo-spatial Information Science]]''
*''[[ACM Transactions on Spatial Algorithms and Systems]]''
*''[[Imago Mundi]]''
*''[[Revista Cartográfica]]''
*''[[Terrae Incognitae]]''

==See also==

{{div col}}

* [[History of cartography]]
* [[Outline of cartography]]
* [[Toponymy]]

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{{div col end}}

==References==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|32em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last=Ovenden |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Ovenden |title=Transit Maps of the World |location=New York, New York |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-14-311265-5 }}

==Further reading==
'''Mapmaking'''
* {{cite book |last=MacEachren |first=A.M. |title=Some Truth with Maps: A Primer on Symbolization & Design |location=University Park |publisher=The [[Pennsylvania State University]] |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-89291-214-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Monmonier |first=Mark |title=Mapping It Out |location=Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-226-53417-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kraak |first1=Menno-Jan |last2=Ormeling |first2=Ferjan |title=Cartography: Visualization of Spatial Data |publisher=[[Prentice Hall]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-13-088890-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Peterson |first=Michael P. |title=Interactive and Animated Cartography |location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey |publisher=[[Prentice Hall]] |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-13-079104-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Slocum |first=T. |title=Thematic Cartography and Geographic Visualization |location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey |publisher=[[Prentice Hall]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-13-035123-4}}

'''History'''
* {{cite book |last=Ehrenberg |first=Ralph E. |title=Mapping the World: An Illustrated History of Cartography |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |date=October 11, 2005 |page=[https://archive.org/details/mappingworldillu00ehre/page/256 256] |isbn=978-0-7922-6525-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/mappingworldillu00ehre/page/256}}
* {{cite book |editor=[[John Brian Harley|J. B. Harley]] |editor2=[[David Woodward (cartographer)|David Woodward]] |title=The History of Cartography |volume=1: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean |location=Chicago and London |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-226-31633-8}}
* {{cite book |editor=J. B. Harley |editor2=David Woodward |title=The History of Cartography |volume=2, Book 1: Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies |location=Chicago and London |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1992|isbn=978-0-226-31635-2}}
* {{cite book |editor=J. B. Harley |editor2=David Woodward |title=The History of Cartography |volume=2, Book 2: Cartography in the Traditional East and Southeast Asian Societies |location=Chicago and London |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1994|isbn=978-0-226-31637-6}}
* {{cite book |editor=David Woodward |editor2=G. Malcolm Lewis |title=The History of Cartography |volume=2, Book 3: Cartography in the Traditional African, American, Arctic, Australian, and Pacific Societies |location=Chicago and London |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1998|isbn=978-0-226-90728-4}}
* {{cite book |editor=David Woodward |title=The History of Cartography |volume=3: Cartography in the European Renaissance |location=Chicago and London |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=2007|isbn=978-0-226-90733-8}}
* {{cite book |editor=Mark Monmonier |title=The History of Cartography |volume=6: Cartography in the Twentieth Century |location=Chicago and London |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=2015|isbn=978-0-226-53469-5}}
* {{cite book |editor=Matthew Edney |editor2=Mary S. Pedley |title=The History of Cartography |volume=4: Cartography in the European Enlightenment |location=Chicago and London |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-31633-8}}
* {{cite book |editor=Roger J. P. Kain |display-editors=etal |title=The History of Cartography |volume=5: Cartography in the Nineteenth Century |location=Chicago and London |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]}}

'''Meanings'''
* {{cite book |author=Monmonier, Mark |title=How to Lie with Maps |url=https://archive.org/details/howtoliewithmaps00monm |url-access=registration |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-226-53421-3}}
* {{cite book |author=Wood, Denis |year=1992 |title=The Power of Maps |location=New York/London |publisher=The Guilford Press |isbn=978-0-89862-493-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/powerofmaps00wood }}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|commons=Historical maps}}
* [http://www.bl.uk/learning/artimages/maphist/mappinghistory.html Mapping History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310025504/http://www.bl.uk/learning/artimages/maphist/mappinghistory.html |date=2007-03-10 }} – a learning resource from the [[British Library]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070202062403/http://www.antiquemaps.co.uk/contents.html Antique Maps] by Carl Moreland and David Bannister – complete text of the book, with information both on mapmaking and on mapmakers, including short biographies of many cartographers (archived 2 February 2007)
* [http://www.newberry.org/collections/conbib.html Concise Bibliography of the History of Cartography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026061210/http://www.newberry.org/collections/conbib.html |date=2011-10-26 }}, Newberry Library

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