5 Thematic Mapping
5.1 Fundamental Elements of Maps
Do you use maps often? Are there any characteristics that different maps have in common? Most maps represent features of the Earth (such as roads, buildings, and lakes) from a viewpoint directly above those features. That is, planimetric (or 2D) representations of geographic features are common in maps, although the Earth is three dimensional. To represent features in spatially constrained and flat media, such as a sheet of paper or computer screen, cartographers have to select, simplify, project, and symbolize the features of interest at a reduced scale. Therefore, cartographic maps (except for physical 3D models) have the following common denominators:
- Map ...
Get GIS, 2nd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
