Maps Page Level of Difficulty:

Transcription

1 Chapter 11 Maps Page Level of Difficulty: 11.1 Introduction As scaled depictions of the world, maps are by necessity abstractions of reality. The abstraction takes many forms. Some features are left out because there is no room to show them. Others are exaggerated in size so that they will be made visible on the map. Roads, for example, would not be visible on most maps if they were not represented as being wider than they are in reality. Taken altogether, maps are a collection of lies, and yet we find them useful. According to the artist Picasso, art is a lie which shows us the truth. The same can be said of maps. There are two types of maps: general reference and thematic. General reference maps emphasize the location of features and include road and topographic maps. Thematic maps depict a particular distribution of something such as population or income. These types of maps illustrate a particular geographic pattern. The map of population density in Africa, depicted in Fig. 11.1, is an example of a thematic map Finding Maps on the Web There are literally millions of maps to be found on the Web. Finding the one to fit a particular purpose, however, is not always easy. The process of finding maps on the Web is very much like finding pictures because most maps are stored in the same graphic file format (see Appendix D). As with pictures, use the Image tab in the search engine. An alternative to using a search engine is to find a precompiled map reference list. These files, compiled by map librarians, cartographers, and others with an interest in maps, may contain thousands of links to maps. These links may be presented as a long list, a searchable online database, or as a series of clickable maps at reduced size. The links may be organized by the region of the world or by the type of map: static (like a picture), interactive (clickable), or animated. Examples of such lists are available through the web resources page. The maps are organized here by map type and include links to maps from around the world. One of the problems associated with precompiled lists is that the links need to be constantly checked to make sure they are still active. A third alternative to finding maps is the online map library. An example is the Perry-Castañeda Map Collection at the University of Texas at Austin ( This website contains a large number of scanned maps, mostly from the U.S. government that do not have copyright restrictions and can therefore be freely duplicated and distributed. There are also scanned versions of older maps to be found here for which copyright restrictions have long expired. The advantage of these online map libraries is that all of the maps are kept on a single web server and thus the links can be more easily maintained.

2 With interactive maps becoming more popular, the map-searching problem is somewhat aleviated. Rather than searching for a specific map, some websites make it possible to interactively create the map that is required. Choices include the area to be mapped, the size, and the features to include. The most widely used website for interactive mapping is MapQuest.com. This website produces over 20 million street maps a day. However, the relatively crude appearance of these automated maps leads many users to favor the non-interactive maps available through the Web. Attempts to computerize the map-making process have shown that it involves a large number of design decisions that cannot easily be automated. Maps made in a totally automated fashion are generally either too simple or too cluttered Good Web Maps The Web has made it increasingly important for map users to analyze maps critically, both for content and design. Map users should be able to question the validity of the data on which the map is based, as well as how the data is represented. Design decisions, including such aspects as the method of symbolization, layout, and color choice, ultimately influence the quality of the map s message. It has always been important to be a critical user of maps because maps can easily provide incorrect information, information that is not presented in the proper way, or information that is easily mis-interpreted. Being a critical map user is even more important with maps on the Web because many of these maps have been made by people who are not trained in the making of maps. A series of fairly well designed maps from the Web are presented in Figs through The caption for each map points out some good and bad characteristics.

3 Figure 11.1 A well-designed general reference map of Indonesia. The lettering is legible, but no world map is included to indicate the location of the area. ( Figure 11.2 Simple but effective relief map of the United States. Shading is used to depict the southeast slopes in the mountainous areas. The Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains are well represented. The Ozarks are also apparent. (

4 Figure 11.3 Thematic map of population density in Africa. Individual shadings are difficult to identify but the overall population density pattern is evident. Shadings and lettering are not very clear. The areal units are not identified. ( Figure 11.4 Europe by country. This map is well designed, although the country outlines are highly generalized. Lettering is legible, and a world location map is included.

5 ( Figure 11.5 Well-designed map of India showing major cities and borders with neighboring countries. (

6 Figure 11.6 A thematic map showing fresh water withdrawals for irrigation. Colors are distingishable. A clear western pattern is evident Maps Page Checklist Does the map represent something important about the country or region? Does the map present information clearly? Is it well designed? Does the map come from a reliable source (e.g., governmental organization or agency)? Does the caption explain what the map shows?