Introduction to Cartography

Module 1
What is CARTOGRAPHY?

Chartis Graphein
CARTOGRAPHY
MAP WRITE

✓ Cartography is defined as the ART and SCIENCE of map-making.

✓ It has evolved with the advancement of technology and the demands of new
generations of mapmakers and map users.
 Cartography as an Art

➢ Since the information in maps is depicted in

colors, symbols, and lettering, cartography is
considered an art (Woodward, 1987)

➢ Cartography has moved from the realm of

science to that of art, allowing the
conceptualizers to expressively and often
imaginatively represent a space.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Plan of Imola, 1502
 Cartography as Science

➢ Cartography tries to communicate spatial

information efficiently.

It includes several areas of understanding:

✓ human needs, demands, and abilities to

interpret maps
✓ the data, models, and algorithms of spatial
information
✓ how to communicate spatial information to users
efficiently using technologies, graphics, and methods
of communication. Map of John Snow of London
Evolution of Cartography

16,500 BCE
- Earliest known map
- Shows the night sky rather than the Earth
- Formed out of a clay tablet
Evolution of Cartography

Cave painting and rock carvings used simple visual elements that may have
aided in recognizing landscape features, such as hills or dwellings.
Babylonians Cartography
Babylonian Clay Tablet Map
- Also known as Babylonian World Map
- Created between 500-700 BC
- World’s Earliest Map
- Symbolic representation of the Earth,
not a literal representation
- Help the Map Holder grasp an idea of
the world
Ancient Greek Cartography
ANCIENT GREEKS

- created the earliest paper maps

- used for navigation and to depict
certain areas of the Earth.
Ancient Greek Cartography
Turin Papyrus

- a.k.a Map of the Gold

Mines
- Topographic map
- Located between Nile
and Red Sea
Ancient Egypt Cartography
Egyptian Maps
- Survey Maps were
common
- Annual flooding of Nile
River needed to re-
establish boundaries
- Maps were used for
taxation
- Used papyrus paper and
wood
Ancient & Medieval Cartography
ANAXIMANDER

- First of the ancient Greeks to

draw a map of the world

- Considered one of the first

cartographers
Ancient & Medieval Cartography

Anaximander Map
- Represented the three
continents (Europe, Asia and
Libya)
- At this time, the Greeks
believed the earth was a flat
disc with the ocean at the edge.
Ancient & Medieval Cartography
• Thales of Miletus applies principles of geometry to
measure land.
• Pythagoras may have been the first to propose a
spherical world.
• Hecataues produced the first geography book
Ancient & Medieval Cartography
• Aristotle first to demonstrate that the Earth was
sphere.
• Erastosthenes invented the word geography and
accurately calculated the circumference of the Earth
Claudius Ptolemy

- Mapped Flattened Earth in 2-

Dimensional Map

- is the first use of longitudinal

and latitudinal lines as well
as specifying terrestrial
locations by celestial
observations
 Chinese Cartography
• Pei Xiu (300 CE) is considered
one of the Chinese
cartographer.

• The Yu Yi Tu: “Tracks of Yu”

Philippines

- First Philippine Map

Tools and Equipment in Mapping

• Manual Mapping and Sketching

Tools and Equipment in Mapping

• Computerized Mapping
Tools and Equipment in Mapping

• Production and Reproduction

What is a MAP?
• A representation of the Earth’s
features drawn on a flat surface

• It uses symbols and colors

to represent features of an
area, simplifying the real
world
Types of Maps by Relief Representation

1. Hypsometric map – A map

showing relief, whether by
contours, hachures, shading, or
tinting; three-dimensional
 Types of Maps by Relief Representation

2. Planimetric map – shows

features such as roads, buildings,
water, fences, vegetation, bridges,
railroads, etc; gives less emphasis
on the terrain; two-dimensional
 Type of Maps by Scale

1. Small scale maps – less detailed;

may show evident features
2. Medium scale maps
3. Large scale maps – shows a lot of
detail of an area
Type of Maps by Information

1. General purpose maps – sometimes referred as reference

maps; shows both natural and man-made features; gives emphasis
on the location of features.

2. Thematic maps – illustrate the geographical distribution of a

particular theme or phenomena; also called special purpose map
Uses of Maps

a. Location of Places

b. Education
c. Research
d. Planning and Development
e. Military
f. Aerospace science
 Elements of a Map
TITLE BLOCKS
• This state the type of map,
name of property or project and
its owner or user, location or
area, date completed, scale,
contour interval, horizontal and
vertical datum used, and for
property surveys, the name of
the surveyor with his or her
license number
 Elements of a Map
TITLE
• This indicates the geographical
area, the most important
administrative/ political
division, or some other
features covered on the map.
 Elements of a Map
LEGEND
- these are employed to
explain the meaning of
the different cartographic
symbols and different line
types used to portray
different topographic
features on maps
 Elements of a Map
SCALE

The scale of the map should

preferably be presented as
both a representative
fraction, and a graphical
element.
 Elements of a Map
MERIDIAN ARROWS
• Every map must display a meridian arrow for
orientation purposes. The arrow must not be so large or
elaborate that it becomes the focal point of a sheet.

• To show a true-meridian a full head and full feather is

drawn; a half-head and half-feather to show a
grid/magnetic meridian.
Elements of a Map
PROJECTION
gives the relation between
the position on the earth
and that on the same
point on the map.
Elements of a Map
OTHER ESSENTIAL INFO
• Other essential
information are also given
as the dates of
survey/compilation,
source material,
cartographer and
information concerning
adjacent sheets, if any.
Elements of a Map
GRID
• The grid which is a
reference system made of
straight lines intersecting
one another at right
angles, showing the
distance and direction
correctly in the
construction of maps.
Elements of a Map
GEOGRAPHIC VALUES
• The geographic Values which
give the values of latitude and
longitude at intervals around
the sheet edge.
 Elements of a Map
NOTES
- special features pertaining
specifically to a particular
map
 Map Symbols
DRAWING CONSIDERATIONS FOR
SYMBOL
The symbols should:

1. Be easy to read and understand

2. Conform to the general design and

purpose of the drawing.

3. Follow standard and acceptable formats

 Map Symbols
PURPOSE
• to convey to the user accurate
information concerning the various
terrain and planimetric features it
represents
• All forms of drawings require the
use of graphic symbols to
communicate information quickly,
accurately, and consistently
 Map Symbols
TYPES
• Symbols are the graphic language of
maps and their size, shape, location
and color all have special
significance
Map Symbols
TYPES

1. Point Symbol
• Identify a location of a specific
point
• Occupy an actual geographic
area
Map Symbols
TYPES

2. Line Symbol
▫ Identify features that
are elongated, narrow
and geometrically
consistent.
▫ Connect one point to
another point
Map Symbols
TYPES
3. Area Symbol
• Identify polygons (pieces of
land)
• Two dimensional
• Describe the characteristics
of an area of land. (political
boundaries & vegetation
cover)
Map Symbols
TYPES
4. Volume Symbol
• Depicts spatial variation in the
amount or quantity of variable.

• Three dimensional
representations and can be used
for a variety of data
presentations
Map Symbols
EMPHASIS OF SYMBOLS
• There are different methods by which symbols may be varied or emphasized;
they include:
✓ line
✓ thickness,
✓ color,
✓ size,
✓ shape,
✓ pattern, and
✓ shading
Map Symbols
EMPHASIS OF SYMBOLS
• Line Thickness and Color

• To insure legibility when reduced for

final printing, line weights used for
all symbols should always be of
sufficient thickness.

• Bold lines are considered when

portraying large or major features
Map Symbols
EMPHASIS OF SYMBOLS
• Size

• When drawing symbols, good judgement

must be used in determining the correct
size of symbols
Map Symbols
EMPHASIS OF SYMBOLS
• Pattern

• Patterns that are adjacent to each other

should be considerably different from
each other.
• To avoid poor portrayal of symbols, the
line thickness and density of patterns
should vary.
Map Symbols
EMPHASIS OF SYMBOLS
• Shading

• Shading of the symbols will add

dominance and allow emphasis to be
given to different features or clarify a
confusing layout of symbols.
MAP SCALE

• It is the ratio of a distance on the

map to the corresponding distance
on the ground

𝑀𝐷
𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 =
𝐺𝐷

MD = Map Distance
GD = Ground Distance
•Three ways to portrayed the map scale:
1. Equivalence scale
2. Scale ratio or Representative Fraction
3. Graphic scale
Equivalence Scale

• Scales expressed as an equivalence or by words and figures.

• Such expression as 1 inch = 1 mile, 1 cm = 1 km
• The map distances are best measured in the units on the left of
the expression, and by setting up a proportion, the ground
distances in terms of the right-hand side unit of measured is
determined.

• It is most useful in calculating distances.

 Scale Ratio or Representative Fraction

• Usually referred as RF or SR.

• Scale of a map expressed as
a ratio, such as 1:2000, or as
a fraction, as 1/2000
• In this example, we can see
that 1 unit in the map
represents 2 000 units in the
ground
• So, 1 cm=2 000 cm and
1 m=2000 m
 Graphic Scale

• Also called as bar scale

• A graphic or bar scale is a line

subdivided into map distances
corresponding to convenient units of
length on the ground.

• It may be drawn as a single line or

with two closely spaced parallel
lines, with alternating spaces
darkened for effect.
Classification of Map Scales

• Generally, map scales are classified as large, medium and

scale.
1. Large-scale maps – are those having scales of 1:2,000 or
larger and with contour intervals ranging from 0.1 to 2 meters.
2. Medium-scale maps – are those having scales of 1:2,000 or
1:10,000 and with contour intervals ranging from 1.0 to 5.0 meters.

3. Small-scale maps – are those having scales of 1:10,000 or smaller

and with contour intervals ranging from 5 to 2,000 meters.
Classification of Map Scales
Importance of scale

• Aids in identifying the actual distance between two points on a

map
• It provides better visualization on the map
Problems on Map Scale

• Determine the scale (representative fraction) of a sketch

wherein one centimeter represents one hundred meters on the
ground

𝑀𝐷 1 𝑐𝑚 1 𝑐𝑚 1
𝑆𝑅 = = = =
𝐺𝐷 100 𝑚 100 𝑐𝑚 10,000
100 𝑚( 1𝑚 )
Problems on Map Scale

• A scale is to be constructed to a map with a given fractional

scale of 1:25,000. Determine the length on the scale which will
represent 2 km on the map.

𝑀𝐷
𝑆𝑅 = ; 𝑀𝐷 = 𝐺𝐷(𝑆𝑅)
𝐺𝐷
1
𝑀𝐷 = 2 𝑘𝑚( )
25,000

𝑀𝐷 = 0.00008 𝑘𝑚 𝑜𝑟 8 𝑐𝑚
Problems on Map Scale

• The scale of a maps is 1:50,000. If, the road on this map measures 2cm,
find the actual length of the road.
Problems on Map Scale

What is the scale ratio to replace the equivalent of 4inch =

1000m?
Problems on Map Scale
The distance between two lighthouses was determined to
be 18cm on a cadastral map with a scale of 1:40000. On
topographic map, the measurement was 24cm. What is the
scale (in representative fraction) of the topographic map?