Tools of early cartography

By this time, geography was often closely associated with history, meaning it helped people understand the locations of historical events. Over time, however, geography gained recognition for other uses, including figuring out how to connect neighboring settlements and delving into why something was happening in a particular location.

Universities were key to establishing geography as an official field of study when they started adding specialties—like the study of different cultures, the history of cartography, or geology—to geography. Because maps show geography, there is a natural alignment among the many specializations in geography and the different methods for visualizing and constructing representations of geographic phenomena via a map. Think about topics like physical, cultural, economic, regional, and environmental circumstances; biogeography; the climate; coastal geography; geodesy; geomorphology; glaciology; hydrology; oceanography; political, social, historical, and health issues; population density; transportation; tourism; and urban design.

Now think about the techniques used to map these things, such as quantitative and qualitative methods, remote sensing, GIS, and cartography. The topics and techniques are inextricably linked. Once a discipline comes into being, there is a natural tendency to organize people who share an interest in that subject area. Its establishment followed a boom in the founding of national geographic societies that began in Europe in the early 19th century.

These organizations offered outlets for professional cartographers and geographers to share their experiences and publish articles and studies, which often included maps, about various geographic topics.

One increasingly available source of geographic observation was topographic maps that showed settlements, transportation, vegetation, hydrology, and hypsography. While early topographic maps were used primarily for military purposes, their versatility soon became evident for other functions like geographic exploration.

At the same time, geographic societies began storing atlases and maps, which geographers perused and used to complement their own work. These valuable documents also became a subject of research in cartography—that is, designing and constructing maps. What map scale shows the desired level of detail? What mathematical projection meets a measurement need?

Thus, geographers began using the maps available to them—at national geographic societies—to study the very documents they were employing as tools to further their research.

In , at the first International Geographical Congress in Belgium, national geographic societies coalesced in an international context.

Around this time, maps and atlases were being designed, produced, and used at increasing rates. Francis Amasa Walker, the superintendent of the census at the time, felt that the data collected in past censuses had been underutilized. Perfect fidelity isn't always a cartographer's goal. With each passing year, cartography iterates and expands, entering modern times in the form of advanced geospatial technologies.

That said, it started as something much simpler. Mapmaking date back centuries, even millennia. The oldest maps are cave wall paintings and stone tablets, and it took hundreds of years to produce a navigable though still distorted projection of the world. No matter the format, the history of our world's maps is utterly fascinating. Showing a volcano and 80 buildings, it's 9ft wide and believed by some to be a town plan.

It should be noted that there are different interpretations of these drawings. Some believe the "mountain" is actually a leopard skin and the squares are an artful geometric design.

Without additional evidence, it's nearly impossible to make a hard claim one way or the other. Either way, this drawing exemplifies the lack of clarity in many cartographic representations. Even if it is a map, the overall fidelity is clearly low. Greek philosopher Anaximander is believed to have created the first published world map. That map has long since been lost, but reproductions have been made based on descriptions from secondary sources.

That said, it was one of the first known attempts at accurately depicting the world as a whole. A multi-talented academic, with contributions to astrology, astronomy, and mathematics, Ptolemy was obsessed with the idea of creating accurate horoscopes.

In pursuit of this goal, he devised a system of lines - latitude and longitudes - over which he plotted 10, birth locations. The Age of Exploration began in the 15th century, triggered in part by incredible inventions like the telescope, compass, and the sextant. This era is summarized perfectly by Time magazine:.

This demand prompted European cartographers to conduct extensive land surveys, explore uncharted areas, and create the most detailed maps seen to date. It was during this era that the now famous Mercator projection was created. Maps evolved significantly with the rise of geospatial technology: breaking new ground with the advent of Google Earth.

Past cartography tools include compasses, mylar sheeting, planimeters, and dividers - all of which are used to create analog maps. As digital mapping has become more popular, modern cartography tools have changed significantly.

Mapmaking can employ a huge variety of methods and tools. Folks have been trying to get cameras into the sky for as long as those same cameras have existed. Early attempts at aerial photography included balloons, kites, and even rockets. In , the oldest surviving aerial photograph was taken by James Wallace Black, tethered in a hot air balloon 2,ft above Boston.

Read more about the fascinating history of aerial photography here. Modern aerial photography now relies on advanced technology like helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs - more colloquially known as drones. Able to reach impressive heights and controlled by hand-held remote, drones are are fantastic tool for aerial photography. Especially for GIS mapping , large-scale, consistent visual records make surveying and change detection a breeze.

Though drones are still fairly expensive, the barrier to entry is low enough that organizations and even most individuals can participate. Geography Now is a relatively new Youtube channel that attempts to go through the geography of each country by alphabetical order. I highly recommend you to check it out. In her large selection of videos, she goes through concepts such as typography , colour theory , and graphic design.

Smashing Magazine is practically a bible when it comes to coding and design. There is a lot of reference material but also articles to make you think critically about your work. The big takeaway should be that you should step back to see if the map makes sense or ask somebody — especially a non-cartographer! Try Datawrapper for free. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

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