Unit 4 – cartography

Cartography (or mapping) is the art and science of making maps and charts. Cartography is an ancient discipline that dates from the prehistoric depiction of hunting and fishing territories. The map is perhaps the most familiar form in which geographic data is represented. The earliest maps have been based on personal experience and familiarity (хорошее знание) with local features and showed routes to neighbouring tribes; where game (дичь), water, salt, the locations of enemies, dangers and other necessities might be found. Navigators land surveyors, and the military used maps to show the spatial distribution of important geographic features¹.

From the earliest civilizations maps have been used to portray information about the earth’s surface. A map is a graphical representation of features of a portion of the surface of the earth, drawn to some definite scale on a flat surface (a sheet of paper) and generally shows the physical features of the country: roads, rivers, mountains, lakes, land cover types², political boundaries, the situation of towns and cities. The map itself serves both to store the data and to present the data to the user. It is a relatively inexpensive means of storing a considerable amount of spatial information³.

In the twentieth century the progress of science and technology accelerated. This increase created the demand for ever greater volumes of geographic data to be presented in map form more quickly and more accurately. With the development of reconnaissance technologies, such as aerial photography and satellite-based remote sensing, there has been an explosion of geographic data production, wider use and more sophisticated analyses. On the base of aerial photographs different kinds of maps are made.

Major types of maps include topographical maps, showing features of the Earth’s land surface, they provide a complete inventory of the terrain and important information for all activities involving the use and development of the land, and they are the base for specialized maps; nautical charts, representing coastal and marine areas; hydrographic charts, which specify ocean depths and the directions and intensities of oceanic currents; and aeronautical charts, which detail surface features and air routes. The information for a geographic feature has four major components: its geographic position, its attributes, its spatial relationships and time⁴. More simply, the four components are: where it is, what it is, what is its relationship to other spatial features, and when did the condition or feature exist.

Every geographical phenomenon can be represented by a point, line or area, that’s why a map is a set of points lines and areas that are defined both by their location in space with reference to⁵ a coordinate system (i.e. geographical data are referenced to locations on the earth’s surface by using a standard system of coordinates). The coordinate system may be purely local, as in the case of a study of a limited area, or it may be that of a national grid or an internationally accepted projection such as the Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinate System (UTM)⁶. The group of lines, points, and areas are coded using symbols, textures and colours, that are explained in the map legend. The map legend links the non-spatial attributes to the spatial data. A legend explains the meaning of colours and symbols used on a map. The title of a map identifies what the map is about and what parts of the earth it shows. The contour lines indicate the shapes of the various land forms that make up the earth’s surface (hills, valleys, ridges and so on).

Now different kinds of maps are widely used. General purpose maps show the topography of the land and boundaries of national or administrative units. As the study of natural resources developed, thematic maps were used to put down the spatial distribution of such features as geology, geomorphology, soils and vegetation. Maps are, of course, essential to geologic and mineral resource surveys, to marine geology and hydrography, to water-resource inventories, land utilization studies, urban planning, highway location studies, and countless other activities.

Digital mapping and interactive editing are important tools for the efficient management of cities and regions. Maps may be classified according to their scale and content. Line maps differ greatly in their production scale, depending on a client requirements. A scale of 1 : 1,000 is widely used by regional and local governments and by public utility companies⁷ to show urban development, land use and public services. But areas can also be mapped in much greater detail, down to a scale 1 : 200 for example, to meet the precise requirements of utility mapping⁸. This scale shows public services (зд. подземные коммуникации) in great detail, including gas, water, electricity and telephone installations, drains, and access points for maintenance personnel⁹.

Notes:

1. the spatial distribution of important geographic features 2. …land cover types… 3. …a considerable amount of spatial information 4. …its spatial relationships and time 5. …with reference to… 6. …the Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinate System (UTM) 7. …public utility companies… 8. …utility mapping 9. …access points for maintenance personnel

– пространственное распределение важных географических особенностей (элементов местности) – типы ландшафтов – значительный объем пространственной информации – взаимосвязи объектов и явлений в пространстве и времени – относительно чего-либо… – Универсальная Поперечная Проекция Меркатора в общеземной системе координат – предприятия общественного пользования – карты инфраструктуры коммунального хозяйства – пункты предприятий сотрудников ремонтно-эксплуатационных служб