Portal:Maps

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The Maps and Cartography Portal

A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on a transitory medium such as a computer screen. Some maps change interactively. Although maps are commonly used to depict geographic elements, they may represent any space, real or fictional. The subject being mapped may be two-dimensional such as Earth's surface, three-dimensional such as Earth's interior, or from an abstract space of any dimension.

Maps of geographic territory have a very long tradition and have existed from ancient times. The word "map" comes from the medieval Latin: Mappa mundi, wherein mappa meant 'napkin' or 'cloth' and mundi 'of the world'. Thus, "map" became a shortened term referring to a flat representation of Earth's surface. (Full article...)

Cartography (/kɑːrˈtɒɡrəfi/; from Ancient Greek: χάρτης chartēs, 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and γράφειν graphein, 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively. (Full article...)

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Hereford mappa mundi — The *Hereford Mappa Mundi*, about 1300, Hereford Cathedral, England

A mappa mundi (Latin [ˈmappa ˈmʊndiː]; plural = mappae mundi; French: mappemonde; Middle English: mappemond) is any medieval European map of the world. Such maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps 25 millimetres (1 inch) or less across to elaborate wall maps, the largest of which to survive to modern times, the Ebstorf map, was around 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) in diameter. The term derives from the Medieval Latin words mappa (cloth or chart) and mundus (world).

Around 1,100 mappae mundi are known to have survived from the Middle Ages. Of these, some 900 are found illustrating manuscript books and the remainder exist as stand-alone documents. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various map-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A chart of an unidentified area (from History of cartography)
Image 2The Equal Earth projection (2018), an increasingly popular equal-area pseudocylindrical projection for world maps (from Cartographic design)
Image 3Map of the Holy Land, Pietro Vesconte, 1321. Described by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld as "the first non-Ptolemaic map of a definite country". (from History of cartography)
Image 4Universalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller wall map dated 1507, depicts the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Ocean separating Asia from the Americas, by the Italian Amerigo Vespucci. (from History of cartography)
Image 5The world according to Herodotus, 440 BC (from History of cartography)
Image 6Map of the “Inhabited Quarter” by Sadiq Isfahani from Jaunpur c.1647. This was one of the only surviving Indian made maps. (from History of cartography)
Image 7The pundit (explorer) cartographer Nain Singh Rawat (19th century) received a Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1876. (from History of cartography)
Image 8World Map by Juan de la Cosa (1500), the first map showing the Americas. (from History of cartography)
Image 9Scale variation for the Lambert (green) and Gall (red) equal area projections. (from Scale (map))
Image 10CIA map of Iraq, following typical labeling guidelines to maximize legibility and association (from Cartographic design)
Image 11The world according to Hekatæus, 500 BC (from History of cartography)
Image 12The Da Ming Hun Yi Tu map, dating c. 1390, exists in multicolour format. (from History of cartography)
Image 13Infinitesimal elements on the sphere and a normal cylindrical projection (from Scale (map))
Image 14A graphical or bar scale. A map would also usually give its scale numerically ("1:50,000", for instance, means that one cm on the map represents 50,000cm of real space, which is 500 meters) (from Scale (map))
Image 15World map Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Ortelius (1570) (from History of cartography)
Image 16Martin Behaim's Erdapfel (1492) is considered to be the oldest surviving terrestrial globe. (from History of cartography)
Image 17The Propaganda Map, a 1529 version of the Padrón Real now held by the Vatican Library. (from History of cartography)
Image 18Possibly the oldest surviving map has been engraved on this mammoth tusk, dated to 25,000 BC, found from Pavlov in the Czech Republic. (from History of cartography)
Image 19The world according to Anaximenes, c. 500 BC (from History of cartography)
Image 20A well-composed transit map of Istanbul, with a high degree of contrast between the symbols, creating a strong visual hierarchy (transit lines are and look most important), figure-ground, and selectivity (the green national rail line can be isolated when necessary). Also note the harmonizing subdued tones of green and blue in the background. (from Cartographic design)
Image 21"Mapa de los Estados Unidos de Méjico by John Distrunell, the 1847 map used during the negotiations of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican–American War. (from History of cartography)
Image 22A US civil war hachure paper map made in 1867 by Cartographer Nathaniel Michler vs. modern aerial photos over Chancellorsville, Virginia (from History of cartography)
Image 23A bar scale with the nominal scale expressed as "1:600 000", meaning 1 cm on the map corresponds to 600,000 cm=6 km on the ground. (from Scale (map))
Image 24The equidistant projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation (from Scale (map))
Image 25The Gough Map, a road map of 14th-century Britain (from History of cartography)
Image 26Clay tablet with map of the Babylonian city of Nippur (c. 1400 BC) (from History of cartography)
Image 27Map of Biscayne National Park, Florida, using a variety of point symbols, along with line and area symbols. Note the use of coordinated fill and stroke symbols for the national park area to solve the challenge of a water boundary. (from Cartographic design)
Image 28Modern version of the Roman Tabula Peutingeriana (5th century). (from History of cartography)
Image 29A chorochromatic map of world land cover, using hue, value, and saturation to differentiate nominal values (from Cartographic design)
Image 30A survey of Boston Harbor from Atlantic Neptune. (from History of cartography)
Image 31The Yu Ji Tu, or Map of the Tracks of Yu Gong, carved into stone in 1137, located in the Stele Forest of Xi'an. This 3 ft (0.91 m) squared map features a graduated scale of 100 li for each rectangular grid. China's coastline and river systems are clearly defined and precisely pinpointed on the map. Yu Gong is in reference to the Chinese deity described in the geographical chapter of the Classic of History, dated 5th century BC. (from History of cartography)
Image 32The first Japanese printed map to depict the world, including Europe and America. Printed by woodblock in 1710, composed by the Buddhist monk Rokashi Hotan. (from History of cartography)
Image 33A map of Sikkim, India using shaded relief and hypsometric tints (a form of isarithm) to visualize terrain (from Cartographic design)
Image 34Infinitesimal elements on the sphere and a normal cylindrical projection (from Scale (map))
Image 35The Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by Muhammad al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154. Note that the north is at the bottom, and so the map appears "upside down" compared to modern cartographic conventions. (from History of cartography)
Image 36The Winkel tripel projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation (from Scale (map))
Image 37Blaeu's world map, originally prepared by Joan Blaeu for his Atlas Maior, published in the first book of the Atlas Van Loon (1664) (from History of cartography)
Image 38Lambert's normal cylindrical equal-area projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation (from Scale (map))
Image 39Charles Joseph Minard's map of Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812 (1844) has been long recognized as a masterwork of cartographic design at a time when such was difficult and rare. (from Cartographic design)
Image 40Al-Masudi's world map (10th century) (from History of cartography)
Image 41A portrait of a Dutch mapmaker looking up intently from his charts and holding a caliper, 1714. (from History of cartography)
Image 42Surviving fragment of the first World Map of Piri Reis (1513) showing parts of the Americas. (from History of cartography)
Image 43Nautical chart by Pedro Reinel (c. 1504), one of the first based on astronomical observations and to depict a scale of latitudes. (from History of cartography)
Image 443D cartography of Washington State, Mount Rainier National Park, Pinnacle Peak trail. (from Cartographic design)
Image 45The Salviati Planisphere, a 1526 version of the Padrón Real provided by Charles V to the cardinal who officiated his wedding to Isabella of Portugal. (from History of cartography)
Image 46The cartographic process (from Cartographic design)
Image 47Scale variation near the equator for the tangent (red) and secant (green) Mercator projections. (from Scale (map))
Image 48Reconstruction of Pomponius Mela's world map. (from History of cartography)
Image 49The Fra Mauro map, a medieval European map, was made around 1450 by the Italian monk Fra Mauro. It is a circular world map drawn on parchment and set in a wooden frame, about two meters in diameter. (from History of cartography)
Image 50A general map of the world by Samuel Dunn, 1794, containing star chart, map of the Solar System, map of the Moon and other features along with Earth's both hemispheres. (from History of cartography)
Image 51An early Western Han dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD) silk map found in tomb 3 of Mawangdui Han tombs site, depicting the Kingdom of Changsha and Kingdom of Nanyue in southern China (note: the south direction is oriented at the top, north at the bottom). (from History of cartography)
Image 52Illustrated map (from Cartographic design)
Image 53The Mercator 1569 world map (from History of cartography)
Image 54The Mercator projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation. (The distortion increases without limit at higher latitudes) (from Scale (map))

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The Western World has been brainwashed by Aristotle for the last 2,500 years. The unconscious, not quite articulate, belief of most Occidentals is that there is one map which adequately represents reality. By sheer good luck, every Occidental thinks he or she has the map that fits. Guerrilla ontology, to me, involves shaking up that certainty.

”

— Robert Anton Wilson, Robert Anton Wilson: Searching For Cosmic Intelligence - interview by Jeffrey Elliot

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Statue of Piri Reis

Muhiddin Piri (c. 1470 – 1553), better known as Piri Reis (Turkish: Pîrî Reis), was an Ottoman corsair, navigator, geographer, and cartographer. He is primarily known today for his cartographic works, including his 1513 world map and the Kitab-ı Bahriye (Book of the Sea), a book with detailed information on early navigational techniques as well as relatively accurate charts for their time, describing the ports and cities of the Mediterranean Sea.

He was born in Gallipoli—a major Ottoman naval base—and sailed from an early age with his uncle Kemal Reis. They fought as corsairs in the Western Mediterranean until they were brought into the Ottoman Navy. Piri Reis fought alongside Kemal Reis in the Ottoman–Venetian wars. When his uncle died in 1511, Piri Reis returned to Gallipoli to begin his cartographic works. He created his first world map and likely began drafting the charts and notes that would form the basis of the Kitab-ı Bahriye. By 1516, he returned to the navy and took part in the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. After their victory, he presented the world map to Sultan Selim I. When Suleiman the Magnificent became sultan, Piri Reis completed the first version of the Kitab-ı Bahriye, which he dedicated and gifted to the sultan by 1521. Several years later, he created a more elaborate version at the urging of Grand Vizier Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha. His final surviving work is a 1528 world map, of which only the northwest corner remains (showing Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland, Florida, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Central America). (Full article...)

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Credit: J. Harrell

The Turin Papyrus Map (about 1160 BC) is an ancient Egyptian map, generally considered the oldest surviving map of topographical interest from the ancient world. It was prepared for Ramesses IV's quarrying expedition to the Wadi Hammamat in the Eastern Desert

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