Introduction Of Cartography

INTRODUCTION: 
            Cartography is the art and science of creating maps. It involves the gathering of geographical information, the storage, processing, and editing of this information, and the presentation of the data in map form. Cartography depends on sound geographical knowledge of the surface being mapped, as well as the many skills and tools instrumental to the mapping process.

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Early Cartography: Cartography has been practiced since ancient times. For many centuries its highest application was the production of hand-drawn flat maps and charts assembled from information collected visually by explorers, and other individuals. As a result, they were not as accurate as modern maps, but are fascinating as a record of the level of knowledge and thought at the time. Map reproductions were also of great value because they were copied by hand.

Often these early maps were intended for specific purposes, usually for military campaigns or for delineating the boundaries of empires. The ancient Romans and Egyptians, who created maps for these purposes, were among the most scholarly cartographers of their time.

Today, as in ancient times, cartographers look for ways to make more accurate maps, methods to reproduce them more efficiently, and channels to distribute them more conveniently. During the history of cartography, map-making has evolved with technology.

The Influence of Technology:The first major technological advance in map-making was the invention of the printing press, first in China in the 12th century and later in Europe in the 15th century. Printing allowed more maps to be made in a shorter period of time, which increased their availability and lowered their cost. Prior to the European Renaissance, the maps most European people were familiar with mixed Biblical and other mythical themes with representations of real places. Mythical figures were often used to represent unknown parts of the world. However, advances in printing made it easier to produce maps for strictly practical purposes, especially navigation, and exploration continually reduced the extent of the unknown.

Maps both encouraged and facilitated exploration, which in turn stimulated cartographers to make more extensive and more accurate maps. The interplay between mapping and exploration can be seen in the rapidly increasing detail filling the maps made by Spanish adventurers in North America as they explored the continent between the 15th and 17th centuries.

Similarly, the initial drawings of the Caribbean Islands made by Columbus, and those of the California coast by Cortez, were little more than squiggly lines. But such crude maps helped guide the establishment of the Spanish New World Empire. By the time this empire had reached its maximum extent in North America, the maps had become far more detailed and sophisticated.

The next major advance in map-making technology came in the mid-1800s with the development of photography. Photography enabled cartographers to capture detailed surface data, and the invention of photogrammetry—using special cameras and image projectors to translate photographs into accurate survey maps—soon followed.

As photography became more practical and economical, its use in reproducing maps also grew in importance. The invention and refinement of modern printing methods towards the end of the 19th century—especially lithography, which allowed delicate detail and shading—provided the means to easily reproduce sophisticated maps.

Other factors contributing to the importance of cartography during the late 1800s and early 1900s included the development of public infrastructure in and around major cities. This growing infrastructure, especially the construction of transport systems, required extensive planning and mapping by civil authorities. The emergence of the field of statistics was also important to cartographers since it allowed them to translate difficult mathematical generalizations into symbolic geographical pictures, such as the distribution of population density in an urban area. Today, maps making geographical sense of complex statistical information on a certain theme are known as statistical or thematic maps. Also during this time cartographic societies began forming, lending additional authority to cartography as a profession.

The Modern Era:Since the mid-1900s technology has helped professional cartography undergo rapidly accelerating change. Photolithography and photoengraving have merged photography with printing—high-speed multi-color lithographic offset presses can rapidly produce maps of almost any degree of detail, color scheme, or labeling requirement.