In understanding basic maps, the field of cartography can be divided into two general categories: general cartography and thematic cartography. General cartography involves those maps that are constructed for a general audience and thus contain a variety of features. General maps exhibit many reference and location systems and often are produced in a series. For example the 1:24,000 scale topographic maps of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) are a standard as compared to the 1:50,000 scale Canadian maps.

A topographic map is primarily concerned with the topographic description of a place, including (especially in the 20th century) the use of contour lines showing elevation. Terrain or relief can be shown in a variety of ways.

A topological map is a very general type of map, the kind you might sketch on a napkin. It often disregards scale in the interest of clarity of communicating specific route or relational information.

Thematic cartography involves maps of specific geographic themes oriented toward specific audiences. A couple of examples might be a dot map showing corn production in Indiana or a shaded area map of Ohio counties divided into numerical choropleth classes. As the volume of geographic data has exploded over the last century, thematic cartography has become increasingly useful and necessary to interpret spatial cultural and social data.

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Antique Maps

Mexico 60 Products Africa 593 Products Americas 3 Products Asia 78 Products Caribbean 61 Products Central America 23 Products Earth-Ocean 4 Products Europe 805 Products India 3 Products Ireland Middle East 9 Products North America 362 Products Pacific 11 Products Russia 272 Products Scotland 7 Products South America 49 Products UK Great Britain 35 Products Weather-Environs 18 Products World-Hemisphere 18 Products John Tallis Maps 8 Products See details EMPIRE OF AUSTRIA - HUNGARY - 1897 Map SKU: 041289k3-austriahungary.jpg 1897 Antique Map EMPIRE OF AUSTRIA - HUNGARY Beautifully colored lines and borders. Crisp, Clean Piano Key Borders and an elegant sunburst cartouche background for the title area. Engraved by THE MATTHEWS-NORTHRUP CO., BUFFALO, N. Y. Approximate Overall Size Inclu... Our price: US$55.00 Quantity SOLD See details The Mountains of Bohemia - Prague SKU: SKU040862k4-fig77.jpg 1890s Wood Engraving Antique Map Approximate Overall Size: 7 X 10 1/2 inches CONDITION: Book Plate INTEXT MAP - Excellent Condition. Beautiful with excellent detail. There is Text on Front and Back Side. Our price: US$15.00 Quantity 1 2 Buy Now