Whether you're looking to plan a trip, learn about a particular area, or just see the world from a new perspective, maps can be a useful tool. While maps can't reveal all of the details of a place, they can help you understand the world around you and create solutions for a better future. Whether you're using maps to educate, persuade, or just explore, you'll find that there are some common elements that most maps have in common. In this lesson, we'll discuss these common elements and explore how they work.
The first thing you need to know is that there are several different types of maps. Depending on the type of information you're showing, you'll need to choose the appropriate scale and symbology. Maps with detailed legends require more detailed symbols, while maps without legends can use simpler symbols.
For example, if you are showing the population growth in a city between 2000 and 2015, you may need to use a cartogram. A cartogram is a proportional symbol mapping method that attracts attention. The cartogram symbol is proportional to the magnitude of the data it represents. This type of symbol mapping is usually used in media mapping during elections. However, cartograms aren't always appropriate for maps. While they can be useful, they can also distort geography.
Maps can also represent land uses and geography. For example, a map of road classes might show that the roads are divided into urban and suburban categories. However, this information may not be clear to the reader, so you should generalize the data to make it easier for them to understand.
Another thing to keep in mind when creating a map is that you should avoid wasting space by showing too many classes. Generally, you should have at most five or six classes for most maps. For example, you can represent the land uses of a country by showing different types of roads and different types of forests.
You can also use borders to identify the boundaries of your map. The border should be close to the edge of your mapped area. Sometimes, you can even use a thin line outside of the border to accent the border.
You'll also want to use a scale indicator to help you compare different areas. You can choose a verbal scale, a graphic bar scale, or a representative fraction. These scale indicators will help you compare the map to the real world. However, a bar scale is usually very short, so you'll need to multiply the real world distances to get to your map's size.
There are also different map projections. Some, such as the Peters projection, preserve the accuracy of the distances and shape of the area. Other projections will distort the shape and direction of the map. However, they may be better suited for comparing distances or shapes.
Whether you're using maps to educate, to persuade, or to explore, you'll need to generalize the data to make it easier for the reader to understand.