Contenido

Parece que todos los pueblos primitivos han tenido cierta forma de cartografía rudimentaria, expresada muchas veces por lo que se podría llamar cartografía efímera: meros trazos momentáneos en la arena, en tierra húmeda u otros elementos. Tal vez estos no hayan pasado de una simple flecha indicadora de dirección entre dos puntos, pero aun así pueden ser considerados como un primer esbozo cartográfico.

Los indígenas de las Islas Marshall elaboraban ya proto-mapas prehistóricos con conchas sobre enrejados de palmas, representando "cartas marinas" e indicando la curvatura de los frentes de olas. También cabe destacar como antecedentes las primitivas cartas elaboradas por esquimales sobre la hidrografía de las regiones que habitaban.

Babylon and Greece

The oldest known maps are Babylonian tablets from about 5,000 years ago. However, the first maps with a scientific basis come from Greece, and are based on trying to faithfully reproduce information provided by diverse travelers, trying to combine this information. It is stated that Thales of Miletus created the first world map in which the World is conceived as a disk that floats on the waters. Aristotle was the first to measure the angle of inclination with respect to the equator, which later allowed us to deduce the sphericity of the Earth and even the existence of tropical zones and polar caps. Hipparchus (century BC) established for the first time the mathematical conventions that allowed the characteristics of the spherical surface to be transferred to a plane "Plane (Geometry)"), that is, he made the first cartographic projection.

Eratosthenes (-) established the first measurements of the Earth. He obtained the radius of the Earth's angle and from there the longitude of the Earth, the meridian and the Earth's circumference (very close to the real one). Between him, Ptolemy and others changed the Greeks' conception of the Earth, establishing that it was not flat, but curved.

Ptolemy (century AD) collected all the knowledge of his predecessors and presented the first complete overview of the cartographic progress achieved up to his time. He published a method about determining coordinates based on meridians and parallels. With the work of Ptolemy the opportunity to know the world in a new way began: through maps.

After the work of Ptolemy, for many centuries cartography practically stagnated, so sailors navigated using improvised maps, until the discovery of the compass allowed the first portulans to be created. Among these maps, resulting from experience, it is worth highlighting those of the Italian, Catalan, Portuguese, Venetian, French and mainly Mallorcan schools. The trips of the Venetians and Genoese to the interior of Africa and the great tours of the Portuguese and Spanish along the coasts of that continent - and later of the Americas - gave a new and great impetus to cartography.

In America

In Mexico, the indigenous chiefs, according to Hernán Cortés, had geographical charts made of maguey paper and skins, as well as cotton, henequen and palm fabrics "Palma (botánica)"), on which they were drawn with vegetable colors and sometimes finished with varnish. These maps reproduced specific itineraries and areas. It is considered that the Spanish added notes in Spanish to existing maps, replacing the footprint of the bare foot with a horseshoe to indicate the paths that could be passable on horseback. The representation of Catholic temples was also added by means of crosses and later ideograms that symbolized fountains, canals and aqueducts.

At the time of the discovery of America, great cartographers stood out such as Diego Méndez, Juan de la Cosa, Pedro and Jorge Reinel, Sebastiano Caboto, Oronteus Finaeus, Desceliers") and, in a very special way, Gerardus Mercator, who in 1569 used the projection canevas for the first time"). As a curious fact, it is said that Amerigo Vespucci, who received the great distinction of naming the New World, was actually an outstanding but not exceptional cartographer, and the perhaps undeserved honor given to him was due to the fact that an editor who published the first maps of the new lands designated these as "Americo's lands" and the name became irreversibly popular. The Mercator projection system can be considered the most important achievement in the history of cartography, before the new techniques of aerial photography and, later, from satellites, were imposed in the century.

Americo Vespucci

Américo Vespucio (1454-1512) was a navigator who worked in the service of Portugal and the Crown of Castile; He was considered the first European to understand that the lands discovered by Christopher Columbus formed a new continent. For this reason, the cartographer Martin Waldseemüller used the name America as a designation for the New World in his 1507 map. Vespucci began to draw maps of his travels through the American continent once he settled in Seville (1508), in the service of King Ferdinand. Both Solís, Pinzón, Juan de la Cosa and Vespucio contributed with their expeditions to the drawing of the first known maps of the American continent. Likewise, the so-called planispheres of Salviatti and Castiglione, both from approximately 1525, are important documents of the cartography of the time, on which later maps were based. Castiglione's planisphere was given to him by Emperor Charles V. Waldseemüller's map, printed on 12 separate sheets, was one of the first to clearly separate North and South America from Asia.

Abraham Ortelius

During the century, many cartographers created maps that incorporated the growing information provided by navigators and explorers. Abraham Ortelius, a Flemish cartographer born in 1527, became a famous mathematician before focusing his activity on geography and cartography. In 1570 he published his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas "Atlas (cartography)"), a work considered the first immediate commercial success of its kind. Currently, its classification and structure continue to be used. Its first version contained 70 maps (56 of Europe, 10 of Asia and Africa and one of each continent). He made a selection of the best maps available, which he redrawn with a uniform format for the edition of his work, and established a logical order of the maps: world map, Europe, Asia, Africa and the New World. It also included a list with the names of the maps' authors. This atlas was a great success, especially due to its size and format; It was published in various languages, and it did not stop being updated and improved until 1612. In 1575 Ortelius was appointed geographer to Philip II, a position that allowed him access to the knowledge accumulated by Portuguese and Spanish explorers.

Gerhardus Mercator

The geographer and cartographer of German-Dutch origin Gerhard Kremer, called in Latin Gerhardus Mercator (1512-1594), a native of the Netherlands, studied philosophy and mathematics in his youth, soon becoming an eminent cartographer; among others, he performed work for Emperor Charles V. However, in the 1540s he was accused of heresy and imprisoned for some time. He then moved to Duisburg, in the duchy of Cleves, where many persecuted Dutch Protestants also settled.

In 1554 he became internationally famous for a large map of Europe. In a world map from 1569 he used the map projection system that was later named after him. It is a cylindrical representation with straight, parallel meridians and circles of equal latitude, and has the advantage that the lines that join two points maintain a constant heading, which made navigation by compass easier. In Mercator's world map, referred to Cartesian coordinates, the parallels are lines parallel to the abscissa axis, with the equator represented by said axis, and the meridians are lines parallel to the ordinate axis, with the origin meridian represented by said axis; On the other hand, the poles are not representable on the map. The Mercator cartographic projection is, therefore, a direct rectangular cylindrical projection in which the parallels are lines that preserve distances. The value of the linear deformation modulus increases with latitude towards the north pole or towards the south pole, being infinite at both poles. Equidistant parallels on the terrestrial sphere thus correspond, on the map, to lines that are increasingly more distant. The rhumb lines on Earth (lines that cut all the meridians at a constant angle) are represented on this map by straight lines. Only the Mercator projection enjoys this property.

The use of this cartography is general in marine navigation, because it allows finding the route angle by simple graphic procedures. However, on this map the scale varies very quickly, especially at high latitudes, so it is advisable to always give the scale of the Mercator map for a certain reference parallel, which may be the equator, or for the middle parallel of the map. The first year after Mercator's death his great book of world maps was published. He had called it Atlas "Atlas (cartography)"), in honor of the giant of Greek mythology who supported the celestial vault, and since then major works of cartography have been called that way. Later, the famous cartographer and copper engraver Jodocus Hondius perfected and republished Mercator's Atlas.

Mercator is still considered one of the greatest cartographers of the age of discovery; The projection he conceived for his world map was of incalculable value to all navigators. The accuracy of later maps greatly increased due to more precise determinations of latitude and longitude and calculations of the size and shape of the Earth.

Magnetic declination and currents

The first maps showing angles of magnetic declination were made in the first half of the century, and the first charts showing ocean currents were made around 1665. In the century the scientific principles of cartography were established and the most notable inaccuracies of the maps are restricted to parts of the world that had not been explored.

French contribution (18th century)

At the end of the century the astronomical determinations made in different parts of the world and, in particular, in East Asia, were numerous enough so that the errors that disfigured them were no longer preserved on the maps. False and true data, mixed for centuries, formed a labyrinth in need of a total revision.

The French geographer Guillermo Delisle (1675-1726) published a world map in 1700 that placed the eastern regions of the ancient continent in their place and with correct dimensions. Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville was 29 years old when Delisle died in 1726. He professed an almost innate vocation for geography, since as a child it was his game and his distraction. Then it was his constant concern and the thought of his entire life. He dedicated all his studies and his qualities to her, together with an undeniable artistic taste. At the age of 22 he became known for a series of maps of France, productions that already had an original stamp that always distinguished his later works.

The French Academy of Sciences worked to perfect astronomical and mathematical geography and sent isolated travelers or commissions to different parts of the Globe. Some, to solve the problem of terrestrial physics, like Ridrer, who in 1672 went to the island of Cayenne, and others, like M. De Chazelles, in 1694, to determine the latitude and longitude of some important positions in the interior of the Mediterranean, in order to dispel some doubts that remained about the longitude of this sea so poorly represented according to Ptolemy's data. Others went to Lapland and Peru, to measure two meridian arcs at the same time, one beyond the Polar circle and the other close to the equator. In this way the accuracy of the Newtonian theory about the flattening of the terrestrial globe was proven.

Both the operations in Lapland, carried out from 1735 to 1737 by Clairant and Maupertuis, and those in the equator, from 1735 to 1739 by La Condamine, Godin and Bouguer, accompanied by Antonio de Ulloa and Jorge Juan, confirmed the theoretical deductions and revealed the progressive increase in terrestrial degrees from the equator. Colbert asked the Academy of Sciences for a geometric description of the kingdom and Cassini de Thury, director of the Observatory and grandson of the great astronomer, conceived a cartographic projection that bears his name. In 1744 he began the first operations, helped by his son, many astronomers and about thirty practitioners skilled in drawing up plans. This work was completed in 1773 and served as a model for similar projects carried out in other countries.

Towards the end of the century, as the spirit of exploration waned and nationalism began to develop, a large number of European countries began to undertake detailed national topographical surveys. The first complete topographical map of France was published in 1793, with a more or less square shape and measuring approximately 11 m on a side. The United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and other countries followed suit. In the United States, the Geological Survey was organized in 1879 to make large-scale topographic maps throughout the country. In 1891, the International Congress of Geography proposed mapping the entire world at a scale of 1:1,000,000, a task that has not yet been completed.

Cartography in the 20th century

In the 19th century, cartography underwent a series of important technical innovations. "Aerial photography" was developed during the First World War and was used, more widely, in the preparation of maps using orthophotography during the Second World War. The United States, which launched the PAGEOS satellite in 1966 and continued in the 1970s with the three Landsat satellites, carried out complete geodetic studies of the Earth's surface using high-resolution photographic equipment placed on these satellites. Despite the great technical advances and cartographic knowledge, there remain for carrying out topographic and photogrammetric studies and surveys of large areas of the Earth's surface that have not been studied in detail.

At the beginning of the century, around 5% of the Earth's surface remained to be explored. It was not until the second half of this century that the exploration of practically the entire Earth was achieved with the help of artificial satellites.

For modern photogrammetry, high-precision instruments are used that allow aerial and satellite photographs to be related to real measurements of the terrain. This results in graphic information that makes it possible to know the distances and unevenness of a given region. Photointerpretation"), through the stereoscopic vision of photogrammetry or aerotopography, gives a high level of detail, which makes it possible to reach true conclusions about the conditions of the soil, its current and potential uses.

On the other hand, the appearance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the 70s and their popularization in the 90s have revolutionized the way of creating and managing cartography through these computer tools that associate spatial elements with databases. GIS allows the analysis and management of the territory through digital cartography in a fast and effective way.

Currently, map making is a complex operation in which groups from more than 50 different disciplines participate: photonavigators, mechanics, laboratory chemists, geodesists, mathematicians, topographers, geologists, biologists, geographers, physicists, agronomists, soil scientists, civil engineers, economists and architects, among others.

There were those who thought that cartography was going to stagnate once the surface of each region of the Earth was captured on maps. However, there are serious plans to make maps of the neighboring planets of the solar system, so that maps, which were the initial way of knowing the Earth, will soon serve to push the frontiers of knowledge beyond the planet on which we live.

• - Map with lost margin: completely partial map without margin so that the mapped space reaches the edge of the sheet.

• - Current map: map that represents the most recent topographical and geographic data.

• - Administrative map: map that represents the main facts of the administrative organization of a territory, especially issues related to borders, divisions and capitals.

• - Analytical map: thematic map that represents the elements of a phenomenon.

• - Anamorphic map: map in which the territories are modified so that their surfaces are proportional to the magnitudes of a phenomenon that is to be represented, ensuring that the contiguity and configurations of the territories are maintained.

• - Auxiliary map: map attached to another that complements it. Note: It is usually located on the same sheet and is usually represented on a different scale, which is generally smaller.

• Adjacent auxiliary map: auxiliary map that represents, generally at the same scale, an area bordering that of the main map.

• - Bathymetric map: hydrographic map that represents the relief of submerged areas.

• - Base map: map reproduced totally or partially in one or more colors that serves to superimpose thematic data on it.

• - Base map: initial map resulting from a topographic or photogrammetric survey. For example: the state topographic map. Generally it is a large-scale official document from which the rest of the maps are subsequently formed. It is an opposite concept to the derived map.

• - Cadastral map: map that represents the boundaries of land ownership. Complementary synonym: cadastral plan.

• - Key map: See: index map.

• - Continental map: map that represents an entire continent, normally at a scale between 1:20,000,000 and 1:50,000,000.

• - Chorochromatic map: map in which qualitatively different areas are marked using hatches or colors.

• - Chorographic map: topographic map prepared on a scale small enough to be able to represent large groups of the territory of a region, a set of regions or a continent.

• - Choropleth map: thematic map that represents the spatial distribution of a phenomenon through plots or different shades of color or gray, in which the gradation of intensity expresses different intervals of a phenomenon in territorial, administrative or conventional units.[1]​.

• - Current map: map that represents the speed and direction of ocean currents.

• - Elevation map: See: elevation sheet.

• - Grid Map: A map that has a grid overlaid or indicated in its frame.

• - Map of bathymetric curves: bathymetric map that represents the relief of underwater depths through the use of isobaths.

• - Contour map: map that represents relief using contour lines.

• - Qualitative map: thematic map that represents the distribution of phenomena according to their nominal or conceptual character.

• - Quantitative map: thematic map that represents the distribution of phenomena and facts according to their numerical importance expressed absolutely or relatively. They usually have a legend.

• - Dasymmetric map: choropleth map in which statistical areas are subdivided into areas of relative homogeneity based on complementary information. Note: This is a map used primarily to represent population densities.

• - Road map: map that fundamentally represents the roads, which are classified into categories according to their road importance.

• - Star map: planisphere that represents the surface of a star-shaped globe. In this type of map, the projection has been made based on two different mathematical definitions, which are usually one for the central part and the other for the tips of the star.

• - Railway map: itinerary map that represents the railway network, stations and stops and railway infrastructure or that are of interest to users.

• - Flow map: thematic map that represents the directions of movement through lines of variable width, proportional to their importance and schematized according to the layout. Complementary synonym: flow line map. It provides complex data through lines that begin and arrive at specific places. It is a type of complex map due to the volume of information, the way it is presented and the different relationships that can be established.

• - Strip map: thematic map in which the surface of each territorial unit has been divided into parallel strips with a surface proportional to the sectoral values ​​of the phenomenon represented.

• - Frequency map: thematic map that represents the number of times that an event or phenomenon occurs in a specific area or place.

• - Zone map: map that represents its field by means of zones that are normally joined at the points of the equator or at the poles.

• - Map of time zones: planisphere that represents the time zones.

• - Intensity map: thematic map that represents the phenomena according to the degree of strength or activity.

• - Isopleth map: map that represents the variations of a phenomenon through the use of isopleths.

• - Map of the Moon: map that represents the surface of the Moon.

• - Line map: map that has its graphic representation made of lines.

• - Airline map: itinerary map that represents the routes of regular airlines.

• - Flow line map: See: flow map.

• - Map of maritime navigation lines: itinerary map that represents regular maritime routes and, often, also river routes.

• - Mercator map: map established in the Mercator projection.

• - Map of normals: map that represents a relief using normals.

• - Orientation map: map that represents selected topographic elements in order to be able to make a quick and easy interpretation of the location itself and other significant elements or places. It is used to be able to follow a route.

• - Slope map: thematic map that, using any graphic system, represents the different degrees of slope of a territory.

• - Forecast map: map that represents the situation or probable evolution of the phenomena determined for a future period or date.

• - Point map: quantitative thematic map in which the distribution of an object or phenomenon is represented by points.

• - Situation map: map, generally on a small scale, that indicates the location of an area or a cartographic sheet within a larger territory.

• - Surface map: See: surface weather map.

• - Bathymetric ink map: bathymetric map that represents the submerged areas using different color gradations.

• - Hypsometric ink map: topographic map that represents height through different color gradations.

• - Relative topography map: weather map that represents the thickness or altitude differences between two pressure levels.

• - Map of the sky: See: Celestial planisphere.

• - World map: map that represents all or a good part of the earth's surface.

• - Relief map: orographic map that represents the relief using various methods that normally have a plastic effect.

• - Weather map: map that represents the values ​​of some meteorological elements, especially pressure, atmospheric phenomena and fronts at a given time.

• Altitude time map: time map that represents, through isohypses, the heights at which there is a certain pressure and, through isotherms, the temperatures at these heights.

• Surface weather map: weather map that basically represents surface pressures reduced to sea level, using isobars, with their value and the symbol of the main configurations and fronts.

• - Densimetric map: thematic map that represents the distribution of a fact or phenomenon with quantitative data referring to a surface unit.

• - Derived map: map that has been obtained from a map considered as main, with or without reduction in scale, directly from one or more base maps or from other derived maps. Note: it is an opposite concept to the basemap.

• - Diagrammatic map: See: cartodiagram.

• Bar diagrammatic map: thematic map that represents a fact or phenomenon distributed territorially by means of one or more height bars, these being proportional to the value to be represented.

• Diagrammatic map of squares: thematic map that represents the surface of each territorial unit divided into squares that are covered with different patterns or colors, in such a way that the number of squares of each type is proportional to the partial values ​​of the phenomena represented.

• - Didactic map: map prepared for instructional purposes.

• - Dynamic map: also known as map animation.

• - Black and white map: monochrome map that has been printed in black, or gray values, on a white background.

• - Map in the text: map printed in the body of a text, an article or a book. Note: It is an opposite concept to the out-of-text map.

• - Map in gray: monochrome map printed in soft gray, using color as both a background and a working base.

• - Perspective map: map in which a perspective has been used to represent a territory.

• - Relief map: topographic map made in three dimensions.

• - School map: educational map prepared and prepared to be used in schools.

• - Schematic map: map with a very simplified cartographic representation.

• - Statistical map: thematic map that represents statistical data, normally based on political and administrative territorial units.

• - Exaggerated map: map that represents certain phenomena in such a way that makes them acquire more importance than they really have.

• - Facsimile map: map that faithfully reproduces an old map.

• - Fantastic map: map that represents objects and phenomena that do not exist or that cannot be located in the form and characteristics in which they are expressed.

• - Phenological map: thematic map that represents the seasonal or periodic manifestations of living beings. Example: a map of whale migration.

• - Physical map: map, generally on a small scale, that represents the main physiographic features of a territory.

• - Physiographic map: morphographic map that represents the characteristics of the relief in broad strokes in a figurative and simplified way using an oblique perspective.

• - Map out of text: loose map that accompanies a text, a book or an article. Note: It is a term opposite to map in the text.

• - General map: map that represents a set of basic and diverse geographical phenomena such as coasts, hydrography, relief, towns, roads, administrative limits, toponymy, etc. Note: Large-scale general maps of land areas are often called topographic maps. Both are usually considered complementary and opposite to thematic maps.

• - Geological map: thematic map that represents the rocks and geological structures observable on the Earth's surface. The lithology and age of the rocks are represented coded by standardized colors and patterns. The symbology indicates the inclination of the layers, the axes of the folds, the faults, etc. They are usually accompanied by geological sections and stratigraphic columns.

• - Geomorphological map: thematic map that represents the relief forms according to their genesis, dimensions, types and their relationships with the structure and its dynamics. Complementary synonym: morphological map.

• - Geopolitical map: map that, through appropriate symbology, represents theories and facts of geopolitics.

• - Hydrographic map: map that fundamentally represents the courses of rivers and surfaces with water.

• - Hypsometric map: map that fundamentally represents the altitude of a territory.

• - Historical map: thematic map that represents historical events and phenomena.

• - Illustrated map: map in which drawings or photographs are used instead of cartographic symbols.

• - Incunabulum map: ancient map printed in the early days of the existence of the printing press.

• - Independent map: map that constitutes a bibliographic unit with a single topic or title.

• - Index map: general map where the different maps included in a series or atlas are schematically located and in which the page or location reference is indicated. Complementary synonym: Key map.

• - Interactive map: cartographic representation developed in computational environments that combines the map with the capacity for interactivity on it.

• - Inventory map: map that exhaustively represents the geographical distribution of a given phenomenon.

• - Itinerary map: map that represents the network of communication routes and in which the distances between the different key points are normally added.

• - Hieroglyphic map: map made in such a way that it is enigmatic and difficult to decipher.

• - Mental map: cartographic image of a territory, more or less distorted, that is held in thought.

• - Mining map: large-scale map that represents the location and extent of a mining exploitation area, describing both its external topographic forms and its underground structures. Note: Often a series of vertical slices or sections complete the cartographic information.

• - Monochrome map: map printed in a single color.

• - Municipal map: It is the map of a geographic region where a president or councilor exercises his government functions, dependent on a state, and this in turn of a country.

• - Morphographic map: thematic map that represents the shapes of a terrain according to its appearance.

• - Morphological map: See: geomorphological map.

• - Morphometric map: thematic map that represents the shapes of a relief in a quantitative way, either in absolute or relative values. Note: many slope maps are morphometric maps.

• - Wall map: large map that represents very useful generalized information and can be read from a certain distance.

• - Mute map: map that has no implementation or labeling (toponymy).

• - National map: map that represents a territory of a nation or a state, normally at a scale between 1:5,000,000 and 1:20,000,000.

• - Numeric map: digital image of a phenomenon or a geographical feature preserved on cartographic sheets, magnetic tapes, DVD-ROM or on another medium for computer processing.

• - Official map: map prepared by an official body.

• - Original map: map from which other maps are obtained. Note: in particular, maps obtained by representing original studies are considered original maps.

• - Orographic map: map that represents the physical configuration of a relief using hypsometric inks, shading or any other technique.

• - Pictorial map: map that represents topographical features, objects or phenomena using pictorial signs instead of using the usual conventional signs.

• Pictorial relief map: map that represents the relief and any other topographic feature in an approximate planimetric position using pictorial signs, which gives a sensation similar to that of an oblique perspective.

• - Planimetric map: topographic map in which the relief is not represented.

• - Folding map: map that can be folded to facilitate its conservation and consultation.

• - Pluviometric map: thematic map that represents the amount and distribution of rainfall in a territory and in a specific period of time.

• - Polychrome map: map printed in different colors.

• - Political map: map, generally on a small scale, that represents the political and administrative divisions of a territory that are normally differentiated using different inks for this.

• - Primitive map: map made before the first topographic surveys carried out systematically and with precision.

• - Main map: map that constitutes an essential element of a cartographic sheet and is usually complemented by one or more auxiliary maps.

• - Regional map: map that represents a region or a part of a territory at a scale normally between 1:1,000,000 and 1:5,000,000.

• - Synoptic map: thematic map that represents two or more types of phenomena in order to express their functional relationships. For example: a weather map.

• - Synthetic map: thematic map that, based on a precise objective, represents a phenomenon as a whole through its internal relationships.

• - Thematic map: map that, on an elementary topographic reference base, highlights, through the use of various resources of cartographic techniques, correlations, evaluations or distribution structures of a specific and specific topic. Note: conventionally the topographic map and all general cartography are considered complementary, even opposed to the thematic map.

• - Topographic map: map that represents the planimetry and altimetry of the shapes and dimensions of specific, fixed and durable elements of a specific area of ​​the surface of a land.

• - National topographic map: topographic map, generally at a scale of 1:50000 or 1:25000, which serves as a base map of the territory of a nation or a state.

• - Transparent map: map printed on a transparent or translucent material that is superimposed on one or several maps that have the same field and scale with the main purpose of complementing the information.

• - Tourist map: map that includes useful information for tourism, related to the urban location and communication routes, highlighting points of historical interest, landscape, etc.

• - Urban map: map of a city.

• - Rural map: map that represents a rural area with little influence of technology.

• - Schematized map: in this type of map the known base representation is not used, but rather the information is schematized, as in this case, through different sizes of boxes or rectangles depending on the data and the proportion of information.

Throughout history, ways and means of showing the position of geographical phenomena have emerged. In the past, static maps, for example, served all types of audiences despite the diversity among map users and contexts of use. Today, digital technology has transformed the way maps reach their audience, as maps are increasingly interactive and accessed via the Internet or on a mobile device. New cartography usage environments have brought maps and geospatial data to more people around the world than ever, and have needed to be adapted to the specific backgrounds, interests and needs of different audiences.[2]​.

The following are some of those maps, which were cartographic milestones that were the fruit and reflection of each time and each civilization.

• - Cartography.

• - Atlas (cartography) "Atlas (cartography)").

• - Map interpretation.

• - Legend (cartography) "Legend (cartography)").

• - Plan (cartography) "Plan (cartography)").

• - Earth Sciences.

• - Theorem of the four colors.

• - Ancient world maps.

• - Interactive map.

• - Wiktionary has definitions and other information about map.

• - Consult this term on Wikisource.

• - The Artemidorus papyrus, the oldest known map, contains the oldest cartographic description of the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

• - The papyrus of Artemidorus. A papyrus with text, map and drawings from late Hellenistic times.

• - Catalan Atlas of 1375 - World Map of the Cresques Brothers.

• - Web on Cartography and Geographic Information Systems.

• - World Map.

• - Usefulness and meaning of cartographic symbols.

• - History of Maps.

• - Interactive Flash Maps - Didactic games.

• - Globes for children - Didactic and educational games.

Contenido

Parece que todos los pueblos primitivos han tenido cierta forma de cartografía rudimentaria, expresada muchas veces por lo que se podría llamar cartografía efímera: meros trazos momentáneos en la arena, en tierra húmeda u otros elementos. Tal vez estos no hayan pasado de una simple flecha indicadora de dirección entre dos puntos, pero aun así pueden ser considerados como un primer esbozo cartográfico.

Los indígenas de las Islas Marshall elaboraban ya proto-mapas prehistóricos con conchas sobre enrejados de palmas, representando "cartas marinas" e indicando la curvatura de los frentes de olas. También cabe destacar como antecedentes las primitivas cartas elaboradas por esquimales sobre la hidrografía de las regiones que habitaban.

Babylon and Greece

The oldest known maps are Babylonian tablets from about 5,000 years ago. However, the first maps with a scientific basis come from Greece, and are based on trying to faithfully reproduce information provided by diverse travelers, trying to combine this information. It is stated that Thales of Miletus created the first world map in which the World is conceived as a disk that floats on the waters. Aristotle was the first to measure the angle of inclination with respect to the equator, which later allowed us to deduce the sphericity of the Earth and even the existence of tropical zones and polar caps. Hipparchus (century BC) established for the first time the mathematical conventions that allowed the characteristics of the spherical surface to be transferred to a plane "Plane (Geometry)"), that is, he made the first cartographic projection.

Eratosthenes (-) established the first measurements of the Earth. He obtained the radius of the Earth's angle and from there the longitude of the Earth, the meridian and the Earth's circumference (very close to the real one). Between him, Ptolemy and others changed the Greeks' conception of the Earth, establishing that it was not flat, but curved.

Ptolemy (century AD) collected all the knowledge of his predecessors and presented the first complete overview of the cartographic progress achieved up to his time. He published a method about determining coordinates based on meridians and parallels. With the work of Ptolemy the opportunity to know the world in a new way began: through maps.

After the work of Ptolemy, for many centuries cartography practically stagnated, so sailors navigated using improvised maps, until the discovery of the compass allowed the first portulans to be created. Among these maps, resulting from experience, it is worth highlighting those of the Italian, Catalan, Portuguese, Venetian, French and mainly Mallorcan schools. The trips of the Venetians and Genoese to the interior of Africa and the great tours of the Portuguese and Spanish along the coasts of that continent - and later of the Americas - gave a new and great impetus to cartography.

In America

In Mexico, the indigenous chiefs, according to Hernán Cortés, had geographical charts made of maguey paper and skins, as well as cotton, henequen and palm fabrics "Palma (botánica)"), on which they were drawn with vegetable colors and sometimes finished with varnish. These maps reproduced specific itineraries and areas. It is considered that the Spanish added notes in Spanish to existing maps, replacing the footprint of the bare foot with a horseshoe to indicate the paths that could be passable on horseback. The representation of Catholic temples was also added by means of crosses and later ideograms that symbolized fountains, canals and aqueducts.

At the time of the discovery of America, great cartographers stood out such as Diego Méndez, Juan de la Cosa, Pedro and Jorge Reinel, Sebastiano Caboto, Oronteus Finaeus, Desceliers") and, in a very special way, Gerardus Mercator, who in 1569 used the projection canevas for the first time"). As a curious fact, it is said that Amerigo Vespucci, who received the great distinction of naming the New World, was actually an outstanding but not exceptional cartographer, and the perhaps undeserved honor given to him was due to the fact that an editor who published the first maps of the new lands designated these as "Americo's lands" and the name became irreversibly popular. The Mercator projection system can be considered the most important achievement in the history of cartography, before the new techniques of aerial photography and, later, from satellites, were imposed in the century.

Americo Vespucci

Américo Vespucio (1454-1512) was a navigator who worked in the service of Portugal and the Crown of Castile; He was considered the first European to understand that the lands discovered by Christopher Columbus formed a new continent. For this reason, the cartographer Martin Waldseemüller used the name America as a designation for the New World in his 1507 map. Vespucci began to draw maps of his travels through the American continent once he settled in Seville (1508), in the service of King Ferdinand. Both Solís, Pinzón, Juan de la Cosa and Vespucio contributed with their expeditions to the drawing of the first known maps of the American continent. Likewise, the so-called planispheres of Salviatti and Castiglione, both from approximately 1525, are important documents of the cartography of the time, on which later maps were based. Castiglione's planisphere was given to him by Emperor Charles V. Waldseemüller's map, printed on 12 separate sheets, was one of the first to clearly separate North and South America from Asia.

Abraham Ortelius

During the century, many cartographers created maps that incorporated the growing information provided by navigators and explorers. Abraham Ortelius, a Flemish cartographer born in 1527, became a famous mathematician before focusing his activity on geography and cartography. In 1570 he published his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas "Atlas (cartography)"), a work considered the first immediate commercial success of its kind. Currently, its classification and structure continue to be used. Its first version contained 70 maps (56 of Europe, 10 of Asia and Africa and one of each continent). He made a selection of the best maps available, which he redrawn with a uniform format for the edition of his work, and established a logical order of the maps: world map, Europe, Asia, Africa and the New World. It also included a list with the names of the maps' authors. This atlas was a great success, especially due to its size and format; It was published in various languages, and it did not stop being updated and improved until 1612. In 1575 Ortelius was appointed geographer to Philip II, a position that allowed him access to the knowledge accumulated by Portuguese and Spanish explorers.

Gerhardus Mercator

The geographer and cartographer of German-Dutch origin Gerhard Kremer, called in Latin Gerhardus Mercator (1512-1594), a native of the Netherlands, studied philosophy and mathematics in his youth, soon becoming an eminent cartographer; among others, he performed work for Emperor Charles V. However, in the 1540s he was accused of heresy and imprisoned for some time. He then moved to Duisburg, in the duchy of Cleves, where many persecuted Dutch Protestants also settled.

In 1554 he became internationally famous for a large map of Europe. In a world map from 1569 he used the map projection system that was later named after him. It is a cylindrical representation with straight, parallel meridians and circles of equal latitude, and has the advantage that the lines that join two points maintain a constant heading, which made navigation by compass easier. In Mercator's world map, referred to Cartesian coordinates, the parallels are lines parallel to the abscissa axis, with the equator represented by said axis, and the meridians are lines parallel to the ordinate axis, with the origin meridian represented by said axis; On the other hand, the poles are not representable on the map. The Mercator cartographic projection is, therefore, a direct rectangular cylindrical projection in which the parallels are lines that preserve distances. The value of the linear deformation modulus increases with latitude towards the north pole or towards the south pole, being infinite at both poles. Equidistant parallels on the terrestrial sphere thus correspond, on the map, to lines that are increasingly more distant. The rhumb lines on Earth (lines that cut all the meridians at a constant angle) are represented on this map by straight lines. Only the Mercator projection enjoys this property.

The use of this cartography is general in marine navigation, because it allows finding the route angle by simple graphic procedures. However, on this map the scale varies very quickly, especially at high latitudes, so it is advisable to always give the scale of the Mercator map for a certain reference parallel, which may be the equator, or for the middle parallel of the map. The first year after Mercator's death his great book of world maps was published. He had called it Atlas "Atlas (cartography)"), in honor of the giant of Greek mythology who supported the celestial vault, and since then major works of cartography have been called that way. Later, the famous cartographer and copper engraver Jodocus Hondius perfected and republished Mercator's Atlas.

Mercator is still considered one of the greatest cartographers of the age of discovery; The projection he conceived for his world map was of incalculable value to all navigators. The accuracy of later maps greatly increased due to more precise determinations of latitude and longitude and calculations of the size and shape of the Earth.

Magnetic declination and currents

The first maps showing angles of magnetic declination were made in the first half of the century, and the first charts showing ocean currents were made around 1665. In the century the scientific principles of cartography were established and the most notable inaccuracies of the maps are restricted to parts of the world that had not been explored.

French contribution (18th century)

At the end of the century the astronomical determinations made in different parts of the world and, in particular, in East Asia, were numerous enough so that the errors that disfigured them were no longer preserved on the maps. False and true data, mixed for centuries, formed a labyrinth in need of a total revision.

The French geographer Guillermo Delisle (1675-1726) published a world map in 1700 that placed the eastern regions of the ancient continent in their place and with correct dimensions. Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville was 29 years old when Delisle died in 1726. He professed an almost innate vocation for geography, since as a child it was his game and his distraction. Then it was his constant concern and the thought of his entire life. He dedicated all his studies and his qualities to her, together with an undeniable artistic taste. At the age of 22 he became known for a series of maps of France, productions that already had an original stamp that always distinguished his later works.

The French Academy of Sciences worked to perfect astronomical and mathematical geography and sent isolated travelers or commissions to different parts of the Globe. Some, to solve the problem of terrestrial physics, like Ridrer, who in 1672 went to the island of Cayenne, and others, like M. De Chazelles, in 1694, to determine the latitude and longitude of some important positions in the interior of the Mediterranean, in order to dispel some doubts that remained about the longitude of this sea so poorly represented according to Ptolemy's data. Others went to Lapland and Peru, to measure two meridian arcs at the same time, one beyond the Polar circle and the other close to the equator. In this way the accuracy of the Newtonian theory about the flattening of the terrestrial globe was proven.

Both the operations in Lapland, carried out from 1735 to 1737 by Clairant and Maupertuis, and those in the equator, from 1735 to 1739 by La Condamine, Godin and Bouguer, accompanied by Antonio de Ulloa and Jorge Juan, confirmed the theoretical deductions and revealed the progressive increase in terrestrial degrees from the equator. Colbert asked the Academy of Sciences for a geometric description of the kingdom and Cassini de Thury, director of the Observatory and grandson of the great astronomer, conceived a cartographic projection that bears his name. In 1744 he began the first operations, helped by his son, many astronomers and about thirty practitioners skilled in drawing up plans. This work was completed in 1773 and served as a model for similar projects carried out in other countries.

Towards the end of the century, as the spirit of exploration waned and nationalism began to develop, a large number of European countries began to undertake detailed national topographical surveys. The first complete topographical map of France was published in 1793, with a more or less square shape and measuring approximately 11 m on a side. The United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and other countries followed suit. In the United States, the Geological Survey was organized in 1879 to make large-scale topographic maps throughout the country. In 1891, the International Congress of Geography proposed mapping the entire world at a scale of 1:1,000,000, a task that has not yet been completed.

Cartography in the 20th century

In the 19th century, cartography underwent a series of important technical innovations. "Aerial photography" was developed during the First World War and was used, more widely, in the preparation of maps using orthophotography during the Second World War. The United States, which launched the PAGEOS satellite in 1966 and continued in the 1970s with the three Landsat satellites, carried out complete geodetic studies of the Earth's surface using high-resolution photographic equipment placed on these satellites. Despite the great technical advances and cartographic knowledge, there remain for carrying out topographic and photogrammetric studies and surveys of large areas of the Earth's surface that have not been studied in detail.

At the beginning of the century, around 5% of the Earth's surface remained to be explored. It was not until the second half of this century that the exploration of practically the entire Earth was achieved with the help of artificial satellites.

For modern photogrammetry, high-precision instruments are used that allow aerial and satellite photographs to be related to real measurements of the terrain. This results in graphic information that makes it possible to know the distances and unevenness of a given region. Photointerpretation"), through the stereoscopic vision of photogrammetry or aerotopography, gives a high level of detail, which makes it possible to reach true conclusions about the conditions of the soil, its current and potential uses.

On the other hand, the appearance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the 70s and their popularization in the 90s have revolutionized the way of creating and managing cartography through these computer tools that associate spatial elements with databases. GIS allows the analysis and management of the territory through digital cartography in a fast and effective way.

Currently, map making is a complex operation in which groups from more than 50 different disciplines participate: photonavigators, mechanics, laboratory chemists, geodesists, mathematicians, topographers, geologists, biologists, geographers, physicists, agronomists, soil scientists, civil engineers, economists and architects, among others.

There were those who thought that cartography was going to stagnate once the surface of each region of the Earth was captured on maps. However, there are serious plans to make maps of the neighboring planets of the solar system, so that maps, which were the initial way of knowing the Earth, will soon serve to push the frontiers of knowledge beyond the planet on which we live.

• - Map with lost margin: completely partial map without margin so that the mapped space reaches the edge of the sheet.

• - Current map: map that represents the most recent topographical and geographic data.

• - Administrative map: map that represents the main facts of the administrative organization of a territory, especially issues related to borders, divisions and capitals.

• - Analytical map: thematic map that represents the elements of a phenomenon.

• - Anamorphic map: map in which the territories are modified so that their surfaces are proportional to the magnitudes of a phenomenon that is to be represented, ensuring that the contiguity and configurations of the territories are maintained.

• - Auxiliary map: map attached to another that complements it. Note: It is usually located on the same sheet and is usually represented on a different scale, which is generally smaller.

• Adjacent auxiliary map: auxiliary map that represents, generally at the same scale, an area bordering that of the main map.

• - Bathymetric map: hydrographic map that represents the relief of submerged areas.

• - Base map: map reproduced totally or partially in one or more colors that serves to superimpose thematic data on it.

• - Base map: initial map resulting from a topographic or photogrammetric survey. For example: the state topographic map. Generally it is a large-scale official document from which the rest of the maps are subsequently formed. It is an opposite concept to the derived map.

• - Cadastral map: map that represents the boundaries of land ownership. Complementary synonym: cadastral plan.

• - Key map: See: index map.

• - Continental map: map that represents an entire continent, normally at a scale between 1:20,000,000 and 1:50,000,000.

• - Chorochromatic map: map in which qualitatively different areas are marked using hatches or colors.

• - Chorographic map: topographic map prepared on a scale small enough to be able to represent large groups of the territory of a region, a set of regions or a continent.

• - Choropleth map: thematic map that represents the spatial distribution of a phenomenon through plots or different shades of color or gray, in which the gradation of intensity expresses different intervals of a phenomenon in territorial, administrative or conventional units.[1]​.

• - Current map: map that represents the speed and direction of ocean currents.

• - Elevation map: See: elevation sheet.

• - Grid Map: A map that has a grid overlaid or indicated in its frame.

• - Map of bathymetric curves: bathymetric map that represents the relief of underwater depths through the use of isobaths.

• - Contour map: map that represents relief using contour lines.

• - Qualitative map: thematic map that represents the distribution of phenomena according to their nominal or conceptual character.

• - Quantitative map: thematic map that represents the distribution of phenomena and facts according to their numerical importance expressed absolutely or relatively. They usually have a legend.

• - Dasymmetric map: choropleth map in which statistical areas are subdivided into areas of relative homogeneity based on complementary information. Note: This is a map used primarily to represent population densities.

• - Road map: map that fundamentally represents the roads, which are classified into categories according to their road importance.

• - Star map: planisphere that represents the surface of a star-shaped globe. In this type of map, the projection has been made based on two different mathematical definitions, which are usually one for the central part and the other for the tips of the star.

• - Railway map: itinerary map that represents the railway network, stations and stops and railway infrastructure or that are of interest to users.

• - Flow map: thematic map that represents the directions of movement through lines of variable width, proportional to their importance and schematized according to the layout. Complementary synonym: flow line map. It provides complex data through lines that begin and arrive at specific places. It is a type of complex map due to the volume of information, the way it is presented and the different relationships that can be established.

• - Strip map: thematic map in which the surface of each territorial unit has been divided into parallel strips with a surface proportional to the sectoral values ​​of the phenomenon represented.

• - Frequency map: thematic map that represents the number of times that an event or phenomenon occurs in a specific area or place.

• - Zone map: map that represents its field by means of zones that are normally joined at the points of the equator or at the poles.

• - Map of time zones: planisphere that represents the time zones.

• - Intensity map: thematic map that represents the phenomena according to the degree of strength or activity.

• - Isopleth map: map that represents the variations of a phenomenon through the use of isopleths.

• - Map of the Moon: map that represents the surface of the Moon.

• - Line map: map that has its graphic representation made of lines.

• - Airline map: itinerary map that represents the routes of regular airlines.

• - Flow line map: See: flow map.

• - Map of maritime navigation lines: itinerary map that represents regular maritime routes and, often, also river routes.

• - Mercator map: map established in the Mercator projection.

• - Map of normals: map that represents a relief using normals.

• - Orientation map: map that represents selected topographic elements in order to be able to make a quick and easy interpretation of the location itself and other significant elements or places. It is used to be able to follow a route.

• - Slope map: thematic map that, using any graphic system, represents the different degrees of slope of a territory.

• - Forecast map: map that represents the situation or probable evolution of the phenomena determined for a future period or date.

• - Point map: quantitative thematic map in which the distribution of an object or phenomenon is represented by points.

• - Situation map: map, generally on a small scale, that indicates the location of an area or a cartographic sheet within a larger territory.

• - Surface map: See: surface weather map.

• - Bathymetric ink map: bathymetric map that represents the submerged areas using different color gradations.

• - Hypsometric ink map: topographic map that represents height through different color gradations.

• - Relative topography map: weather map that represents the thickness or altitude differences between two pressure levels.

• - Map of the sky: See: Celestial planisphere.

• - World map: map that represents all or a good part of the earth's surface.

• - Relief map: orographic map that represents the relief using various methods that normally have a plastic effect.

• - Weather map: map that represents the values ​​of some meteorological elements, especially pressure, atmospheric phenomena and fronts at a given time.

• Altitude time map: time map that represents, through isohypses, the heights at which there is a certain pressure and, through isotherms, the temperatures at these heights.

• Surface weather map: weather map that basically represents surface pressures reduced to sea level, using isobars, with their value and the symbol of the main configurations and fronts.

• - Densimetric map: thematic map that represents the distribution of a fact or phenomenon with quantitative data referring to a surface unit.

• - Derived map: map that has been obtained from a map considered as main, with or without reduction in scale, directly from one or more base maps or from other derived maps. Note: it is an opposite concept to the basemap.

• - Diagrammatic map: See: cartodiagram.

• Bar diagrammatic map: thematic map that represents a fact or phenomenon distributed territorially by means of one or more height bars, these being proportional to the value to be represented.

• Diagrammatic map of squares: thematic map that represents the surface of each territorial unit divided into squares that are covered with different patterns or colors, in such a way that the number of squares of each type is proportional to the partial values ​​of the phenomena represented.

• - Didactic map: map prepared for instructional purposes.

• - Dynamic map: also known as map animation.

• - Black and white map: monochrome map that has been printed in black, or gray values, on a white background.

• - Map in the text: map printed in the body of a text, an article or a book. Note: It is an opposite concept to the out-of-text map.

• - Map in gray: monochrome map printed in soft gray, using color as both a background and a working base.

• - Perspective map: map in which a perspective has been used to represent a territory.

• - Relief map: topographic map made in three dimensions.

• - School map: educational map prepared and prepared to be used in schools.

• - Schematic map: map with a very simplified cartographic representation.

• - Statistical map: thematic map that represents statistical data, normally based on political and administrative territorial units.

• - Exaggerated map: map that represents certain phenomena in such a way that makes them acquire more importance than they really have.

• - Facsimile map: map that faithfully reproduces an old map.

• - Fantastic map: map that represents objects and phenomena that do not exist or that cannot be located in the form and characteristics in which they are expressed.

• - Phenological map: thematic map that represents the seasonal or periodic manifestations of living beings. Example: a map of whale migration.

• - Physical map: map, generally on a small scale, that represents the main physiographic features of a territory.

• - Physiographic map: morphographic map that represents the characteristics of the relief in broad strokes in a figurative and simplified way using an oblique perspective.

• - Map out of text: loose map that accompanies a text, a book or an article. Note: It is a term opposite to map in the text.

• - General map: map that represents a set of basic and diverse geographical phenomena such as coasts, hydrography, relief, towns, roads, administrative limits, toponymy, etc. Note: Large-scale general maps of land areas are often called topographic maps. Both are usually considered complementary and opposite to thematic maps.

• - Geological map: thematic map that represents the rocks and geological structures observable on the Earth's surface. The lithology and age of the rocks are represented coded by standardized colors and patterns. The symbology indicates the inclination of the layers, the axes of the folds, the faults, etc. They are usually accompanied by geological sections and stratigraphic columns.

• - Geomorphological map: thematic map that represents the relief forms according to their genesis, dimensions, types and their relationships with the structure and its dynamics. Complementary synonym: morphological map.

• - Geopolitical map: map that, through appropriate symbology, represents theories and facts of geopolitics.

• - Hydrographic map: map that fundamentally represents the courses of rivers and surfaces with water.

• - Hypsometric map: map that fundamentally represents the altitude of a territory.

• - Historical map: thematic map that represents historical events and phenomena.

• - Illustrated map: map in which drawings or photographs are used instead of cartographic symbols.

• - Incunabulum map: ancient map printed in the early days of the existence of the printing press.

• - Independent map: map that constitutes a bibliographic unit with a single topic or title.

• - Index map: general map where the different maps included in a series or atlas are schematically located and in which the page or location reference is indicated. Complementary synonym: Key map.

• - Interactive map: cartographic representation developed in computational environments that combines the map with the capacity for interactivity on it.

• - Inventory map: map that exhaustively represents the geographical distribution of a given phenomenon.

• - Itinerary map: map that represents the network of communication routes and in which the distances between the different key points are normally added.

• - Hieroglyphic map: map made in such a way that it is enigmatic and difficult to decipher.

• - Mental map: cartographic image of a territory, more or less distorted, that is held in thought.

• - Mining map: large-scale map that represents the location and extent of a mining exploitation area, describing both its external topographic forms and its underground structures. Note: Often a series of vertical slices or sections complete the cartographic information.

• - Monochrome map: map printed in a single color.

• - Municipal map: It is the map of a geographic region where a president or councilor exercises his government functions, dependent on a state, and this in turn of a country.

• - Morphographic map: thematic map that represents the shapes of a terrain according to its appearance.

• - Morphological map: See: geomorphological map.

• - Morphometric map: thematic map that represents the shapes of a relief in a quantitative way, either in absolute or relative values. Note: many slope maps are morphometric maps.

• - Wall map: large map that represents very useful generalized information and can be read from a certain distance.

• - Mute map: map that has no implementation or labeling (toponymy).

• - National map: map that represents a territory of a nation or a state, normally at a scale between 1:5,000,000 and 1:20,000,000.

• - Numeric map: digital image of a phenomenon or a geographical feature preserved on cartographic sheets, magnetic tapes, DVD-ROM or on another medium for computer processing.

• - Official map: map prepared by an official body.

• - Original map: map from which other maps are obtained. Note: in particular, maps obtained by representing original studies are considered original maps.

• - Orographic map: map that represents the physical configuration of a relief using hypsometric inks, shading or any other technique.

• - Pictorial map: map that represents topographical features, objects or phenomena using pictorial signs instead of using the usual conventional signs.

• Pictorial relief map: map that represents the relief and any other topographic feature in an approximate planimetric position using pictorial signs, which gives a sensation similar to that of an oblique perspective.

• - Planimetric map: topographic map in which the relief is not represented.

• - Folding map: map that can be folded to facilitate its conservation and consultation.

• - Pluviometric map: thematic map that represents the amount and distribution of rainfall in a territory and in a specific period of time.

• - Polychrome map: map printed in different colors.

• - Political map: map, generally on a small scale, that represents the political and administrative divisions of a territory that are normally differentiated using different inks for this.

• - Primitive map: map made before the first topographic surveys carried out systematically and with precision.

• - Main map: map that constitutes an essential element of a cartographic sheet and is usually complemented by one or more auxiliary maps.

• - Regional map: map that represents a region or a part of a territory at a scale normally between 1:1,000,000 and 1:5,000,000.

• - Synoptic map: thematic map that represents two or more types of phenomena in order to express their functional relationships. For example: a weather map.

• - Synthetic map: thematic map that, based on a precise objective, represents a phenomenon as a whole through its internal relationships.

• - Thematic map: map that, on an elementary topographic reference base, highlights, through the use of various resources of cartographic techniques, correlations, evaluations or distribution structures of a specific and specific topic. Note: conventionally the topographic map and all general cartography are considered complementary, even opposed to the thematic map.

• - Topographic map: map that represents the planimetry and altimetry of the shapes and dimensions of specific, fixed and durable elements of a specific area of ​​the surface of a land.

• - National topographic map: topographic map, generally at a scale of 1:50000 or 1:25000, which serves as a base map of the territory of a nation or a state.

• - Transparent map: map printed on a transparent or translucent material that is superimposed on one or several maps that have the same field and scale with the main purpose of complementing the information.

• - Tourist map: map that includes useful information for tourism, related to the urban location and communication routes, highlighting points of historical interest, landscape, etc.

• - Urban map: map of a city.

• - Rural map: map that represents a rural area with little influence of technology.

• - Schematized map: in this type of map the known base representation is not used, but rather the information is schematized, as in this case, through different sizes of boxes or rectangles depending on the data and the proportion of information.

Throughout history, ways and means of showing the position of geographical phenomena have emerged. In the past, static maps, for example, served all types of audiences despite the diversity among map users and contexts of use. Today, digital technology has transformed the way maps reach their audience, as maps are increasingly interactive and accessed via the Internet or on a mobile device. New cartography usage environments have brought maps and geospatial data to more people around the world than ever, and have needed to be adapted to the specific backgrounds, interests and needs of different audiences.[2]​.

The following are some of those maps, which were cartographic milestones that were the fruit and reflection of each time and each civilization.

• - Cartography.

• - Atlas (cartography) "Atlas (cartography)").

• - Map interpretation.

• - Legend (cartography) "Legend (cartography)").

• - Plan (cartography) "Plan (cartography)").

• - Earth Sciences.

• - Theorem of the four colors.

• - Ancient world maps.

• - Interactive map.

• - Wiktionary has definitions and other information about map.

• - Consult this term on Wikisource.

• - The Artemidorus papyrus, the oldest known map, contains the oldest cartographic description of the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

• - The papyrus of Artemidorus. A papyrus with text, map and drawings from late Hellenistic times.

• - Catalan Atlas of 1375 - World Map of the Cresques Brothers.

• - Web on Cartography and Geographic Information Systems.

• - World Map.

• - Usefulness and meaning of cartographic symbols.

• - History of Maps.

• - Interactive Flash Maps - Didactic games.

• - Globes for children - Didactic and educational games.