Hello and welcome back to my blog! I know that I promised a map reveal this week, but I feel like I could make it a little bit better. I swear it will be ready next week. Also, I decided to wait one more week because, sadly, this is my second-to-last blog post ever, so I decided that I should close out with a banger by revealing my map. In the meantime, I thought that it would be fun to research the different map classifications for two reasons. One, I can figure out which category my map belongs in, and two, I will know the different types to sound smart in the future. After doing some research, I found that there are a lot of different classifications, including more specific classifications of classifications. So, I will only be sharing the general classifications. In other words, I will be showing classifications similar to the genus or the sixth most specific part of the seven animal classifications for the science nerds out there. Anyways, let's get started with some classifications! ![]() 1. Topographic Map A topographic map is a map that uses contour lines or other methods to show the shape of the earth. These maps show both natural land features and man-made land features. You might be wondering what contour lines are. Well, the definition of contour lines is, a line on a map representing an imaginary line on the land surface. In other words, lines to show the different elevations/ features of an area. Topographical maps are made by surveying the land to display a variety of different elevations and landforms. Topographical maps are often associated with the fields of geographical planning, civil engineering, architecture, and recreational hobbies, such as hiking. I have actually made a topographical map as a science experiment earlier this year. I found that they were a little bit difficult to make, but I'm sure with practice anybody could become a master at making this type of map. Additionally, they use common symbology to represent different things, and they also can use different line colors when representing contrast between two areas. Now, I will be showing you an example of what a topographic map looks like. In this map, you can see that the map-maker used this map to show the different elevations of a mountain, but also, they use a few other techniques to represent different things. First, they use blue to represent the water and brownish to represent the actual land. This is used to make it more understandable for the reader. Next, they use green to represent the trails, blue for rivers, and a darker blue for roads. Furthermore, some lines were dashes to show smaller, less important trails. Lastly, symbology is used to show different campgrounds. After looking at this map, you can assume that this would be primarily for somebody hiking these trails. 2. Geologic Map A geologic map is a map that shows the geological features of an area. If you didn't know, the prefix geo means earth, so from that information, you can deduce that it has to do with rocks or other features of the earth. However, these features are underneath of the earth, so there has to be a different approach to mapping these things. Cartographers use different symbology or colors to show the composition of the earth beyond the surface. Features including fault lines or foliations are shown with a strike or dip symbol, giving a three-dimensional orientation. Moreover, there are two different types of measuring orientation. First, orientation of planes is the use of dips and strikes, and this, of course, is the type used for fault lines. Second, orientation of lines is measured in trends or plunges, which are symbolized through arrows to show linear features of the land. Fun fact, in the UK, these maps are known as geological maps instead of geologic map. Also, in the US, geologic maps are laid over top of topographic maps to create a dynamic duo that can show both the features above and below the ground. Now, it is time for an example. This map shows the different types of map in a certain area. Additionally, it shows what age of the Earth each color comes from. For example, one color represents sedimentary rocks from the tertiary age. As you can see, each color represents a different age but not a different rock type. Namely, one color features all three of the rock types. All-in-all, I think that these types of maps are cool because you can see the nature of different rock types. 3. Political Map Political maps are the maps we first learn about in school, so they are the rudimentary map style to many people. They convey a limited amount of information, and let's be honest, they aren't that interesting. Political maps show the political aspects of an area. Furthermore, this includes borders, large landmasses, bodies of water, and important cities. Thus, the map style is most commonly style for world maps. These maps don't have to be of such a large area though. They can be for countries, continents, cities, islands, and more. The main classifying features of these maps are borders, so these maps can actually be included in other maps because many times cartographers want to include the locations or borders of their map. This is because humans like to categorize things based on their relative location to other more familiar places. Hence, a person who lives in the state of California would first look to find where California was in relation to the focus of the map. Fun fact, I have memorized both the political map of every country in the world and the political map of the states of America. Once again, it's time for the example. For this example, I decided to use a map of the world because this would be the most recognizable example of a political map. Consequently, it would be the easiest way to grasp the concept. This map doesn't need much explaining, but I will still give a short rundown of what it is saying. This is a map of the world that shows each country. Interestingly, maps of the world use different colors on each country but for different reasons than we are used to. This is mainly to differentiate the countries from each other to make it easier to read. This can also be helpful when memorizing maps because you can connect a country with a color. Incidentally, different maps use different colors, but most maps of the world use this technique. Another interesting part of this map, it the list of numbers correlating to countries on the bottom. This shows a technique to fit in extra information when you don't have enough space. Similarly to the inset map, they show information without overcrowding the map. 4. Physical Map Physical maps are another fairly common type of maps. This is primarily because they convey important information to the average person where some of these are mostly used for specific jobs. These maps are used to show the physical features of land. Accordingly, this includes elevations, oceans, and glaciers, and they also have different colors based on how elevated each feature is. For example, the areas with low elevation might have a light green color while an area with a higher elevation would have a brown color. Furthermore, the maps make the map look textured and almost 3-D. The description may seem fairly similar to the topographical, but they each have distinct differences. Topographical maps use lines where physical maps color in specific areas that have more elevation. Thus, physical maps are more commonly used for larger areas, like the world map, and topographical maps are used for smaller maps, such as a mountain. Similarly to the political map, these maps do not showcase much cultural information. If I had to put the two in a category, I would place them in general information. Unfortunately, I have no fun facts about physical maps, so I'm gonna have to get a little creative. Here is a fun fact, I have vitiligo, and one spot on my stomach looks like a map of the United States, and that is technically physical. Anyway, let's jump right to the example now. This is an example of a physical map of the world. I specifically used this map because I wanted to display the major differences between political and physical maps. As an example, this map does not have any borders between countries while the political map doesn't use colors to show the different elevations. On the contrary, the both are used to show one point of information, and this information is easily understood. It's very interesting to see the contrast between different regions of the world. Southern Asia is home to a large amount of elevation where Greenland is largely flat. If I had to choose between this map or the political map, I would choose this one because it looks more appealing and shows more interesting information. 5. Road Maps Road maps, also called route maps, are maps used to display information about transportation. These maps are used primarily for navigation, but they are also a type of political map because they contain borders. This is an example of how political maps are the cornerstone for many other maps. Additionally, road maps show tourist attractions because tourists are the people who most commonly use them. These maps come in all shapes and sizes based on what you are trying to say. Here are some different forms of road maps. Large maps give a lot of detail and cover large areas, small maps give an overview of the main roads in an area, highway maps show the major routes, street maps show the metropolitan areas, and a collection of road maps is known as a road atlas. Road maps use small lines to represent smaller roads and thicker lines to show bigger roads. Nowadays, road maps are within your phone because Google Maps uses road maps to help people get from place to place. Without road maps in our lives, many people would be constantly driving around in circles, so you should be thankful for that. This a road map of New York City, New York. As you can see, it displays the roads within the city. However, this map does not show every single road, and in fact, it actually shows a fairly small number. The more important roads are colored in either green, orange, or red, but the less important ones are just gray. Also, it has one of my favorites, inset maps! This inset map is used to show the location of New York City and give a larger perspective. Furthermore, the map shows all of the airports around the city, which is an indicator that this is most likely for tourists who are travelling. In conclusion, when adults use a map, this is the type of map they're most likely picking up. 6. Cadaster Map This is the first map that I have had no idea what it meant from the name. So, like any logical person would do, I did some research. It turns out that the word cadastral means, pertaining to the valuation of a landed property as a basis for taxation. This told me that it probably was something along the lines of a map that shows property value, and it was. A cadaster map shows the location, region, owner, value, and occupancy of buildings. Also, maps involve a geographic description of a building. After looking at a few, I found that they are commonly very monochromatic, and they are commonly used solely for informational purpose. These can be important for people who work with the buying and selling of property, such as a realtor. Moreover, if you have ever looked at an app that shows vacation rentals or houses for sales, this is most likely the type of map you were looking at. Cadaster maps are used in urban areas because this style wouldn't really work without buildings that were fairly close together. I think it's time to give an example because these are kind of hard to picture. This is a map of a city in Denmark, and as you can see, it fits my description of a cadaster map. Each building is labeled with a number, which is displaying the value of the building. There are not really any labels, and it is a very simple map. Out of all of the other maps so far, I would say it looks most similar to either a road map of a political map because it can only really show one piece of information. Although it may not look the most interesting, I'm sure that a map similar to this would be crucial to some people. 7. Dot Distribution Map The name of these maps says it all. Dot distribution maps use dots to specifies the quantity of a point of information on a map. The dots use spatial presence to show how much of a feature is located in an area. There are two different types of these maps. First, one-to-one show one single instance of a feature. This would be used for more large scale things with. Second, one-to-many shows more than one feature per dot. These dots do not show the exact location, so they may not be the best for displaying information that needs exact information. However, these maps can be very interesting and appealing to look at. A very common use of this style is to show lights turned on in a specific area. Things like this would be hard to convey in a different style, so cartographers use this method. Sometimes, dot distribution maps contain borders, but other times, the dots create their own borders. This might not make much sense now, but this example will show you what exactly I mean when I say that. This is a dot distribution map of the population density in America. This is the most visually appealing of all of the maps, and it conveys a strong message as well. It does a good job at describing the information in a clear, understandable way to the reader. It also allows you to point out larger cities, especially in less populated areas like Arizona. This map does use borders, but you can imagine what it would look like if it was taken away. It would still maintain some of its integrity, and the East Coast would at least look familiar. This is one of my favorite types of maps because of the visual effects and the clarity in the information. 8. Thematic Map Last but not least, the thematic map. This type of map is used to show a theme connected to a geographical region. Thematic maps focus on one specific element compared to some maps which show a combination of elements. These maps create patterns with the information to show the spread and distribution of the data. In some ways, they are similar to the dot distribution maps because of that, but these are more versatile. Maps pertaining to this style can be used to show information such as climate, population, health, soil, and much more. Additionally, this is the type of map you are probably thinking of when discussing a map on the informational side. Thematic maps use colors to display their patterns, and this can mean going from light to dark in the same color or just using a range of different colors. Further, these maps have three main purposes, to provide information about about a specific topic, to provide information about the spatial aspects of a topic, and to compare patterns on different maps. Now, I will be showing you one of many examples of a thematic map. This is a thematic map that displays the poverty rates of people under 18 in America. This map is very interesting to me for multiple reasons. One, the bigger, western states have larger areas while the smaller, eastern states have small dots littering the states. Two, most of Mid-Western America is white, and South Dakota has a large, dark area. It would be interested to find out why that is so. Last, The darker sports are in patterns throughout the country. There are lines of red in certain areas showing how different areas are much worse. This is my favorite style of map because it conveys the most amount of information, and it creates patterns that leaves you asking questions.
After taking a close look at each of these eight styles of maps, I have concluded that mine does not fit perfectly with each any of the classifications, but it is more of a mixture. The main difference with mine is that it is in such a small area that there isn't much information to be displayed. It definitely has elements of political and physical though. It does have borders, but just not the borders you might think of. My map is like my own little world, and each area is like a little country. You can see very clear borders between my different memories and that is why I think it is political. It is physical because I show different physical aspects of my home. I show the creek, the hilly areas, and the trees within my yard. To conclude, my map is a political-physical map, but it is also so much more. It isn't exactly traditional which is why it doesn't exactly fit within a category. Stay tuned until next week for the final reveal of my map!
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