The geographical history of Map making Research Paper

The geographical history of Map making - Research Paper Example This paper seeks to explore the science of map making with respect to its rich history culminating to modern maps. A map is a diagrammatic representation of a part of the world using from a bird’s point of view to provide guidance to the user on designated landmarks and geographical locations. In this respect, maps indicate the location of important elements in a specified part of the world such as political boundaries, natural resources, roads, topography, as well as economic activities. The science, study, and the art of making maps are descriptive of cartography, which involves examining the information conveyed, and its effective application. The importance of maps cannot be understated as they serve to provide guidance and direction to an area of interest. In this regard, exploration of new areas is easily facilitated by studying maps relevant for direction to various regions. This ensures safety of individuals involved, as they are aware of their surrounding keeping away from potential harm such as cliffs, raging waters, and hot deserts, which facilitates effective tourism. Similarly, geographical illustrations indicate flight patterns that ensure safety in air travel. Notable also is the role of maps in illustrating weather patterns, which is critical for individuals in the vicinity. To this effect, warning can be delivered effectively to residents in the event of eminent weather catastrophes. Maps also serve to safeguard infrastructure through effective planning and engineering. For instance, utility companies such as gas and electricity own maps indicating their infrastructure network, which is critical in the management of cities. This ensures that developers are aware of the network and thus work around it to preserve its integrity and avoid economic repercussions. The most remarkable role of maps, to both ancient civilisations and modern society, is demarcation of borders at national and international levels. This is critical to enhance peace and foster cohesion amongst different cultures in the world. Maps provide a unique opportunity to establish territorial boundaries that fundamental in defining jurisdiction with regard to legal systems and economic activities. International boundaries are often vocal in determining trade among nations, which serves to influence prices of various products such as oil in the world. In addition, maps are of economic importance owing to illustrated trade routes and cargo tracking, which provides essential information to various business parties. In essence, maps are important tools that facilitate understanding and navigation of the world around us. Depending on the application, various kinds of maps exist to illustrate different aspects of the world’s phenomenon. Physical maps indicate identifying physical features of the land with respect to terrain, topography (elevation), rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans. These find effective application among explorers in their navigation an d among policy makers as they plan development projects. Similarly, movement maps are highly specialised to indicate transport networks such as road maps in order to guide users on how to get a round. Distribution maps highlight the presence or absence of a desired interest in an area; for instance, the maps can be used to illustrate demographics or the availability of natural resources in a region. Political maps highlight national and int