Know more about importance of map and cartography

Maps of places give details as to the geographic location, physical characteristics, climate profile, vegetative structure, flora and fauna, soil structure, latitude and longitude, etc. Over the years, these maps were used in schools and colleges, offices and in houses for the purpose of education and/or reference. These maps used to be in paper-printed two-dimensional formats. Now three-dimensional, interactive or dynamic maps represent more accurate and up-to-date information.

The art and science of map-making is called cartography. Maps are created representing political, geographical and other particular aspects. Most of the maps are drawn on a scale, say 1: 10,000, meaning that one unit of measurement on the map represents 10,000 units on the land. Maps depicting land areas are called ‘political maps' or ‘physical maps'. Political maps show land boundaries or territorial boarders between states and provinces, say those between India and China or Maharashtra and Gujarat. Physical maps depict geographical features such as terrain structure, mountains, deserts, plateaus, rivers, land under use, etc.

Cartographers use a system called ‘projection' to depict the three-dimensional data of the surface of the Earth to a two-dimensional presentation. The ‘Mercator Projection' is the most popular projection for the map of the world. In the aeronautical realm, they use conical projections. With the galloping strides in the information technology, cartography has attained greater sophistication. Geographic Information System (GIS) has made it more scientific, accurate and adaptive to fluctuations in various fronts. Labeling is the system of specifying geographic features like cities, lakes, rivers, etc. in a map. For cartographers, labeling is difficult with the increase in density.

Maps are created for the world, the continents, the countries, the provinces or states, smaller units like districts, cities, towns, etc. For instance, you can have the map of India, map of Delhi, map of Haryana, or the map of Gurgaon. Maps of cities show the roads, rails and other urban transport routes, landmarks like rivers, lakes, historic monuments, important institutions, bazaars, etc.

For instance, in the Map of Gurgaon you can find roads like NH 8, Basai Road, Railway Road, Sohna Road, Mahrauli Road, Old Delhi Road, etc. You can find localities like DLF Phase I, II, III and IV, Sushant Lok, Wazirabad, Islampur, Patel Nagar, Udyog vihar, Palam Vihar, Palam Vihar, Jhasra, HSEB Colony, etc. You can easily locate in the Gurgaon map the various institutions, establishments and landmarks such as: Apra Motels, Bristol Hotel, Fortune Hotel, Claremont Hotel, Park Plaza, etc. Tourists and visitors to the city find it convenient to locate the various places in the city with the help of the map of Gurgaon.