Technology And The Advance Of Cartography And Planning Maps

By:


Cartography is the study or practice making geographical maps, which can be used for many different purposes. Some maps are used for different purposes, such as a planning map which is designed for planning applications. Whereas geographical maps are created in order to aid people to find places and where they are within certain areas. Here we shall look at the history of cartography which is still incredibly important today as it has been in the past, although technology has changed it forever.

Within cartography, technology has always aided the demands of mapmakers and map users of the time. The first ever maps were manually created with simply brushes and parchment, therefore were variable in quality and were limited in terms of distribution. It was the invention of magnetic devices such as the compass and later in time, magnetic storage devices that created far more accurate maps than before in history. In the past, due to the difficulty that is inherent within cartography and planning maps is that many map-makers took material from previously drawn maps without giving credit to the original cartographer.

One of the earlier and most famous maps within history of North America was unofficially known as the 'Beaver Map' which was published within the year 1715 by Herman Moll. This map was a complete reproduction of a 1698 work by a cartographer named Nicholas De Fer. De Fer had taken his work from images that were printed into books by Louis Hennepin. By the 1700's cartographers and map-makers started giving credit to the original map-maker by writing the phrase 'after' and their name.

It was the advancement of mechanical devices such as the printing press and vernier scale which allowed for mass production of maps and the ability to make accurate reproductions from far more accurate data. Other technology such as the telescope, allowed for further accurate land surveying as map-makers could find their latitude by measuring angles from the North Star or sun.

Finally, with advancement of electronics within the 20th century created a revolution for cartography. Computers, monitors, plotters, printers, scanners, analytic stereo plotters have all radically changed how we create and present maps. Nowadays, all types of maps including planning maps are made using software that falls into three categories, CAD, GIS and illustration software. Information for maps can now be stored within databases and recovered when needed. This advancement has lead to interactive and dynamic maps that can be manipulated digitally.

About the Author:
Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the cartography industry.
Find out more about Planning Maps and how the services available can help with submitting a planning permission.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent UnCategorized Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.