Fundamentals of Mapping

Purpose of this site

ICSM has designed this site to provide a comprehensive general overview of maps, mapping, cartography and map production. It is not intended to be a definitive reference, but rather to supply a consolidated summary of mapping concepts, principles and practice.

Hyperlinks are provided to other sites which offer more detailed information. Also, it is planned that existing pages will be continually up-dated and additional pages added from time-to-time.

Overview to the Fundamentals of Mapping

This is a brief outline of the core components to mapping the Earth.

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History of Mapping

This is a brief outline of the sequence of the development of the science of map making. It lists some of the significant developments and people involved.

Types of Maps

There are many different types of maps, which are generally classified according to what they are attempting to show.

Earth's Coordinate System

The first step in converting the information contained in the real-world onto a ‘piece of paper’ was to devise a system where everything could be uniquely located in that world.

Datums 1 – the Basics

A datum is a system which allows the location of latitudes, longitudes and heights to be identified onto the surface of the Earth. As datums is a jargon rich subject it is recommended that you read this section first.

Datums 2 – Datums Explained in more Detail

Having grasped the basics concerning datums in the previous section, this section provides greater depth to the topics already discussed and introduces more advanced concepts.

Surveying for Mapping

Surveying and geodetic techniques are used to a calculate the coordinates of points on the surface of the Earth

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About Projections

Having developed a coordinate system and measurement techniques for the Earth (including datums), the next problem map makers faced was how to transfer the information from the surface of a 3-dimensional, irregularly shaped sphere (the Earth) to a 2-dimensional flat 'piece of paper'.

Commonly Used Map Projections

This section shall outline a number of more commonly used projects. This is a selection of the most commonly used projections, but it is by no means a full list.

Maps as a Summary of the World

A map is not the same size as the piece of the earth it is describing. This sounds obvious, but two important cartographic principles flow from this statement.

Making your Map

Before embarking on the complex task of producing a map, cartographers must first consider two fundamental points: (1) the purpose of the map, and (2) its target audience.

Marginalia Information

Maps have two basic components, the map itself (often called the 'face of the map') and information about the map (commonly called 'marginalia'). The term comes from a convention that all additional information about the map was printed/drawn outside the edge of the map, ie in the margins.