About Cartography
Cartography or mapmaking is the study and practice of making representations of the Earth on a flat surface.Cartography combines science, aesthetics, and technical ability to create a balanced and readable representation that is capable of communicating information effectively and quickly.
One problem in creating maps is the simple reality that the surface of the Earth, a curved surface in three-dimensional space, must be represented in two dimensions as a flat surface.
This necessarily entails some degree of distortion, which can be dealt with by utilizing projections that minimize distortion in certain areas.
Furthermore, the Earth is not a regular sphere, but its shape is instead known as a geoid, which is a highly irregular but exactly knowable and calculable shape.
Maps of all scales have traditionally been drawn and made by hand, but the recent advent and spread of computers has revolutionized cartography.
Most commercial-quality maps are now made with software that falls into one of three main types: CAD, GIS, and specialized illustration software.
Text © Wikipedia - Read more about Cartography?