Old Map New Map

Cartography has been around for ages. Some of the earliest maps have been found on mud tablets, rock walls, cloth and early types of paper such as papyrus. Mapping technology has also been evolving over time, not only the type of material that is has been created on but also how the maps have been produced. The tools of the trade have evolved. The days of fabricating maps using compasses, sextants and the guiding North Star are over. These tools have been replaced with Geographic Information Systems, plotters, and computer software packages. The tools of the trade are always evolving.

I did a little experiment in my office and I asked four people what came to mind when I said map. I asked two younger people and two older people. The two older people’s answers dealt with paper or hard copy maps. One said a USGS 24K topographic map and the other said a Rand McNally map. When I asked the two younger people what they thought of when I said map, both referenced digital maps. One said Map Quest and the other said Google Earth.

I think that my little experiment highlights how the latest technological advancements have changed the face of cartography. Old maps represent paper maps and new maps are represented by the new digital age. I don’t believe that paper maps will ever be obsolete however I do believe that digital guidance systems and other digital media will dominate the cartography market.

As along as there are map geeks like myself there will always be room for some good ‘ol paper maps to be laid out over the hood and studied before, during and after every trip to the mountains. The days of hand drawn maps are over. Digital media is taking over. Cartographic production shops now consist of plotters and visual editing software. In spite of this change, old map or new at least there are still maps.

These maps below represent what I think are old and new types of maps. Old maps were more often reference maps depicting places and their geography or how to get from one point to another. New maps can also represent these same types of reference themes but also new and more complex analysis and how to represent them graphically. This map represents data that has been used to study routing problems and changes of internet topological data. Another benefit of the “new map” is what types of analysis we are now capable of presenting. The following link is to the Internet Mapping Project.

http://www.cheswick.com/ches/map/index.html