Cartography & GIS Theory

From ancient maps to modern GIS — the theory every geomatics student needs.

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About this course

A 37-page theory module that connects cartography's long history with today's geographic information systems. You will learn what GIS and cartography are, how map-making evolved, how the latitude-longitude grid locates any point on Earth, which elements every map must carry and how the major map types differ.

History of cartography from Çatalhöyük to the printing press
The geographic grid, scale, legend and orientation
Map types and their typical uses

Syllabus

1 document · 37 pages · English

01
Cartography & GIS — Theory Lectures
PDF · 37 pages
- Definitions of GIS and cartography
- A brief history of map-making, from Çatalhöyük to Ptolemy
- Latitude, longitude and the geographic grid
- Essential map elements: title, scale, orientation and legend
- Map types: physical, topographic, road, climate, political and economic
- Units of length, area and measurement