Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
3.2.1 Land Area, Population, and Population Density
These qualities often give a general impression of a country. Larger coun-
tries may include more varied climate or terrain, meaning that their topo-
graphic maps may utilize a wider vocabulary of symbols to present their
homogenization of the landscape. According to Keates (1996, p.256):
There are considerable differences in the degree to which topog-
raphic features are symbolized, and thus the way in which the
character of the landscape is expressed. The size of a country con-
cerned is an important factor. Large countries, such as the United
States, have a far greater variety of geographic and topographic
characteristics, the nature of which must be accommodated by a
standard specification.
Surprisingly, despite variation in the size of countries in the sample, land
area did not correlate significantly with a wide range of aspects from the
symbologies.
It is easy to assume that more populous countries may be served by a
larger national mapping organization and a more extensive symbology.
Furthermore, if the population density of a country is high, the commodity
of space is likely to exert a greater value as demand is higher. Larsgaard
(1993, p.180) states that 'Population density is often the decisive influence
on mapping; almost without exception, the more densely populated is a
country, the more likely it is to be quickly mapped'. A test of association
between the age of the map and population density, however, found no
significant correlation.
Nevertheless, tests incorporating both population and population density
yielded significant results, the latter correlating with more aspects of the
map symbologies. On a general level,
Table 8
indicates that population is
positively correlated with the proportion of symbols devoted to Human/
Artificial Features, or conversely, more populous countries tend to use
fewer symbols to represent natural features. The detail provided by the
Level III classification allows this to be related more specifically to the
categories of Canals (positive) and Hydrology (negative) in
Tables 9 to 12
.
Table 12
(which involves percentage values), curiously extends these
negative correlations to those between population and the proportion of
symbols allocated to the General Built-up Features and Terrain and Relief
classes.
