Classifying, Analysing and Experiencing Maps - Advances in Cartography and GIScience - page 39

matics'. The districts on the map represent different correctly defined
mathematical notions. So even if the content of the map is entirely ab-
stract, these abstract elements are translated into an imaginary landscape -
a combination of abstract and imaginary thinking.
Another type of imaginary thinking is represented by figure 2H . This is a
greeting card, showing Skane, the southernmost part o f Sweden. The pic-
ture is an artistically playful description of different characteristic elements
in the landscape. They are all visible, part by part, directly - when visiting
the sight - and indirectly, when looking at maps, but never in that way.
This picture is emanating from the visible landscape but portrayed entirely
according the imagination of the artist.
Figure 2I is the only example of a map based on all three elements of
maps. Figure 2I is a part of a regional plan. It shows the physical landscape
and elements in a traffic plan. It contains physical, visual elements of the
landscape, knowledge of its way of functioning (abstract elements) and
imaginative elements of it possible and desirable developments. Yet please
notice that in the same position could a plan of a battle be shown, with pic-
tures of the terrain, the actors of the scene, the practical preconditions of a
battle (abstract knowledge) and imaginary element (different possible
developments of the coming battle).
3- Analytical approaches
3.1 Metamaps
The example in Figure 3C is (a part of) a single sheet of a topographic
map. Its character i.e. its composition is registered as point “a” on the
plane of CLASSIFICATION maps i.e. the maps as artefacts. Its coverage
(e.g. extension defined by coordinates of its corner points) - and time for
its creation is registered and represented as a dot in position “b” - on a
plane, parallel to the plane of the CLASSIFICATION ( Figure 4 ) . This is
the plane of METAMAPS. Not only the map as a finished product but also
all components of the map - different sets of data making together up the
map - are also registered according to their extent, time of creation, quality
etc. Figure 4b represents, however, not only this single sheet of a topo-