Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
famous Homestead Act of 1862 , which provided for 160 acres
of free land for people who settled the undeveloped lands west
of the Mississippi River. Taken together, the township and
range system establishes the basis for identifying the legal de-
scription of land parcels. Such a description includes the state,
name of the principal meridian, township and range designa-
tions with directions, and the section number, such as: Kansas,
Sixth Principal Meridian, T5N, R3W, Section 5.
theme) and is one with which you are probably familiar. This
map shows the United States and includes such geographic
information as state boundaries, location of major cities, the
course of major rivers, and vegetation patterns. You probably
also know that a map such as this one contains a scale, a
compass arrow pointing north, and a legend that defines major
categories within the map, such as population density, the area
covered by cities, the relative size of highways, or the location
of mountain ranges. A wide variety of additional information
can be portrayed on maps, including the geographic distribution
and thickness of rock units, temperature, precipitation patterns,
intensity of solar radiation, vegetation, and soils. Much of the
information in this text is presented in map form, so in order to
navigate through this topic and to be successful in your course,
it is helpful to understand the fundamentals of cartography.
Cartography is the subdiscipline of geography that focuses
on the many ways to display spatial information so that it can be
used and understood efficiently. The essence of cartography is
the manner in which Earth is portrayed in a usable fashion. This
Maps—The Basic Tool
of Geographers
Now that Earth's grid system has been discussed, let's
investigate the various tools that geographers use to portray
spatial information within the grid. Most everyone knows that
the primary tool associated with geography is the map. Figure
2.10 shows a typical thematic map (it focuses on a specific
Seattle
ME
WA
Portland
ND
VT
a
MT
NH
MN
MA
NY
OR
Minneapolis
CT
RI
MI
ID
SD
Detroit
New York City
Philadelphia
PA
WY
Chicago
NE
IA
OH
Indianapolis
NJ
NV
IL
UT
DE
IN
WV
v
CO
MD
San Francisco
Cincinnati
VA
Kansas City
CA
St. Louis
Denver
Washington D.C.
MO
KY
KS
NC
TN
a
AZ
SC
OK
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Atlantic
Ocean
AK
NM
San Diego
Phoenix
GA
MS
AL
Dallas
TX
LA
N
Pacific
Ocean
New Orleans
FL
W
E
Houston
Miami
0
200
400 600 km
Gulf of
Mexico
S
0
200
400
600 mi
Short grass
and brush
Tall and medium
grass
Forest
Snow
Figure 2.10 A simple thematic map. This map shows the location of some important features within the United States, including
states, major rivers, and cities. Note the legend that reflects general types of vegetation.
The design and production of maps.
Cartography
 
 
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