Portal:Maps

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World map by Gerard van Schagen, Amsterdam, 1689

A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes.

Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although most commonly used to depict geography, maps may represent any space, real or fictional, without regard to context or scale, such as in brain mapping, DNA mapping, or computer network topology mapping. The space being mapped may be two dimensional, such as the surface of the Earth, three dimensional, such as the interior of the Earth, or even more abstract spaces of any dimension, such as arise in modeling phenomena having many independent variables.

Although the earliest maps known are of the heavens, geographic maps of territory have a very long tradition and exist from ancient times. The word "map" comes from the medieval Latin: Mappa mundi, wherein mappa meant 'napkin' or 'cloth' and mundi 'the world'. Thus, "map" became a shortened term referring to a two-dimensional representation of the surface of the world. (Full article...)

Cartography (/kɑːrˈtɒɡrəfi/; from Ancient Greek: χάρτης chartēs, 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and γράφειν graphein, 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively. (Full article...)

This T and O map, from the first printed version of Isidore's Etymologiae, identifies the three known continents as populated by descendants of Sem (Shem), Iafeth (Japheth) and Cham (Ham).

A T and O map or O–T or T–O map (orbis terrarum, orb or circle of the lands; with the letter T inside an O), also known as an Isidoran map, is a type of early world map that represents world geography as first described by the 7th-century scholar Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) in his De Natura Rerum and later his Etymologiae (c. 625)

A later manuscript added the names of Noah's sons (Sem, Iafeth and Cham) for each of the three continents (see Biblical terminology for race). A later variation with more detail is the Beatus map drawn by Beatus of Liébana, an 8th-century Spanish monk, in the prologue to his Commentary on the Apocalypse. (Full article...)
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John Paul Goode (21 November 1862 – 5 August 1932), a geographer and cartographer, was one of the key geographers in American geography’s Incipient Period from 1900 to 1940 (McMaster and McMaster 306). Goode was born in Stewartville, Minnesota on November 21, 1862. Goode received his bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota 1889 and his doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1903. In 1901-1902, Goode was a member of the faculty at Eastern Illinois State Normal School (now Eastern Illinois University), where he taught physics and geography (Eastern Illinois University iv). Later on in 1903, he was offered a position as a professor in the Geography Department at the University of Chicago (Haas and Ward 241, 243). (Full article...)

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Map of Goa
Map of Goa
Credit: Nichalp
Goa is India's smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population. It is located on the west coast of India, in the region known as the Konkan. The state is divided into two districts: North Goa (purple shades) and South Goa (orange shades) and the districts are further divided into eleven talukas. Panaji is the state's capital, and Vasco-da-Gama (Vasco) its largest town.

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Map examples

World

GDP in 2006
GDP in 2006
Credit: Bamse
Gross domestic product per capita in 2006.

Historical

Carte d'Amérique, 1774
Carte d'Amérique, 1774
Credit: Guillaume Delisle
Carte d'Amérique, 1774.

Thematic

Movement of the US population
Movement of the US population
Credit: Szu
The historical movement of the US population among the various states and territories.

Geographic

Surface geology of Tasmania
Surface geology of Tasmania
Credit: Graeme Bartlett
Surface geology of Tasmania.

Political

The Aztec Empire before the Spanish conquest
The Aztec Empire before the Spanish conquest
Credit: Madman2001
The Aztec Empire as it stood shortly before the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

Nautical

NOAA chart showing a harbor area in Puerto Rico
NOAA chart showing a harbor area in Puerto Rico
Credit: NOAA
Detail of a United States NOAA chart, showing a harbor area in Puerto Rico.

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Atlases and maps of the world at Wikimedia Commons

Extended content
Wikimedia Commons includes the Wikimedia Atlas of the World.


Entries available in the atlas


General pages
commons:Atlascommons:Historical atlas - Index of the Atlas - Names in native languages


The world and its continents and oceans
General maps of the world - Historical maps of the world - Old maps - Africa - North and South America - Antarctica - Asia - Europe (History, European Union) - Oceania - Oceans


Historical era and themes
Prehistory - Antiquity - Middle Ages - Age of Renaissance - Early Modern Age - 20th Century - Early Asian Societies - Rise of Islam - Early American Societies - Colonialism - World War I - World War II


Countries with undisputed status
Afghanistan - Albania - Algeria - Andorra - Angola - Antigua and Barbuda - Argentina - Armenia - Australia - Austria - Azerbaijan - Bahamas - Bahrain - Bangladesh - Barbados - Belarus - Belgium - Belize - Benin - Bhutan - Bolivia - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Botswana - Brazil - Brunei - Bulgaria - Burkina Faso - Burundi - Cambodia - Cameroon - Canada - Cape Verde - Central African Republic - Chad - Chile - China - Colombia - Comoros - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Republic of the Congo - Costa Rica - Côte d'Ivoire - Croatia - Cuba - Cyprus - Czech Republic - Denmark - Djibouti - Dominica - Dominican Republic - East Timor - Ecuador - Egypt - El Salvador - Equatorial Guinea - Eritrea - Estonia - Eswatini - Ethiopia - Fiji - Finland - France - Gabon - The Gambia - Georgia - Germany - Ghana - Greece - Grenada - Guatemala - Guinea - Guinea-Bissau - Guyana - Haiti - Honduras - Hungary - Iceland - India - Indonesia - Iran - Iraq - Ireland - Israel - Italy - Jamaica - Japan - Jordan - Kazakhstan - Kenya - Kiribati - North Korea - South Korea - Kuwait - Kyrgyzstan - Laos - Latvia - Lebanon - Lesotho - Liberia - Libya - Liechtenstein - Lithuania - Luxembourg - North Macedonia - Madagascar - Malawi - Malaysia - Maldives - Mali - Malta - Marshall Islands - Mauritania - Mauritius - Mexico - Federated States of Micronesia - Moldova - Monaco - Mongolia - Montenegro - Morocco - Mozambique - Myanmar - Namibia - Nauru - Nepal - The Netherlands - New Zealand - Nicaragua - Niger - Nigeria - Norway - Oman - Pakistan - Palau - Panama - Papua New Guinea - Paraguay - Peru - Philippines - Poland - Portugal - Qatar - Romania - Russia - Rwanda - Saint Kitts and Nevis - Saint Lucia - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Samoa - San Marino - São Tomé and Príncipe - Saudi Arabia - Senegal - Serbia - Seychelles - Sierra Leone - Singapore - Slovakia - Slovenia - Solomon Islands - Somalia - South Africa - Spain - Sri Lanka - Sudan - Suriname - Sweden - Switzerland - Syria - Tajikistan - Tanzania - Thailand - Togo - Tonga - Trinidad and Tobago - Tunisia - Turkey - Turkmenistan - Tuvalu - Uganda - Ukraine - United Arab Emirates - United Kingdom - United States - Uruguay - Uzbekistan - Vanuatu - Vatican City - Venezuela - Vietnam - Yemen - Zambia - Zimbabwe


Countries with disputed status
Abkhazia - Artsakh - Republic of China / Taiwan - Kosovo - Northern Cyprus - Palestine - Somaliland - South Ossetia - Tamil Eelam - Transnistria - Western Sahara


Dependencies and other overseas territories
Akrotiri and Dhekelia - Åland- American Samoa- Anguilla - Aruba - Ascension Island - Ashmore and Cartier Islands - Baker Island- Bermuda - Bouvet Island - British Indian Ocean Territory - British Virgin Islands - Cayman Islands - Christmas Island - Clipperton Island - Cocos (Keeling) Islands - Cook Islands - Coral Sea Islands - Falkland Islands - Faroe Islands - French Guiana - French Polynesia - French Southern and Antarctic Lands - Gibraltar - Greenland - Guadeloupe - Guam - Guantanamo Bay - Guernsey - Heard Island and McDonald Islands - Hong Kong - Howland Island - Isle of Man - Jan Mayen - Jarvis Island - Jersey - Johnston Atoll - Kingman Reef - Macau - Martinique - Mayotte - Midway Atoll - Montserrat - Navassa Island - Netherlands Antilles - New Caledonia - Niue - Norfolk Island - Northern Mariana Islands - Palmyra Atoll - Pitcairn Islands - Puerto Rico - Réunion - Saint Helena - Saint-Barthélemy - Saint Martin (French) - Saint-Pierre and Miquelon - South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands - Svalbard - Tokelau - Tristan da Cunha - Turks and Caicos Islands - United States Virgin Islands - Wake Island - Wallis and Futuna


Disputed areas
Kashmir - Paracel Islands - Spratly Islands


Subnational autonomous entities
Aceh - Adjara - Adygea - Altai - Andalusia - Aosta Valley - Athos - Azores - Balearic Islands - Bashkortostan - Basque Country - Bougainville - Brussels - Buryatia - Canary Islands - Catalonia - Chechnya - Chuvashia - Corsica - Crimea - Curaçao - Dagestan - Easter Island - England - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federation) - Flanders - Friuli-Venezia Giulia - Gagauzia - Galicia - Galápagos Islands - Gorno-Badakhshan - Guangxi - Ingushetia - Inner Mongolia - Kabardino-Balkaria - Kalmykia - Karachay-Cherkessia - Karakalpakstan - Karelia - Khakassia - Komi - Kurdistan (Iraqi) - Madeira - Mari El - Mordovia - Mindanao - Nakhchivan - Navarre - Nevis - Ningxia -North Ossetuia-Alania - Northern Ireland - Quebec - Saint Martin (Dutch) - Sakha - Sardinia - Scotland - Sicily - Srpska - Tatarstan - Tibet - Trentino-Alto Adige - Tuva - Udmurtia - Vojvodina - Wales - Wallonia - Xinjiang - Zanzibar


Former countries
Austria-Hungary - Byzantine Empire - Caliphate - Czechoslovakia - Frankish Empire - Inca Empire - Macedonian Empire - Roman Empire - Soviet Union - Yugoslavia


Themes
International organizations - Languages - Religions


Old atlas
Stielers Handatlas 1891

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