Student Projects/Classification of Maps

Maps are a representation of the Earth on a piece of paper. These is done by some symbols. Maps are classified based on scale, content and derivation.

Classification :

• Based on scale maps are classified as small-scale maps and large-scale maps.
• Based on content maps are classified as Atlas, Wall Maps, Topographical, Cadastral Maps, Physical and Cultural maps.

Atlas:

         The word atlas was first used by a German-Flemish geographer in 1595.

He used this name in his map book as a respect to the King of Mauretania – Atlas who was known as the first great geographer.

         It is known as the collection of all maps of the earth.

Wall maps:

         The name itself suggests that this map is used for reference and hung on walls. These maps are available in various sizes, shape, color.

Topographical sheets:

         These maps represent the relief features like height of mountains etc. using contour lines.

Cadastral maps:

         The maps which are created with exact dimensions for administration or for real estate or real-properties known as Cadastral maps.

Physical maps:

         The map which shows the physio-graphic features of Earth such as mountains, plains, plateaus, desert etc.

Cultural maps:

         The maps which are created for preserving cultural diversity are known as cultural maps. These are used for various research purposes and as a tool.