Mapping the World

The science of cartography, or map making, is over 2,000 years old and has a rich history. Since carrying a globe is not practical, cartographers created maps with different projections to provide similar information found on a globe. In this topic, you explored the many types of maps, including physical, political, thematic, geologic, and topographic varieties. Every map projection has some type of distortion, but maps are still useful tools for studying the Earth.