A map is almost universally a two-dimensional representation of a piece of three-dimensional space.

The science of making maps is called cartography.

Basic map characteristics tell the reader where an object is (location) and what the object is (its attributes). Maps are also
simplified reductions and abstracions of selected real world areas that have attributes of scale, resolution, and are defined onto
a projection that distorts the curved surface of the earth onto a flat surface. Different objects represented on the map are
classifed and symbolized so that the map user can easily use the map as a database of geographic informati
Every map has a scale, determining how large objects on the map are in relation to their actual size. A larger scale shows
more detail, thus requiring a larger map to show the same area (a smaller number after the colon means a larger scale: 1:10,000
is a larger scale than 1:25,000).

Types of Maps
General reference maps are usually small scale maps that depict very large areas. A good example is an
atlas. Thematic maps are used for special purposes such as showing the distribution of certain selected types
of demographic or scientific data on a map that follows a theme. This is the main type of map that is made
using GIS applications and is the result of performing some type of analysis. Charts are maps that represent
the world in a way that are useful for navigational purposes. Plans are used by governments and buiders to
layout construction projects (blueprints).

Maps covering parts of the earth tend to be either political or geographical. The most important purpose of
the political map is to show national borders, and the purpose of the geographical is to show features
of [[physical geography]]. Geological maps show not only the physical surface, but characteristics of
the underlying rock, fault lines, and subsurface structures.
 From Ptolemy to GPS, the Brief History of Maps

One of the oldest surviving maps is, ironically, about the size and shape of an early iPhone: the
Babylonian Map of the World. A clay tablet created around 700 to 500 B.C. in Mesopotamia, it depicts a
circular Babylon at the center, bisected by the Euphrates River and surrounded by the ocean. It doesn’t have
much detail—a few regions are named, including Assyria—but it wasn’t really for navigation. It was more
primordial: to help the map-holder grasp the idea of the whole world, with himself at the center.

The first great attempt to make mapping realistic came in the second century A.D. with Claudius
Ptolemy. He was an astronomer and astrologer obsessed with making accurate horoscopes, which required
precisely placing someone’s birth town on a world map.

He had devised a system of lines of latitude and longitude, and plotted some 10,000 locations—from
Britain to Europe, Asia and North Africa. Ptolemy even invented ways to flatten the planet (like most Greeks
and Romans, he knew the Earth was round) onto a two-dimensional map. What did he call his new
technique? “Geography.”

Sea voyages became easier after 1569, when Gerardus Mercator unveiled the single greatest innovation
in mapping after Ptolemy: the Mercator Projection. A polymath who was equally skilled in engraving and
mathematics, Mercator figured out the best trick yet to represent the surface of a globe on a map—by
gradually widening the landmasses and oceans the farther north and south they appear on the map. This was
a great aid to navigation, but it also subtly distorted how we see the world: Countries close to the poles—like
Canada and Russia—were artificially enlarged, while regions at the Equator, like Africa, shrank.
What is GPS?

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of at least 24
satellites. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, with no subscription
fees or setup charges. The U.S. Department of Defense (USDOD) originally put the satellites into orbit for
military use, but they were made available for civilian use in the 1980s.

How GPS works

GPS satellites circle the Earth twice a day in a precise orbit. Each satellite transmits a unique signal and
orbital parameters that allow GPS devices to decode and compute the precise location of the satellite. GPS
receivers use this information and trilateration to calculate a user's exact location. Essentially, the GPS
receiver measures the distance to each satellite by the amount of time it takes to receive a transmitted signal.
With distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine a user's position and
display it electronically to measure your running route, map a golf course, find a way home or adventure
anywhere.