Searching for a map of India yesterday, I came to know a lot about cartography – the art of map making. I was amazed to find that cartography includes so many things – aesthetics, science as well as technical ability. Moreover, the cartographers have to represent a three dimensional curved surface into a two dimensional flat surface. So much just to make a map!

I was surprised to know the fact that cartography was an integral part of the human civilization since last 8,000 years. Earlier maps of various scales were drawn by hand. In the present times, however, computers have been of great help. CAD, GIS and illustration softwares are of great help for map making in the recent times. A large number of symbols and lines are used in order to depict geographic information on the maps.  A cartographer has to know all these symbols and lines.

Cartography also has two categories – thematic and general. General cartography is done for general users whereas the thematic cartography is meant for specific audience. Apart from this, there is also an orienteering map which is a combination of thematic and general cartography.  Topographic (contour lines) map and topological maps are also available. Most importantly all these maps are available online.