My Science School

A map is similar to an aerial view of the Earth. The landscape is shown as though you are looking down on it, so that the relation of one place to another is clear. But maps are much more than simply bird’s-eye views. A great deal of information about the names of places and what they are like can be given in words, numbers and symbols. Although maps are more than aerial snapshots, surveying by plane or satellite has helped mapmakers considerably. Surveying on the ground is time-consuming and may be difficult in remote places. Computer-controlled aerial surveying can give very accurate results and show overall changes in such features as vegetation and coastlines much more clearly than traditional methods.

We often see the finished product of a map folded into an issue of Canadian Geographic or posted up on a wall. But how are these data-rich works of art created?

Modern cartographer’s tools allow mapmakers to show more detail than ever before in a single map with attractive, creative elements. However, this wasn’t always so.

In the early years of Canadian Geographic, from the 1930s to the ‘50s, maps were often hand drawn with no more than some surveying data and perhaps an aerial photo or two. Colour was reserved for only a few choice maps, often those linked to an advertisement, and cartographers were rarely credited.

Now, satellite data, aerial photography and computer programs all go into making a modern Canadian Geographic map. Satellite data, also known as remote sensing data, provides a wealth of information to our cartographers, including geological characteristics of land, such the height and size of mountains, and a variety of climatic information, such as sea temperatures, weather patterns and more. Aerial photography has helped mapmakers since the 1940s and offers a visual sense of the landscape and sort of a ‘big-picture’ look at the satellite data. A variety of computer programs organize the data, help plot the data and shape a landscape as well as aid in the design process.