| Each of us has at least once confronted classical topographic maps - whether at school at geography lessons, or when travelling. Such maps are famous for creating a very exact presentation of the landscape. They reflect all the objects with scale and using various colors and lines. Though classical topographic maps constitute mostly a composition of symbols that aren't so simple for a customary user to comprehend. From time to time you need an expert to explain all the features on the map. Anyway, it will take some efforts and time to learn the topographic maps language. Fortunately, there are a lot of other methods to depict a landscape. They are numerous, but may be divided into 3 main groups:- Illustrated maps- Panoramic maps- Pictorial mapsYou can surmise what these types of maps constitute by their names, but we'll give some explanation to avert probable confusion.Thus, an illustrated map represents a topographic map with a number of added illustrations. It means that certain objects on the map (for instance, churches, parks or some other features) will be indicated by small pictures. This type of maps is very close to the standard variant.A panoramic map may be referred to as a portrait of the landscape. Sometimes it's also called a perspective because it portrays a certain area like it is viewed from above. These maps are very accurate about dimensions, but from the other side, various individual objects are hardly distinguishable or even not recognizable at all. This kind of maps is widespread in certain fields of activity such as ski resorts depiction.As for pictorial map this type is focused on the details, but not at keeping accurate sizes. Individual objects are pictured with their distinguishing features and, therefore, are easily recognizable. On the other hand, distances don't always correspond with the reality, sometimes the landscape can be slightly distorted or reduced as the emphasis is placed on the representation of objects. The named kind of maps enjoys high popularity thanks to their nice looks, self-descriptiveness and easiness in use. In spite of scale distortions they are great for navigating when planning a travel or searching for a certain place. |
