Cartography is traditionally defined as the art and science of maps. Cartography is also much more than that; it is the making, the study, and even the use of maps. Today's cartography involves much more than just showing political boundaries, or shipping routes to the new world, on hand-drawn paper maps. Today, cartography uses cutting edge technology that makes good use of remotely sensed imagery and computer-software tools, called the Geographic Information System or GIS. GIS can be used to show anything from patterns of rainfall in a farming region to ocean trenches and mountain ranges. It is a field of study that is always changing and adapting to suit the needs of map-users.

Who are Cartographers?

People who make maps are called cartographers and they are all sorts of people. They are teachers and educators, staticians, historians, anthropologists, and map curators, and librarians. They work in governments, in schools, and in private businesses. Cartographers provide a very important service in the world today, as they have for thousands of years; they make visual representations of what the world looks like and where things are located on the Earth's surface.