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Map the World with this Cartography Challenge

Sucheta Pradhan

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Love to trod the Earth on your own? Then perhaps maps are your favorite companions. Gauge your knowledge of the science of cartography with this enlightening quiz!
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Cartography is the art and science of creating maps, which represent geographical areas. Apart from showing geographical features, they may also be superimposed with nongeographical divisions such as cultural and/or political distinctiveness.

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Art or Science?
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Old Perceptions
The oldest-known map of the world dates back to the 6th century BCE. The Imago Mundi was drawn on a Babylonian clay tablet and presents unique insights regarding how the ancient perceived the world.
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Scientific Basis
In 1529, the Portuguese cartographer Diego Ribero created a Spanish master map for the royal court based on numerous sailors’ reports. It was considered highly accurate at the time and became an official map template for all Spanish ships.
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The Paraphernalia
Mapmakers use several instruments to add precision to their work. Telescopes, compasses, and digital cameras are commonly used by cartographers. Barometer, however, is not used in mapmaking – it is used to measure atmospheric pressure.
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Technological Support
To create maps with maximum precision, modern cartographers use numerous technologies including but not limited to satellite imagery, GPS, remote sensing, aerial photography, GIS, and so on.
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Special-purpose Map
An Orienteering map draws out a clear topography of a terrain. It will show you everything there is on a particular terrain, including roads & trails, forest density, vegetal clearings, water bodies, ditches, wells, pits, fences, and so on.
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Along the Road
Equator is an imaginary line in the center of Earth that passes through 13 countries - Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia, and Kiribati.
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Mapping the Wild
The Amazon Rainforest spans through eight countries viz., Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname. Moreover, part of the biome also lies in French Guiana, France’s overseas territory.
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Charting the Skies
Uranography or celestial cartography is the branch that deals with mapping of stars, galaxies, and other astronomical objects. Maps created thus are called star maps or star charts and are used by astronomers to view the night sky.
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The map key or legend is placed generally at the bottom left or bottom right of a map. It helps understand symbols, lines, colors, and contours used on a map so that it can be read and interpreted properly.

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Decoding the Map
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The Foundation-layer
Abraham Ortelius was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer credited for the creation of the first modern Atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. It is owing to this achievement that he is called the “Father of Modern Cartography”.
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President with a Road “map”
Known more as the war hero and the first President of America, George Washington was also a professional cartographer. He made numerous maps in the capacity of land surveyor in the state of Virginia when he was just 17.

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Have you answered all the questions correctly? Well, let’s find out!