Introduction To Digital Map

Introduction to
Digital Map
Introduction
A map represents geographic features
(also known as spatial feature) or
other spatial phenomena by
graphically conveying information
about locations and attributes.
Introduction
Locational information describes:

• the position (using latitude and longitude)
of particular geographic features on the
Earth's surface,
• the spatial relationship between features,
such as the shortest path between two
point, the suitable location for a new
establishment (e.g., school, hospital), and so
on.
Location & Spatial Relationship
Introduction
Attribute information describes characteristics
of the geographic features represented on the
map, for example:
• the feature type (point, line or polygon)
• its name or number and
• quantitative information such as its area
or length.
Introduction
Thus by mapping we provide:

• descriptions of geographic object
or phenomenon
• spatial and non spatial information
Map Features
Locational information is usually represented by:
Point feature
A point feature represents as single location. It defines a map object
too small to show as a line or area feature. A special symbol of label
usually depicts a point location. Example: wells and telephone pole
locations
Line feature
A line feature is a set of connected, ordered coordinates representing
the linear shape of a map object that may be too narrow to display as
an area such as a road or feature with no width such as a contour line.
Example: streams, pipelines and contour lines etc.
Area feature
An area feature is a closed figure whose boundary encloses a
homogeneous area, such as a state country soil type or lake.
Map Characteristics
Map Characteristics
In addition to feature locations and their attributes, the
other technical characteristics that define maps and
their use include:
• Map Scale
• Map Accuracy
• Map Extent and
• Data Base Extent
Map Characteristics: Map Scale
Map scale or the extent of reduction is expressed as a ratio. The unit
on the left indicates distance on the map and the number on the
right indicates distance on the ground. The following three
statements show the same scale.
1 inch = 2.000 feet => 1 inch = 24.000 inches => 1:24.000
The latter is known as a representative fraction (RF) because the

amounts on either side of the colon are equivalent: that is 1:24.000
means 1inch equals 24.000 inches or1 foot equals 24.000 feet or 1
meter equals 24.000 meters and so on.
Map scale indicates how much the given area has been reduced. For
the same size map, features on a small-scale map (1:1,000,0000) will
be smaller than those on a large-scale map (1:1,200).
A map with less detail is said to be of a smaller scale than one with
more detail.
Cartographers often divide scales into three different categories.
Small-scale maps have scales smaller than 1 : 1,000,000 and are used
for maps of wide areas where not much detail is required.
Medium-scale maps have scales between 1 : 75,000 and 1 :
1,000,000.
Large-scale maps have scales larger than 1 : 75,000. They are used in
applications where detailed map features are required.
So each scale represents a different tradeoff. With a small-scale map,
you'll be able to show a large area without much detail. On a large-
scale map, you'll be able to show a lot of detail but not for a large
area.
Scale in Digital Maps
With digital maps, the traditional concept of scale in terms of
distance does not apply because digital maps do not remain fixed in
size. They can be displayed or plotted at any possible magnification.
Yet we still speak of the scale of a digital map.
In digital mapping, the term scale is used to indicate the scale of the
materials from which the map was made. For example, if a digital
map is said to have a scale of 1:100,000, it was made from a
1:100,000-scale paper map.
Because the display size of a computer-based map is not fixed, users

are often tempted to blow up maps to very large sizes. For example,
a 1:100,000-scale map can easily be plotted at a size of 1:24,000 or
even 1:2,000-but it usually is not a good idea to do so. It encourages
the user to make measurements that the underlying data does not
support. You cannot measure positions to the nearest foot if your
map is only accurate to the nearest mile. You will end up looking for
information that does not exist.
Map Characteristics: Map Resolutions
Map resolution refers to how accurately the location and
shape of map features can be depicted for a given map
scale. Scale affects resolution. In a larger-scale map, the
resolution of features more closely matches real-world
features because the extent of reduction from ground to
map is less. As map scale decrease, the map resolution
diminishes because features must be smoothed and
simplified, or not shown at all.
Map Characteristics: Map Accuracy
Many factors besides resolution, influence how accurately
features can be depicted, including:
–Quality of source data
–Map scale
–Drafting skill
–Width of lines drawn on the ground.
Map Characteristics: Map Extent
The aerial extent of map is the area on the Earth's surface
represented on the map. It is the limit of the area covered,
usually defined by rectangle just large enough to include all
mapped features. The size of the study area depends on
the map scale. The smaller the scale the larger the area
covered.
Map Characteristics: Database Extent
A critical first step in building a geographic database is
defining its extent. The aerial extent of a database is the limit
of the area of interest for your GIS project. This usually
includes the areas directly affected by the organization's
responsibility (such as assigned administrative units) as well
as surrounding areas that either influence or are influenced
by relevant activities in the administrative area.
Types of Information in a Digital Map
Three general types of information can be included in
digital maps:
– Geographic information, which provides the
position and shapes of specific geographic features.
– Attribute information, which provides additional
non-graphic information about each feature.
– Display information, which describes how the
features will appear on the screen.
Geographic Information
The geographic information in a digital map provides the position
and shape of each map feature. For example, a road map's
geographic information is the location of each road on the map. In a
vector map, a feature's position is normally expressed as sets of X, Y
pairs or X, Y, Z triples, using the coordinate system defined for the
map. Most vector geographic information systems support three
fundamental geometric objects:
• Point: A single pair of coordinates.
• Line: Two or more points in a specific sequence.
• Polygon: An area enclosed by a line.
Some systems also support more complex entities, such as
regions, circles, ellipses, arcs, and curves.
Attribute Information
Attribute data describes specific map features but is
not inherently graphic. For example, an attribute
associated with a road might be its name or the
date it was last paved.
Display Information
The display information in a digital-map data set describes
how the map is to be displayed or plotted. Common display
information includes feature colors, line widths and line
types (solid, dashed, dotted, single, or double); how the
names of roads and other features are shown on the map;
and whether or not lakes, parks, or other area features are
color coded.
Map display strongly affects the information the audience

can obtain from the map.

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Introduction to

Locational information describes:

Thus by mapping we provide:

The latter is known as a representative fraction (RF) because the

Because the display size of a computer-based map is not fixed, users

Map display strongly affects the information the audience

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