Map

 A map is a graphical representation of real

world (Earth, stars, solar system, a building,
etc…

 Usually done on a plane surface with certain

scale.

 The features to be mapped are positioned

relative to a coordinate reference system
defined on the basis of some scientific
convention.

 Maps enable us to portray spatial

phenomena on paper.
 Map Making Process
The process involves the transformation of
information.

 The cartographer's task - explore the ramifications of

each mapping possibility and choose the most

appropriate for the intended task based on the audience.
 Map characteristics
 Location( Where is parcel?)
 Attribution (Who owns, what extent?)
 Reduction of reality (Modelling)
 Scale (project based)
 Geometrical transformation/projection(3D to 2D)
 Abstractions of reality (Globe)
 Cont’….
 Relation of features (By distance, direction,
size…etc).

 A map is not a photograph of the Earth's surface.

 It can show many things that a picture cannot

show, and as a result, a map looks different in
many ways from a photograph of the Earth's
surface.
 Property Identification
 For the proper management of the land resource, each
land holding/parcel should be uniquely identified and
coded in the manner that meets the legal acts.

 Countries have their own mechanism of coding their

land resource.

 For instance UPIC is given in Ethiopian legal cadaster

act by considering the following principles.
a) Uniqueness
b) Permanent
c) Simple
d) Easily Maintainable.
e) Flexible
f) Accessibility
 UPIN Assigning

Accordingly;
Villa houses = 14 digits
High raised buildings and condominiums = 20 digits
 Plans
 Plans are a set of drawings or two-dimensional
diagrams used to describe a place or object, or to
communicate design or construction instructions.

 They can paper based or digital.

 Most planning applications require both a site plan

and location plan.

 Site plan: Site plan is also known as a block plan‘

shows the proposed development in relation to the
property boundary.
 It includes information about:-
The size and position of the building relative to
boundary

 Land uses of the building

Positions and width of any adjacent features.

 Site plan shows the aerial view of the site including

property lines, easements and is the first type of drawing
in a complete CD (Construction Document).

 Generally, site plan illustrates the existing natural and

built features.
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 Scale
Is a parameter that shows you the ratio of the distance on
the ground to corresponding distance on your map.
Map Scale = Map Distance/ Ground Distance
= Globe Distance/Earth Distance

 Map projection = Map distance/ Globe Distance

E.g: a scale of 1:50,000 (1 unit on the map , 50,000 units on the
ground)
Three ways of showing a scale on a map:
1. Statement in words 1cm= 10km
2. Representative fraction (R.F) e.g. 1:50000
3. Linear Scale
 Mapping data sources

A. Aerial photography and

Photogrammetry
B. Ground surveying
C. Remote sensing
D. Existing maps
 Map Projection
• There is an endless variety of geographical maps for every
kind of purpose.

• When looking at two different world maps one can wonder why the
differences: do we draw the world as a rectangle, or an oval?

• Shouldn't it be a circle?
•
• Should grid lines be parallel, straight or curved?

• Does South America's "tail" bend eastwards or westwards?

• What's the "right" way (or, more properly, is there one?) to draw our
unique planet?
Projection of points to a horizontal projection surface
 One important concern of
cartography is solving how
to project,

 i.e. transform or map points

from an almost spherical
lump of rock (our Earth)
onto flat sheets of paper
What is Projection
 The systematic arrangement of the earth's meridians and
parallels (graticule) onto a flat planar surface.
• A light at the center of the earth will cast the shadows of
the graticule.
• The shape of the graticule on the flat paper is very
different than on the earth.
• The map projection has distorted the graticule onto the
piece of paper.
What is Projection. Cont
 Distortion is a false presentation of
angles, shapes, distances and areas, in any
degree or combination.

 All map projections have some type of

distortion or deformation.

 Depending on the projection properties,

the distortion may be of area, shape, size,
distance, direction, or scale.

 No projection is free from all distortions,

but each contains only some distortion.
Map projections……..cont
 A spheroid can't be flattened to a
plane any more easily than a piece
of orange peel can be flattened—it
will rip.

 This process of flattening the earth

will cause distortions in one or more
of the following spatial properties:
 Distance
 Area
 Shape
 Direction
 It appears that it is impossible to project the Earth on a
flat piece of paper without any locational distortions,
therefore without any scale distortions.

 The distortions increase as the distance from the central

point of the projection increases
Map projections……cont
• No projection can preserve all these properties;
as a result, all flat maps are distorted to some
degree.

• Thus, we only choose based on its suitability for

representing a particular portion and amount of
the earth's surface and by its ability to preserve
distance, area, shape, or direction .
Globe Characteristics
 Globe shows features with its correct shape, the
area they occupy and the distance and direction.

 An ideal map projection retains all of these

characteristics and translates them to the map.

 Lines on the projection can be compared to

their corresponding lines on the reference globe
by a ratio called Scale Factor (SF)

 SF = Projection Scale Fraction / Nominal or

Globe Scale Fraction
 Examples
• If scale of Globe is 1:3,000,000 and Scale of Projection is
1:3,000,000
Then SF = 1/3,000,000* 3,000,000/1 = 1 i.e. There is no
distortion

• When Globe scale = 1:6,000,000 and Projection scale

1:3,000,000
Then SF = 2.0, It means expansion is taking place in
transformation process

• When globe scale is 1:3,000,000 and Projection scale is

1:6,000,000

• The SF = 0.5, it means compression occurred during

What type of map projection should you
choose?
Selection of projection depends on:-
• Spatial property needed to reserved(shape, length, size)
• Location to be mapped(polar, equatorial…etc)
• Shape of map intended (square, rectangular…etc)
• Area of the map (big, small, medium)
Based on above factors, one can use one of the following map
projections:-
 Conformal Projections
 Equivalent (Equal area) Projections
 Equidistant Projections
 Azimuthal Projections
1. Conformal projections
 Preserve local shape and area for small areas and used for
navigational charts and weather maps.

 Graticule lines on the globe are perpendicular.

 The drawback is that the area enclosed by a series of arcs

may be greatly distorted in the process.

 No map projection can preserve shapes of larger regions.

 E.g. The Lambert Conformal Conic and Mercator
projections are common conformal projections.
2. Equal area projections
 Preserve area. Many thematic maps use an equal
area projection.. To do this, the other properties of
shape, angle, and scale are distorted.

 In equal area projections, the meridians and

parallels may not intersect at right angles.

 In some instances, especially maps of smaller

regions, shapes are not obviously distorted,

 E.g. Albers Equal Area Conic projection.

3. Equidistance projections

 Preserve the distances between certain points.

 scale is not maintained correctly by any projection

throughout an entire map.

 However, there are, in most cases, one or more lines on

a map along which scale is maintained correctly. Such
distances are said to be true.

 E.g. , in the Sinusoidal projection, the equator and all

parallels are their true lengths. In other equidistant
projections, the equator and all meridians are true.
4. Azimuthal projections
• Azimuthal projections preserve
direction from one point to all
other points.

• When a projection retains

correct direction, a straight-line
drawn between two points on
the map shows the correct
Azimuth of the line.
 Coordinate System
 is a set of mathematical rules for specifying how
coordinates are to be assigned to points.

 It includes the definition of the coordinate axes, the units

to be used and the geometry of the axes.

 There are two types of coordinate systems:

 Geographic Coordinate Systems
 Projected Coordinate Systems
1. Geographic Coordinate Systems

 Geographic coordinate systems use latitude and

longitude coordinates on a spherical model of the
earth's surface.
2. Projected Coordinate Systems

 Projected coordinate systems use a mathematical

conversion to transform latitude and longitude
coordinates that fall on the earth's three-dimensional
surface to a two-dimensional surface.
 DATUM
 The topographical surface of the earth is highly irregular
that makes it difficult for the geodetic calculation.

 Datum defines the position of the spheroid relative to the

center of the earth.

 It provides a frame of reference for measuring locations on

the surface of the earth.
 It defines the origin and orientation of latitude and
longitude lines.

 It is either WGS-1984 or UTM based on their projection

types.
 Many countries have local geodetic datums.

 Ethiopia uses Adindan datum, where its origin is at the

coast of Red Sea.

 95% of the Nation's collected geo-data are based on this

local datum.

 The most recently developed and widely used datum is

WGS 1984.

 It serves as the framework for location measurement

worldwide.
 Datum Shift

• NAD83 is superior to NAD27 because:

• NAD83 is more accurate and NAD27 can result in a
significant horizontal shift.

• When we go from a surface-oriented datum to a spheroid-

based datum, the estimated position of survey benchmarks
improves; this is called datum shift

• That shift varies with location: 10 to 100 m in the cont.

US, 400 m in Hawaii, 35 m in Vermont
Datum Shift Example
 Spatial Reference Information
 Based on the national standard adopted by the Ethiopian
Geospatial Information Agecny (GeSIA), the following
projections, spheroid, datum and coordinate systems shall
be used.

 Coordinates shall be calculated in reference to the grid on

the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection and
zones 36, 37, or 38 depending on the geographic location.
 Example of Map Projections
Cylindrical
Projections
Universal Transverse Mercator Grid (UTM):

UTM is a particular case of Transverse

Mercator Projection. It is a world wide projection system

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brought out by US army in 1947 for designating rectangular
coordinates on large scale military maps of the entire world. Its
specifications are given below :-

(i) The world is divided into 60 E-W equal parts from

180º W through 0º to 180º E and called 1 to 60.

(ii) The N-S subdivision is from 80º S to 84º N being all 8º

spread except the last one, which is 72º N to 84º N. The
identification starts with ‘C’ from 80º S to 72º S, ‘D’ for
72º S to 64º S ……... and so on till 64º N to 72º N, and ‘X’
for 72º N to 84º N - remembering that alphabets ‘I’ and
‘O’are not used.
 Map Projections
 Universal Transverse Mercator
 Defines horizontal positions into 6 zones.
 Each zone has a central meridian. Is actually 60 projections!

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