Maps are not just a way to locate a place you want to visit or find the best best from one location to another. Maps can be a great way to present information and to tell a story with data. This guide will give provide information on how to read maps, find maps to meet your needs, and provide resources for creating your own maps.
Although maps can provide an easy way to locate places on the Earth, or elsewhere, to fully understand what is being presented in a map and determine if the map is the right one for your needs, it is helpful to understand a few concept about how maps are made and how the represent the area that they incorporate.
A map projection is used to portray all or part of the round Earth on a flat surface, which cannot be done without some distortion. Mapmakers have devised a number of ways to project the image of the globe onto paper.
Every flat map misrepresents the surface of the Earth in some way. No map can rival a globe in truly representing the surface of the entire Earth. However, a map or parts of a map can show one or more — but never all — of the following: True directions. True distances. True areas. True shapes.
The degree and kinds of distortion vary with the projection used in making a map of a particular area. Some projections are suited for mapping large areas that are mainly north-south in extent, others for large areas that are mainly east-west in extent, and still others for large areas that are oblique to the Equator. The mapmaker must select the projection best suited to a specific map.
The following resources will help you visualize how the roughly spherical Earth is projected onto a flat plane to make a map:
Projection Wizard: https://projectionwizard.org/
Esri Map Projections page: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=31484c80dba54a058369dfb8e9ced549
Scale is the relationship between distance on the map and distance on the ground. A map scale usually is given as a fraction or a ratio such as 1/10,000 or 1:10,000which means 1 unit of measurement on the map—1 inch or 1 centimeter—represents 10,000 of the same units on the ground. If the scale were 1:63,360, then 1 inch on the map would represent 63,360 inches, or 1 mile, on the ground (63,360 inches divided by 12 inches equals 5,280 feet, or 1 mile). The first number (map distance) is always 1. The second number (ground distance) is different for each scale; the larger the second number is, the smaller the scale of the map.
An information sheet from the U.S. Geological Survey gives more detail on scale.
Aerial maps are produced using aerial photography or remote sensing satelite imagery.
Climate maps give information about the climate and precipitation of a region, often by using colors to show climate or precipitation zones.
Economic maps feature economic activity in an area. Symbols may be used to show the locations or extent of economic activities.
Geologic maps show the distribution of geologic features, including different kinds of rocks and faults, usually printed on top of a regular map (called a base map). The geology is represented by colors, lines, and special symbols unique to geologic maps. The USGS has information on colors and symbols used on geologic maps.
Historic maps are useful to historians, environmentalists, genealogists, and others interested in researching the background of a particular area.
Hydrologic maps show water-resources information, such as depth to ground water, floods, irrigated acreage, aquifers, water availability, surface-water discharge, chemical or mineral content of water, surface impoundments, and water temperature.
Physical maps illustrate the physical features of an area, such as the mountains, rivers and lakes. Colors may be used to show relief-differences in land elevations.
Political maps indicate state and national boundaries and capital and major cities.
Resource maps show natural resources in an area, often using symbols or colors to show the locations of natural resources.
Road or highway maps show highways and roads, cities, and often other points of interest in an area.
Satellite image maps are multicolor or black-and-white photograph-like maps made from data collected by Earth resources satellites.
Shaded-relief maps accentuate physiographic features of special interest using relief shading that simulates the appearance of sunlight and shadows on the terrain and creates the illusion of three-dimensional topography.
Thematic maps feature special subjects such as population, temperature, soils, hazards, vegetation, etc.
Topographic maps show the topography (shape and elevation) and features of an area on the earth's surface, using contour lines and symbols. See the USGS webpage Topographic Map Symbols for more information.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are systems that are used to manage and visualize data. A GIS can be used to relate data to a location or geographic area, such as where different species of animals are found within a particular country or survey responses of people in the different neighborhoods of a city. GIS programs often have dozens to hundreds of different tools and functions to help the user visualize the desired information on a map. Maps generated can be used strictly for data organization or can be made into publication-quality documents for display. GIS-based data is used across many fields from public health to commerce to scientific and academic disciplines, or anywhere data needs to be displayed in the context of a geographical area.
All current students, faculty, and staff have access to ESRI's ArcGIS and ArcGIS Online and can download ArcGIS products to their personal, office, or lab computers and laptops. Information on how to download the software can be found here:
ESRI ArcGIS Download Information https://kb.ndsu.edu/page.php?id=107686
The following GIS software products are open access software and can be downloaded for free. Both are available in the NDSU Libraries’ Data Visualization Lab.
GRASS GIS: https://grass.osgeo.org/
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is one of the major creators and sources for maps and GIS data in the United States. Here are some of the most important resources that they provide
This map series divides the United States into quadrangles bounded by two lines that span either 7.5 or 15 minutes of latitude and longitude. The scale of 1:24,000 (1 inch = 2,000 feet) shows an area in detail, useful for engineering, local area planning, and recreational purposes such as hiking or hunting. Contour lines show the shape and elevation of the terrain. The maps also show and name prominent natural and cultural features. For more information, see Topographic Map Symbols.
A set of topographic maps is available in the library storage annex. The USGS no longer prints or distributes topographic maps to libraries, so those in our print collection are not be the most recent version. The USGS provides digital topographic maps that are available free of charge; follow the steps on the digital topographic maps locator page to download your map. You'll also have an option to order a print copy of the map (for a fee). This site also contains scans of many of the historic topographic maps dating back to the 1880's.
Records of the topographic maps available in the library storage annex may be viewed in the online catalog. Use the request button in the online catalog to have the maps you need delivered to one of the library locations. Be sure to check holdings for both states for maps that cross state borders.
The USGS produces many other map series. These are just a few examples, which can be found in the Government Documents shelving area (northwest corner of the 2nd floor).
Circum-Pacific (CP) Map Series I 19.91/2:
Coal Investigations (C) I 19.85:
Geologic Investigations (I) I 19.91:
Geologic Quadrangle (GQ) I 19.88:
Geophysical Investigations (GP) I 19.87:
Hydrologic Investigations Atlases (HA) I 19.89:
Hydrologic Unit Map (I) 19.89/2:
Land Use and Cover (L) I 19.112:
Mineral Investigations (MR) I 19.90:
Miscellaneous Field Studies (MF) I 19.113:
Miscellaneous Investigations Studies (I) I 19.91:
Oil and Gas Investigations Charts (OC) I 19.92:
Oil and Gas Investigations Maps (OM) I 19.93:
Scientific Investigations Maps (SIM) I 19.91/3:
