Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
cartography
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
Ptolemy's map of the world, as printed at Ulm, Ger., 1482.
How Marie Tharp mapped the ocean floor
Google Earth Herodotus' map of the world European exploration Martin Waldseemüller's 1507 world map
Discover
Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece
Secret Service Code Names of 11 U.S. Presidents
The Lost Colony of Roanoke, North Carolina, where 115 people mysteriously disappeared c. 1590. John White discovers the word Croatoan carved onto a tree upon his return to the deserted Roanoke Colony in 1590
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
Binary Computer Code, Binary Code, Internet, Technology, Password, Data
How Does Wi-Fi Work?
pg 229Nazi parade features a banner proclaiming, "Death to Marxism."The possibility of a peaceful Germany after World War I was precluded entirely by the terms of the Versailles Treaty and theintransigent hostility of France and England. Stripped of indu
Were the Nazis Socialists?
January 21, 2019: Superbowl LIII will be played at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, February 3, 2019 against the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams.
What Was the Super Bowl’s First Blockbuster Commercial?
winter ice melting salt on the ground, pattern as background
Why Does Salt Melt Ice?
Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.
10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish

cartography: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/cartography
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Correction: Gulf of Mexico-Google-Lawsuit story • Feb. 18, 2025, 3:11 PM ET (AP)
The White House says it's a 'fact' that the Gulf of Mexico has been renamed. Is that right? • Feb. 13, 2025, 8:58 AM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As mapping • mapmaking

Photos and Videos

Ptolemy's map of the world, as printed at Ulm, Ger., 1482.
Google Earth
Herodotus' map of the world
European exploration
Martin Waldseemüller's 1507 world map
How Marie Tharp mapped the ocean floor
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Muḥammad al-Idrīsī
Arab geographer
Gerardus Mercator; engraving by Franz Hogenberg, 1574.
Gerardus Mercator
Flemish cartographer
Simon Ushakov
Russian artist
Leopold, Baron von Buch
German geologist
Rennell, detail from a pencil sketch by G. Dance, 1794; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
James Rennell
British geographer
David Thompson
English explorer
Map from Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum orbis terrarum
Abraham Ortelius
Flemish cartographer
Aaron Arrowsmith, engraving by T.A. Dean after a portrait by H.W. Pickersgill
Aaron Arrowsmith
British geographer and cartographer
Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville
French cartographer
César-François Cassini de Thury
French surveyor
John Adair
Scottish surveyor
Gregory King
British statistician
Bartholomew Columbus
Italian explorer
Bartholomew, John George
John George Bartholomew
Scottish cartographer and publisher
Rodolfo Amadeo Lanciani
Italian archaeologist
Guillaume Delisle, engraving
Guillaume Delisle
French cartographer
Philippe Buache
French geographer and cartographer
Martin Waldseemüller's 1507 world map
Martin Waldseemüller
German cartographer
Édouard Gaston Deville
French surveyor
Dominique, comte de Cassini
French surveyor and astronomer