Thematic Maps
Site: | Saylor Academy |
Course: | GEOG101: World Regional Geography |
Book: | Thematic Maps |
Printed by: | Guest user |
Date: | Friday, 4 April 2025, 10:47 AM |
Description
In the previous video, the speaker said we use GIS to make thematic maps. However, humans have made detailed thematic maps by hand or with software that is not a GIS long before GIS became mainstream during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, GIS allows us to make these maps more quickly. Access to accurate data has increased the use of maps and facilitated the mapmaking process. These three thematic maps were created by hand before the advent of GIS.
Soil Map of Fairfax and Alexandria counties in Virginia, USA

Figure 1.1 1915
Soil Map of Fairfax and Alexandria counties in Virginia, USA
Source: William T. Carter and C.K. Yingling Carter of the U.S. Bureau of Soils, A. Hoen and Co. and Geological Survey. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, http://www.loc.gov/item/90680839/ This work is in the Public Domain.
Lloyd's New Military Map of the Border and Southern States
Figure 1.2 Lloyd's New Military Map of the Border & Southern States: Territory held by rebels, Dec. 10, 1863, in red, and territory gained from rebels since Jan. 1, 1862, in green.
Source: H.H. Lloyd and Co., http://www.loc.gov/item/2008624017/ This work is in the Public Domain.
Ethnographic Map of the Austrian Monarchy in 1855
Figure 1.3 Ethnographic Map of the Austrian Monarchy in 1855
Source: Karl Freiherr von Czoernig, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ethnographic_map_of_austrian_monarchy_czoernig_1855.jpg This work is in the Public Domain.