-f1.gif)
This map, from an
online oceanography textbook, displays the largest earthquakes around the Pacific Ocean (red circles) alongside boundaries of tectonic plates (yellow/blue lines.) The map suggests that these two phenomena are closely related - interactions between and collisions of tectonic plates create earthquakes. The blue lines in the map are where plates pass beneath other plates, and indeed the largest earthquakes (the largest red circles) occur along these lines. Open red circles are areas in which large earthquakes are expected. Using the geography of tectonic plates we can make fairly accurate predictions of the locations and times major earthquakes, giving local residents adequate time to prepare. For residents of Los Angeles, in close proximity to a tectonic plate boundary, this sort geographic research is particularly relevant.
This map, created with data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, displays the locations of permanent lights around the world; areas with more lights are more urbanized. As expected, there are far more lights in North America, Europe, and Japan than in the rest of the world. Other areas are appear almost completely dark: central South America and Africa, rural China, the Australian Outback, and Siberia. In general sparsely populated areas are dimmer - but urbanization does not always coincide with population: India and China, the world's most populous nations, are dimmer than the United States and Europe. Interesting urbanization patterns are clearly visible: a line of lights along the Nile, "spokes" of lights connecting major cities in the US, and an eerie absence of lights in North Korea.
This map is from a
page of cartograms, maps distorted to display data other than size. In particular, this cartogram stretches countries in proportion to their gross domestic product, a general indicator of economic performance. For example, we can observe that the world's strongest economies are that of the United States, Europe, and Japan, since they are the largest on the map. Using such a cartogram rather than an ordinary map can help emphasize geographic patterns: in this case, the sharp contrast in economic output between the world's wealthy and poor nations. For example, the cartogram suggests that the United States' GDP surpasses that of the other nations in the Americas combined. Reading this fact as numeric data, or perhaps as an ordinary map color-coded by GDP levels would have less of a visual impact - the contrasts would be less striking.
-f1.gif)
This map, from an online oceanography textbook, displays the largest earthquakes around the Pacific Ocean (red circles) alongside boundaries of tectonic plates (yellow/blue lines.) The map suggests that these two phenomena are closely related - interactions between and collisions of tectonic plates create earthquakes. The blue lines in the map are where plates pass beneath other plates, and indeed the largest earthquakes (the largest red circles) occur along these lines. Open red circles are areas in which large earthquakes are expected. Using the geography of tectonic plates we can make fairly accurate predictions of the locations and times major earthquakes, giving local residents adequate time to prepare. For residents of Los Angeles, in close proximity to a tectonic plate boundary, this sort geographic research is particularly relevant.
This map, created with data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, displays the locations of permanent lights around the world; areas with more lights are more urbanized. As expected, there are far more lights in North America, Europe, and Japan than in the rest of the world. Other areas are appear almost completely dark: central South America and Africa, rural China, the Australian Outback, and Siberia. In general sparsely populated areas are dimmer - but urbanization does not always coincide with population: India and China, the world's most populous nations, are dimmer than the United States and Europe. Interesting urbanization patterns are clearly visible: a line of lights along the Nile, "spokes" of lights connecting major cities in the US, and an eerie absence of lights in North Korea.
This map is from a page of cartograms, maps distorted to display data other than size. In particular, this cartogram stretches countries in proportion to their gross domestic product, a general indicator of economic performance. For example, we can observe that the world's strongest economies are that of the United States, Europe, and Japan, since they are the largest on the map. Using such a cartogram rather than an ordinary map can help emphasize geographic patterns: in this case, the sharp contrast in economic output between the world's wealthy and poor nations. For example, the cartogram suggests that the United States' GDP surpasses that of the other nations in the Americas combined. Reading this fact as numeric data, or perhaps as an ordinary map color-coded by GDP levels would have less of a visual impact - the contrasts would be less striking.
