Continuously variable proportional circle map

Continuously variable proportional circle map use circles to create point data. The circles are in proportion to the what is being measured.

Isopleths

Isopleths maps are useful in mapping surface elevations, amounts of precipitation, etc. Isopleths are a series of lines that connect points of equal value.

Isopach

Isopach maps show variations of thickness. Isopachs are countour lines of equal thickness. These maps are often used in geology.

Isohyets

Isohyets are lines drawn on a map connecting points of equal amounts of rainfall. This particular map shows the rainfall for July, 2008.

Isotachs

Isotachs are similar to isobars, except they are lines drawn connecting point of equal wind speed. This map shows wind speed over the United States.

Isobars

Isobars graph is a line drawn on a weather map that connect points of equal pressure. Isobars are very similar to isoline graphs.

LIDAR

LIDAR uses a laser and sensor to reflect off of a surface. LIDAR measures reflected light to find the range of a distant object.

star plots

Star plots are a series of stars joined together at one point. In this case, there are 4 designs with 7 different data.

Similarity matrix

Similarity matrix shows the similarities between 2 points.

Stem and leaf plot

Stem and leaf plots show the frequency distribution of data sets. This particular stem and leaf plot shows income. The hundreds place is separated as the stem and the leaves are the tens and ones values.

Box Plot

Box plots summarize data and provide a median score from the data. The box shows the median score.

Histogram

Histograms are used to plot density. It represents the frequency of of values.

Parallel coordinate graph

Parallel coordinate graphs plot large sets of data. Numerous earthquake data results are shown in this graph.

Triangular plot

A triangular plot compares 3 variables. Each variable represents a proportion of the triangle. In this graph, the 3 variable are British political groups Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, and Labour Party.

Windrose

A wind rose shows which direction the wind is blowing. In this example, the wind is coming in from the West.

Climograph

Climograph shows the monthly average precipitation and temperature for a particular location. In this graph, the precipitation and temperature for the year are shown for Tindouf, Algeria.

Population profile

A population profile shows the number of people as a function of their ages. The graph above shows the percent of the population that is male and female at various ages.

Lorenz Curve

A Lorenz curve is used to show the inequality of income and assets. In the curve above, the green line shows perfect equality, the red line is the Lorenz curve, and the blue line represents perfect inequality.

Index value plot

Index value plots compare values. In the above plot, the streamflow index value compares the 7-day average value to historical values for that particular day in the United States.

Scatterplot

Scatter plots show a positive or negative correlation between two variables. This scatter plot shows a positive correlation between the variable due to its upward direction; as x increases, so does y.

Doppler Radar

Doppler radar uses the doppler effect to pick up objects at a distance. In the photo above, the weather service uses it to forecast approaching thunderstorms. In this case, doppler radar also picks up the rain rate, for example, light, moderate, or heavy rain.

Black and white aerial photo

Black and white aerial photos are useful for updating maps to any changes in the landscape. Aerial photos are useful in helping make any improvements to an airport, for example.

Infrared Aerial Photo

Infrared aerial photos can be very helpful in tracking the changes in vegetation. In the picture, the vegetation is shown in bright reds and pinks, the colors of healthy, growing vegetation. Vegetation that is not healthy would be in shades of blue-green.

Cartographic Animations

Cartographic animations show movement in maps. These maps show the processes involved. The above map shows the ship sailing to New York, but it also includes the path taken by the ship.

Statistical Maps

A statistical map shows a variation in quantity of a particular factor such as population. This map shows the percentage change in population of each country.

Cartograms

There are 2 types of cartograms: area and distance. This map is an example of an area cartogram. The space has been distorted in order to show the global amphibian diversity by country.

Flow Maps

Flow maps show movement from one place to another. In this map, for example, it shows the flow of traffic to different countries

Isoline Maps

Isoline maps show continuous lines joining points of same value. In this map, the joining lines show equal elevations.

Proportional Circle Maps

Proportional circle maps show the size of a population, for example, by using different sizes of circle. This map uses proportional circles to show what percentage of each states population is Mexican.

Dot Distribution Map

Dot distributions maps use dots to represent the presence of something or someone in a particular area. The "dots" do not have to represent only one. They can represent many individuals.

Propaganda Maps

Propaganda maps are created to try to persuade or convince people of situations. This map tries to do just that by convincing British soldiers to stop fighting because the Germans have them surrounded.

Hypsometric Maps

Hypsometric maps show elevation by contouring. This particular map shows difference in elevation by using tinting. Hypsometric maps may also use shading or batching to show elevation.

DRG

DRG's are scanned images of a USGS standard series topographic map. The raster includes the original border information.

DLG

DLG's contain a lot of information, from topography, hydrography, boundaries, roads, utility lines, and more. Data about map features are stored as arcs and polygons.

DEM

A DEM is a digital file that includes terrain elevations for ground positions at regularly spaced horizontal intervals. DEM's may be three-dimensional images (above) or colorized to bring out relief. Data is recorded, stored, and processed in a pixel. This process is the raster format.

DOQQ

A DOQQ is an aerial photo that has been georeferenced and orthorectified. Orthorectification removes distortion from the aerial phots so that it may be used as a flat map.

Classed Choropleth maps

Classed choropleth maps often combine data into a smaller number of groups and portray it in an interval system. The map above shows methane emissions in tons in North Carolina. Because the number of groups used is low, very little information is conveyed. The pattern of colors is often difficult for readers to follow.

Choropleth Maps

This choropleth map shows the percentage of people who are Hispanic in Florida, by county. Another way choropleth maps areally average data is by density. Choropleth maps convey very little information. In this case, only the percentage of Hispanics in Florida is shown.

Cadastral Map

Cadastral maps are used to show parcels of land and ownership. I was a realtor for quite some time and we used cadastral maps often. Quite often referred to as a "plat map," cadastral maps are handy when trying to decipher land boundaries and easements.

PLSS Maps

PLSS system is first set up by establishing starting points for each region. Principal meridians and baselines extend from the starting points. The entire system uses 34 principle meridians and baselines. Most of the U.S. is covered by the PLSS. Areas not covered are considered unsystematic.

Thematic Map

Thematic maps are created to illustrate a particular subject. In this map, the change in population is represented by the various colors.

Topographic Map

ATopographic maps is a detailed image of natural and man-made features. An important detail about topographic maps that sets it aside of planimetric maps is that topographic maps show elevation.

Planimetric map

Planimetric maps are designed to show specific locations, horizontally. Height of locations are not shown. This is a good example of planimetric maps because elevations are not shown.

Mental Map

This is a mental map of the world through a child's eyes. Before studying specific geographical locations, the child has drawn and labeled, in general, the locations of continents and countries.