Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.
Generally, cartography activities include : Setting the map's agenda and selecting traits (e.g. roads, land, political boundaries) of the object to be mapped, Representing the terrain of the mapped object on flat media, Eliminating characteristics of the mapped object that are not relevant to the map's purpose , Reducing the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped, Orchestrating the elements of the map to best convey its message to its audience.
Modern cartography is largely integrated with geographic information science (GIScience) and constitutes many theoretical and practical foundations of geographic information systems.
vCalc's Cartography folder contains math content relating to the practice of making maps.