A cartographic representation of selected spatial information; the cartographer decides what to include and what to leave out. ‘Maps are active; they actively construct knowledge, they exercise power, and they can be a powerful means of promoting change’ (J. Crampton 2010). We tend to restrict the term to visual maps, but spatial information can be shown on a computer screen, through braille, or a spoken description, and these may also be described as maps. See Pontius et al. (2007) AAAG 97, 4 on the Behavioral Landscape Model and spatial patterns. Map generalization is the decreasing of the detail on a map when reducing its scale, for the map scale determines the size and number of graphic objects that can be put on a map.

Map reading is the interpretation and analysis of map images; an understanding of the physical and psychological processes in map reading helps in map-making. See Lobben (2007) AAAG 97, 1 and Griffin et al. (2006) AAAG 96, 4.