Geography displayed

Professional geographers use maps to reveal spatial patterns in their data and to seek correlations in those patterns, although they no longer always do so by the time-honoured method of simple visual comparison of distributions on a series of paper maps. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are founded on maps stored electronically. In most British geography departments, cartography has been distanced from geography. This chapter discusses the use of maps in geography, quantification and spatial science, maps and public policy in Britain, thematic mapping, compilation of atlases and reading of maps.