Mapping and GIS

Mapping and GIS Maps and charts are representations of features on the Earth’s surface drawn to scale. Cartography is the art of making maps and charts.

Centuries before the Christian era, Babylonians drew maps on clay tablets of which the oldest specimens found so far have been dated about 2300 BC. Since then, mapping has evolved tremendously and maps are now created using computers.

This month, we celebrate the Geographical Awareness Week, which runs from November 14-20. The official GIS day is on November 19.

Online resources

GIS Day: the official GIS site
FamilyEducation.com - National Geography Awareness Week: GIS info and activities for kids
Photographs from 1998’s Geography Awareness event

Canadian Geographic resources

The Canadian Atlas Online
Turning Points - an online archive of the past year’s Royal Canadian Geographical Society 70^th anniversary articles.

Download:
Mapping and GIS (Adobe PDF document)

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Did you know that a 2005 National Survey determined that one-third of adult Canadians can be considered “geographically illiterate”?

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“Geography is the lens for the soul of the earth. With the knowledge of geography, one can examine the earth’s past, assess the present and predict future situations. You can literally be ‘lost’ without geography!”

— Beth Dye, Chair of the CCGE

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