Lab #1: Three Interesting Maps

This first map from worldmapper.org (http://www.worldmapper.org/images/largepng/8.png) represents the distribution of the world population in the year 1500. Larger countries had relatively larger populations and smaller countries had smaller populations in 1500. The countries here are represented by different colors, and through their relative sizes, it can be seen that most of the world's population was in Asia and Europe. Historically, this time period is during the Spanish colonization of the Americas and the explorations of Christopher Columbus. This map is interesting because it visually depicts the distribution of the world's population in a manner that is easy to understand. By comparing the map to the normal world map, an idea of how many people lived where can be gained. Historical connections can also be made by comparing the events of time period (1500AD) to the population distribution. It can be inferred that this time period is prior to when more and more people began to move to the Americas.


This second map is a map of the Moon (URL: http://www.physics.unlv.edu/~jeffery/astro/moon/map/nasa_moon_030_landing_map.jpg) from David Jeffery's site. The map shows the various NASA and Soviet landing sites. Various arrows represent where the Luna, Apollo and Surveyor have landed on the Moon. A variety of craters, terrain, and overall texture of the Moon can be observed, along with various names for the areas. It is interesting to see something familiar to us such as a map with latitude and longitude for a location that we will probably never go to that is thousands of miles away. The fact that there are names for locations such as "Sea of Serenity" is also interesting, considering that there is no water/sea there. This picture of the Moon is far more descriptive than the moon we see in the night sky with our naked eye.

The third map is a map of Disneyland (borrowed from ebaumsworld, sharing various maps of theme parks url: http://media.ebaumsworld.com/picture/xxyzz/disneylandMapLarge.jpg). Divided into various parts such as Fantasy Land and Frontier Land, this is the map to a fun, memorable time at Disneyland. Every attraction in the park can be found located on this map from restaurants to roller coasters to souvenir shops. What I found interesting about this map is its ability to capture and excite the reader about the many attractions of the theme park, while also providing large amounts of information. The map is useful to everyone. Kids can use the map to locate which ride they want to go to next, while parents can use it to find the best routes (such as the monorail), bathrooms, lockers, and ATM's.