Hobbies And Interests
Data
Maps can hold vast amounts of data that otherwise would take up large amounts of text or space. By using visual representations, geographers can use a map as a dense holder of any sort of data of which they may need to keep track. Geographers can put data regarding climates, human population densities, roadways and many other sorts of data on a map in a very efficient and space-effective manner.
Communication
By using visual maps, geographers can effectively communicate information to other people. By using a combination of visual cues and text data, geographers can turn esoteric data such as exact political boundaries into understandable visual information. Ideas such as latitude and longitude rely on visual depictions to make the concepts nonabstract.
Analysis
Visual depiction of a concept, such as climate or the locations of known oil reserves, can help geographers to analyze the way the world works. By seeing the relationships between different parts of a map visually, geographers can make inferences about other important facts. For example, if a geographer saw on a map that a specific area had many oil wells, he could estimate that areas with similar geographical features might also contain oil. Simply examining a list of known oil wells might make it more difficult for a geographer to make those connections.
Comparison
Geographers can use the data on multiple maps to draw comparisons. A geographer can look at maps of data from several years to see any changes that took place, such as average temperatures. Geographers can also use two different maps -- overlaid -- to see if the two have a relationship. For example, a geographer could compare a map of human population density and a map of pollution rates of the same area to determine any kind of correlation between the data .