Scale Symbol Importance Lab

Symbol scale maps are a little more difficult to create than one might expect. The type of symbol you use and how its smallest value is represented on the map are all very important. If the symbols are too big than they could overwhelm other data points. the map below shows the amount of cattle sold in 1997 in Maryland. The most difficult part of the map was trying to figure out what size my base symbol had to be.

Scale vs. Map Layout!

Scale is extremely important in a map. The Scale designates the classes on the map. There are many types of scales that can be used in a map. Each type of scale can completely change the classes and the way the map data is presented. The type of scale you use depends on how you want to present the data. Take a look at two maps that both show the Median Age of the Total Population of the US. One map was done with a Natural Breaks Scale, the other with an Equal Interval Scale. Which one do you think looks better?

Lab 5 Completion

Here is the result of Lab 5 of the tri-state area. Although you cannont tell, this is actually two maps put on top of one another. One map is of the state border line and the other is the county border line. The difficult part was getting the map to be white and the background black. In order to accomplish that, I had to remove the box around the maps.