Map Lab

The four map types that we have discussed in class are the choropleth map, isopleth map, dot density map, proportional symbol map. Here is a brief example of map of each type.

Choropleth- A choropleth map is a map that depicts different areas by different colors or patterns depending on whatever the map is displaying. These maps make it easy to visualize the geographical tendencies of whatever the measurement is. This is a simple choropleth map showing population by area, with white meaning there is little to no population and purple meaning that area is heavily populated.



Isopleth- Isopleth maps are maps used to display maps using a third dimension. They are most often used to display elevation in the surface and other geographical factors. This map is a little different, showing how much rain falls in the state of New York annually. The lines separate different amounts of rainfall.



Dot Density Map- A dot density map uses dots to represent a certain amount of something on a map. For example, this map from 2000 is a dot density map where each dot represents a number of people living there. Where there are few dots, there is little population there. Where there is a lot of dots, the population is large.



Proportional Symbol Map- Proportional symbol maps simply uses of different sizes to represent whatever it is that the map is portraying. In this proportional symbol map, the size of the circle represents how many Wal-Marts there are per state.