Web Exercise for Chapter One

The National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society, the publisher of the popular National Geographic magazine, has created an impressive web tool called the "Map Machine." It is truly one of the best interactive maps on the Web. Viewers can choose many different types of interactive maps. For instance, the "Dynamic Map," which uses geographic information systems (GIS), quickly displays earthquake fault lines, population densities, ecoregions, weather patterns, mineral deposits, etc. anywhere in the world. The "Atlas," another map type, recognizes 191 independent nations and lists a brief overview of each state. A quick click anywhere on the map gives key geographic, demographic, and economic data. As Chapter 1 explains, maps are models of reality, they focus on specific features while ignoring others which leads to distortions. Compare the "Map Machine" maps with those found on page 11. Are the "dynamic" maps more accurate representations of reality? What distortions do they still depict?