A medieval depiction of the Ecumene (1482, Johannes Schnitzer, engraver), constructed after the coordinates in Ptolemy's Geography and using his second map projection. The translation into Latin and dissemination of Geography in Europe, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, marked the rebirth of scientific Cartography, after more than a millennium of stagnation

Cartography (from Greek Χάρτης, chartes or charax = sheet of papyrus (paper) and graphein = to write) is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.

The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:^{[citation needed]}

• Set the map's agenda and select traits of the object to be mapped. This is the concern of map editing. Traits may be physical, such as roads or land masses, or may be abstract, such as toponyms or political boundaries.
• Represent the terrain of the mapped object on flat media. This is the concern of map projections.
• Eliminate characteristics of the mapped object that are not relevant to the map's purpose. This is the concern of generalization.
• Reduce the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped. This is also the concern of generalization.
• Orchestrate the elements of the map to best convey its message to its audience. This is the concern of map design.

Modern cartography is closely integrated with geographic information science (GIScience) and constitutes many theoretical and practical foundations of geographic information systems.

History[link]

Copy (1472) of St. Isidore's TO map of the world.

The earliest known map is a matter of some debate, both because the definition of "map" is not sharp and because some artifacts speculated to be maps might actually be something else. A wall painting, which may depict the ancient Anatolian city of Çatalhöyük (previously known as Catal Huyuk or Çatal Hüyük), has been dated to the late 7th millennium BCE.^[1][2] Other known maps of the ancient world include the Minoan "House of the Admiral" wall painting from c. 1600 BCE, showing a seaside community in an oblique perspective and an engraved map of the holy Babylonian city of Nippur, from the Kassite period (14th – 12th centuries BCE).^[3] The oldest surviving world maps are the Babylonian world maps from the 9th century BCE.^[4] One shows Babylon on the Euphrates, surrounded by a circular landmass showing Assyria, Urartu^[5] and several cities, in turn surrounded by a "bitter river" (Oceanus), with seven islands arranged around it.^[6] Another depicts Babylon as being further north from the center of the world.^[4]

The ancient Greeks and Romans created maps, beginning at latest with Anaximander in the 6th century BC.^[7] In the 2nd century AD, Ptolemy produced his treatise on cartography, Geographia.^[8] This contained Ptolemy's world map - the world then known to Western society (Ecumene). As early as the 8th century, Arab scholars were translating the works of the Greek geographers into Arabic.^[9]

In ancient China, geographical literature spans back to the 5th century BC. The oldest extant Chinese maps come from the State of Qin, dated back to the 4th century BC, during the Warring States Period. In the book of the Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao, published in 1092 by the Chinese scientist Su Song, a star map on the equidistant cylindrical projection.^[10][11] Although this method of charting seems to have existed in China even prior to this publication and scientist, the greatest significance of the star maps by Su Song is that they represent the oldest existent star maps in printed form.

Early forms of cartography of India included the locations of the Pole star and other constellations of use.^[12] These charts may have been in use by the beginning of the Common Era for purposes of navigation.^[12]

Mappa mundi is the general term used to describe Medieval European maps of the world. Approximately 1,100 mappae mundi are known to have survived from the Middle Ages. Of these, some 900 are found illustrating manuscripts and the remainder exist as stand-alone documents.^[13]

The Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by Muhammad al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily in 1154

The Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi produced his medieval atlas Tabula Rogeriana in 1154. He incorporated the knowledge of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Far East, gathered by Arab merchants and explorers with the information inherited from the classical geographers to create the most accurate map of the world up until his time. It remained the most accurate world map for the next three centuries.^[14]

Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570

In the Age of Exploration, from the 15th century to the 17th century, European cartographers both copied earlier maps (some of which had been passed down for centuries) and drew their own based on explorers' observations and new surveying techniques. The invention of the magnetic compass, telescope and sextant enabled increasing accuracy. In 1492, Martin Behaim, a German cartographer, made the oldest extant globe of the Earth.^[15]

Johannes Werner refined and promoted the Werner map projection. In 1507, Martin Waldseemüller produced a globular world map and a large 12-panel world wall map (Universalis Cosmographia) bearing the first use of the name "America". Portuguese cartographer Diego Ribero was the author of the first known planisphere with a graduated Equator (1527). Italian cartographer Battista Agnese produced at least 71 manuscript atlases of sea charts.

Due to the sheer physical difficulties inherent in cartography, map-makers frequently lifted material from earlier works without giving credit to the original cartographer. For example, one of the most famous early maps of North America is unofficially known as the "Beaver Map", published in 1715 by Herman Moll. This map is an exact reproduction of a 1698 work by Nicolas de Fer. De Fer in turn had copied images that were first printed in books by Louis Hennepin, published in 1697, and François Du Creux, in 1664. By the 18th century, map-makers started to give credit to the original engraver by printing the phrase "After [the original cartographer]" on the work.^[16]

Technological changes[link]

A pre-Mercator nautical chart of 1571, from Portuguese cartographer Fernão Vaz Dourado (c. 1520–c. 1580). It belongs to the so-called plane chart model, where observed latitudes and magnetic directions are plotted directly into the plane, with a constant scale, as if the Earth were plane (Portuguese National Archives of Torre do Tombo, Lisbon).

Mapping can be done with GPS and laser rangefinder directly in the field (for example by Field-Map technology). Real-time map construction improves productivity and quality of mapping. Image shows mapping of forest structure (position of trees, dead wood and canopy).

In cartography, technology has continually changed in order to meet the demands of new generations of mapmakers and map users. The first maps were manually constructed with brushes and parchment; therefore, varied in quality and were limited in distribution. The advent of magnetic devices, such as the compass and much later, magnetic storage devices, allowed for the creation of far more accurate maps and the ability to store and manipulate them digitally.

Advances in mechanical devices such as the printing press, quadrant and vernier, allowed for the mass production of maps and the ability to make accurate reproductions from more accurate data. Optical technology, such as the telescope, sextant and other devices that use telescopes, allowed for accurate surveying of land and the ability of mapmakers and navigators to find their latitude by measuring angles to the North Star at night or the sun at noon.

Advances in photochemical technology, such as the lithographic and photochemical processes, have allowed for the creation of maps that have fine details, do not distort in shape and resist moisture and wear. This also eliminated the need for engraving, which further shortened the time it takes to make and reproduce maps.

Advances in electronic technology in the 20th century ushered in another revolution in cartography. Ready availability of computers and peripherals such as monitors, plotters, printers, scanners (remote and document) and analytic stereo plotters, along with computer programs for visualization, image processing, spatial analysis, and database management, have democratized and greatly expanded the making of maps. The ability to superimpose spatially located variables onto existing maps created new uses for maps and new industries to explore and exploit these potentials. See also: digital raster graphic.

These days most commercial-quality maps are made using software that falls into one of three main types: CAD, GIS and specialized illustration software. Spatial information can be stored in a database, from which it can be extracted on demand. These tools lead to increasingly dynamic, interactive maps that can be manipulated digitally.

With the field rugged computers, GPS and laser rangefinders, it is possible to perform mapping directly in the terrain. Construction of a map in real time, for example by using Field-Map technology, improves productivity and quality of the result.

Map types[link]

General vs thematic cartography[link]

Small section of an orienteering map.

Topographic map of Easter Island.

Relief map Sierra Nevada

In understanding basic maps, the field of cartography can be divided into two general categories: general cartography and thematic cartography. General cartography involves those maps that are constructed for a general audience and thus contain a variety of features. General maps exhibit many reference and location systems and often are produced in a series. For example, the 1:24,000 scale topographic maps of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) are a standard as compared to the 1:50,000 scale Canadian maps. The government of the UK produces the classic 1:50,000 (replacing the older 1 inch to 1 mile) "Ordnance Survey" maps of the entire UK and with a range of correlated larger- and smaller-scale maps of great detail.

Thematic cartography involves maps of specific geographic themes, oriented toward specific audiences. A couple of examples might be a dot map showing corn production in Indiana or a shaded area map of Ohio counties, divided into numerical choropleth classes. As the volume of geographic data has exploded over the last century, thematic cartography has become increasingly useful and necessary to interpret spatial, cultural and social data.

An orienteering map combines both general and thematic cartography, designed for a very specific user community. The most prominent thematic element is shading, that indicates degrees of difficulty of travel due to vegetation. The vegetation itself is not identified, merely classified by the difficulty ("fight") that it presents.

Topographic vs topological[link]

A topographic map is primarily concerned with the topographic description of a place, including (especially in the 20th and 21st centuries) the use of contour lines showing elevation. Terrain or relief can be shown in a variety of ways (see Cartographic relief depiction).

A topological map is a very general type of map, the kind you might sketch on a napkin. It often disregards scale and detail in the interest of clarity of communicating specific route or relational information. Beck's London Underground map is an iconic example. Though the most widely used map of "The Tube," it preserves little of reality: it varies scale constantly and abruptly, it straightens curved tracks, and it contorts directions. The only topography on it is the River Thames, letting the reader know whether a station is north or south of the river. That and the topology of station order and interchanges between train lines are all that is left of the geographic space.^[17] Yet those are all a typical passenger wishes to know, so the map fulfils its purpose.^[18]

Map design[link]

Illustrated map.

Map purpose and informations' selection[link]

Arthur H. Robinson, an American cartographer influential in thematic cartography, stated that a map not properly designed "will be a cartographic failure." He also claimed, when considering all aspects of cartography, that "map design is perhaps the most complex."^[19] Robinson codified the mapmaker's understanding that a map must be designed foremost with consideration to the audience and its needs.

From the very beginning of mapmaking, maps "have been made for some particular purpose or set of purposes".^[20] The intent of the map should be illustrated in a manner in which the percipient acknowledges its purpose in a timely fashion. The term percipient refers to the person receiving information and was coined by Robinson.^[21] The principle of figure-ground refers to this notion of engaging the user by presenting a clear presentation, leaving no confusion concerning the purpose of the map. This will enhance the user's experience and keep his attention. If the user is unable to identify what is being demonstrated in a reasonable fashion, the map may be regarded as useless.

Making a meaningful map is the ultimate goal. Alan MacEachren explains that a well designed map "is convincing because it implies authenticity" (1994, pp. 9). An interesting map will no doubt engage a reader. Information richness or a map that is multivariate shows relationships within the map. Showing several variables allows comparison, which adds to the meaningfulness of the map. This also generates hypothesis and stimulates ideas and perhaps further research. In order to convey the message of the map, the creator must design it in a manner which will aid the reader in the overall understanding of its purpose. The title of a map may provide the "needed link" necessary for communicating that message, but the overall design of the map fosters the manner in which the reader interprets it (Monmonier, 1993, pp. 93).

In the 21st century it is possible to find a map of virtually anything from the inner workings of the human body to the virtual worlds of cyberspace. Therefore there are now a huge variety of different styles and types of map - for example, one area which has evolved a specific and recognisable variation are those used by public transport organisations to guide passengers, namely urban rail and metro maps, many of which are loosely based on 45 degree angles as originally perfected by Harry Beck and George Dow.

Naming conventions[link]

Most maps use text to label places and for such things as the map title, legend and other information. Although maps are often made in one specific language, place names often differ between languages. So a map made in English may use the name Germany for that country, while a German map would use Deutschland and a French map Allemagne. A word that describes a place using a non-native terminology or language is referred to as an exonym.

In some cases the correct name is not clear. For example, the nation of Burma officially changed its name to Myanmar, but many nations do not recognize the ruling junta and continue to use Burma. Sometimes an official name change is resisted in other languages and the older name may remain in common use. Examples include the use of Saigon for Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok for Krung Thep and Ivory Coast for Côte d'Ivoire.

Difficulties arise when transliteration or transcription between writing systems is required. Some well-known places have well-established names in other languages and writing systems, such as Russia or Rußland for Росси́я, but in other cases a system of transliteration or transcription is required. Even in the former case, the exclusive use of an exonym may be unhelpful for the map user. It will not be much use for an English user of a map of Italy to show Livorno only as "Leghorn" when road signs and railway timetables show it as "Livorno". In transliteration, the characters in one script are represented by characters in another. For example, the Cyrillic letter Р is usually written as R in the Latin script, although in many cases it is not as simple as a one-for-one equivalence. Systems exist for transliteration of Arabic, but the results may vary. For example, the Yemeni city of Mocha is written variously in English as Mocha, Al Mukha, al-Mukhā, Mocca and Moka. Transliteration systems are based on relating written symbols to one another, while transcription is the attempt to spell in one language the phonetic sounds of another. Chinese writing is now usually converted to the Latin alphabet through the Pinyin phonetic transcription systems. Other systems were used in the past, such as Wade-Giles, resulting in the city being spelled Beijing on newer English maps and Peking on older ones.

Further difficulties arise when countries, especially former colonies, do not have a strong national geographic naming standard. In such cases, cartographers may have to choose between various phonetic spellings of local names versus older imposed, sometimes resented, colonial names. Some countries have multiple official languages, resulting in multiple official placenames. For example, the capital of Belgium is both Brussel and Bruxelles. In Canada, English and French are official languages and places have names in both languages. British Columbia is also officially named la Colombie-Britannique. English maps rarely show the French names outside of Quebec, which itself is spelled Québec in French.^[22]

The study of placenames is called toponymy, while that of the origin and historical usage of placenames as words is etymology.

In order to improve legibility or to aid the illiterate, some maps have been produced using pictograms to represent places. The iconic example of this practice is Lance Wyman's early plans for the Mexico City Metro, on which stations were shown simply as stylized logos. Wyman also prototyped such a map for the Washington Metro, though ultimately the idea was rejected. Other cities experimenting with such maps are Fukuoka, Guadalajara and Monterrey.^[23]

Map symbology[link]

A map of the southwest coast of Ireland created in the early 18th century. Notice the north arrow at the bottom of the map. Also, colors are used in the map to distinguish different geographical areas.

The quality of a map's design affects its reader's ability to extract information and to learn from the map. Cartographic symbology has been developed in an effort to portray the world accurately and effectively convey information to the map reader. A legend explains the pictorial language of the map, known as its symbology. The title indicates the region the map portrays; the map image portrays the region and so on. Although every map element serves some purpose, convention only dictates inclusion of some elements, while others are considered optional. A menu of map elements includes the neatline (border), compass rose or north arrow, overview map, bar scale, projection and information about the map sources, accuracy and publication.

When examining a landscape, scale can be intuited from trees, houses and cars. Not so with a map. Even such a simple thing as a north arrow is crucial. It may seem obvious that the top of a map should point north, but this might not be the case.

Map coloring is also very important. How the cartographer displays the data in different hues can greatly affect the understanding or feel of the map. Different intensities of hue portray different objectives the cartographer is attempting to get across to the audience. Today, personal computers can display up to 16 million distinct colors at a time. This fact allows for a multitude of color options for even for the most demanding maps. Moreover, computers can easily hatch patterns in colors to give even more options. This is very beneficial, when symbolizing data in categories such as quintile and equal interval classifications.

Quantitative symbols give a visual measure of the relative size/importance/number that a symbol represents and to symbolize this data on a map, there are two major classes of symbols used for portraying quantitative properties. Proportional symbols change their visual weight according to a quantitative property. These are appropriate for extensive statistics. Choropleth maps portray data collection areas, such as counties or census tracts, with color. Using color this way, the darkness and intensity (or value) of the color is evaluated by the eye as a measure of intensity or concentration.

Map generalization[link]

A good map has to compromise between portraying the items of interest (or themes) in the right place on the map, and the need to show that item using text or a symbol, which take up space on the map and might displace some other item of information. The cartographer is thus constantly making judgements about what to include, what to leave out and what to show in a slightly incorrect place. This issue assumes more importance as the scale of the map gets smaller (i.e. the map shows a larger area) because the information shown on the map takes up more space on the ground. A good example from the late 1980s was the Ordnance Survey's first digital maps, where the absolute positions of major roads were sometimes a scale distance of hundreds of metres away from ground truth, when shown on digital maps at scales of 1:250,000 and 1:625,000, because of the overriding need to annotate the features.

Map projections[link]

The Earth being spherical, any flat representation generates distortions such that shapes and areas cannot both be conserved simultaneously, and distances can never all be preserved.^[24] The mapmaker must choose a suitable map projection according to the space to be mapped and the purpose of the map.

Cartographic errors[link]

Some maps contain deliberate errors or distortions, either as propaganda or as a "watermark" to help the copyright owner identify infringement if the error appears in competitors' maps. The latter often come in the form of nonexistent, misnamed, or misspelled "trap streets".^[25] Other names and forms for this are paper townsites, fictitious entries, and copyright easter eggs.^[26]

Another motive for deliberate errors is cartographic "vandalism": a mapmaker wishing to leave his or her mark on the work. Mount Richard, for example, was a fictitious peak on the Rocky Mountains' continental divide that appeared on a Boulder County, Colorado map in the early 1970s. It is believed to be the work of draftsman Richard Ciacci. The fiction was not discovered until two years later.

See also[link]

Atlas portal

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Ovenden, Mark (2007). Transit Maps of the World. New York, New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-311265-5. 

Further reading[link]

Map making

• MacEachren, A.M. (1994). Some Truth with Maps: A Primer on Symbolization & Design. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University. ISBN 0-89291-214-6. 
• Bender, B. (1999). "Subverting the Western gaze: mapping alternative worlds". In P.J. Ucko & R. Layton. The Archaeology and Anthropology of Landscape: Shaping your landscape. One World Archaeology. 30. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-11767-8. 
• Monmonier, Mark (1993). Mapping It Out. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-53417-0. 
• ESRI. 2004. ESRI Cartography: Capabilities and Trends. Redlands, CA. White Paper
• Jeer, S. (December 13, 1997). "Traditional color coding for land uses" (PDF). American Planning Association. pp. 4–5. http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/gis/manual/style/ColorConventions.pdf. 
• Kent, A. J. (2005). "Aesthetics: a lost cause in cartographic theory?". The Cartographic Journal 42 (2): 182–188. DOI:10.1179/000870405X61487. 
• Kraak, Menno-Jan and Ormeling, Ferjan (2002). Cartography: Visualization of Spatial Data. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-088890-7. 
• Imus, D. and Dunlavey, P. 2002. Back to the Drawing Board: Cartography vs the Digital Workflow. MT. Hood, Oregon.
• Olson, Judy M. (1975). "Experience and the improvement of cartographic communication". Cartographic Journal 12 (2): 94–108. DOI:10.1179/000870475786961615. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/caj/1975/00000012/00000002/art00004. 
• Peterson, Michael P. (1995). Interactive and Animated Cartography. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-079104-7. 
• Slocum, T. (2003). Thematic Cartography and Geographic Visualization. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-035123-7. 

History

• Ralph E Ehrenberg (2005, Oct. 11). Mapping the World: An Illustrated History of Cartography. National Geographic. pp. 256. ISBN 0-7922-6525-4. http://www.amazon.com/Mapping-World-Illustrated-History-Cartography/dp/0792265254/ref=pd_sim_b_4. 
• J. B. Harley and David Woodward (eds) (1987). The History of Cartography Volume 1: Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-31633-5. 
• J. B. Harley and David Woodward (eds) (1992). The History of Cartography Volume 2, Book 1: Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-31635-1. 
• J. B. Harley and David Woodward (eds) (1994). The History of Cartography Volume 2, Book 2: Cartography in the Traditional East and Southeast Asian Societies. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-31637-8. 
• J. B. Harley and David Woodward (eds) (1998). The History of Cartography Volume 2, Book 3: Cartography in the Traditional African, American, Arctic, Australian, and Pacific Societies [Full text of the Introduction by David Woodward and G. Malcolm Lewis]. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-90728-7. 
• J. B. Harley and David Woodward (eds) (2005). The History of Cartography Volume 3 (in press, 2005): Cartography in the European Renaissance. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-90733-3. 
• J. B. Harley and David Woodward (eds) (1987). The History of Cartography Volume 4 (edited by D. Graham Burnett, Matthew Edney, and Mary G. Sponberg Pedley with Founding Editor David Woodward): Cartography in the European Enlightenment. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-31633-5. 
• Belyea, Barbara (1992). "Amerindian maps: the explorer as translator". Journal of Historical Geography 18 (3): 267–277. DOI:10.1016/0305-7488(92)90203-L. 

Meanings

• Monmonier, Mark (1991). How to Lie with Maps. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-53421-9. 
• Wood, Denis (1992). The Power of Maps. New York/London: The Guilford Press. ISBN 978-0-89862-493-9. 

Others (still to categorize)

• Pickles, John (2003). A History of Spaces: Cartographic Reason, Mapping, and the Geo-Coded World. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-14497-3. 
• Wilford, John Noble (2000). The Mapmakers. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-375-70850-2. 
• "Map Imitations" in Detecting the Truth: Fakes, Forgeries and Trickery, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada

External links[link]

Find more about Cartography on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• International Cartographic Association (ICA), the world body for mapping and GIScience professionals
• Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS), USA The CaGIS(ociety)promotes research, education, and practice to improve the understanding, creation, analysis, and use of maps and geographic information. The society serves as a forum for the exchange of original concepts, techniques, approaches, and experiences by those who design, implement, and use cartography, geographical information systems, and related geospatial technologies.
• North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS)
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kartographie (German Cartographic Society)
• British Cartographic Society
• The Canadian Cartographic association (CCA)
• Swiss Society of Cartography
• SSSI Spatial Information & Cartography Commission, Australia
• Comité Français de Cartographie (French Cartographic Society)
• The New Zealand Cartographic Society
• Associazione Italiana di Cartografia (Italian Association of Cartography)
• Japan Cartographers Association
• Society of Cartographers supports the practising cartographer and encourages and maintains a high standard of cartographic illustration
• National Cartographic Center of Iran (NCC), Tehran
• Mapping History - a learning resource from the British Library
• Geography and Maps, an Illustrated Guide, by the staff of the US Library of Congress.
• The history of cartography at the School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
• Antique Maps by Carl Moreland and David Bannister - complete text of the book, with information both on mapmaking and on mapmakers, including short biographies of many cartographers
• Concise Bibliography of the History of Cartography, Newberry Library
• UPCT : project aimed at creating a world map (a French map to begin) with voluntaries using GPS
• OpenStreetMap : project aimed squarely at creating and providing free geographic data of the world.
• GITTA - A webbased open content eLearning course with basic and intermediate cartography lessons based on the eLML XML framework.
• cartographers on the net SVG, scalable vector graphics: tutorials, examples, widgets and libraries

See Maps for more links to modern and historical maps; however, most of the largest sites are listed at the sites linked below.

• Odden's fascinating world of maps and mapping has a huge database of links on maps and cartography (under "Literature").
• Online map catalogs in North America and Europe lists some good places to search for online maps.
• A listing of over 5000 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar
• UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library, web-site from the UN Environment Programme with hundreds of examples of thematic maps
• Kartografi-Indonesia A website displaying cartograms of various Indonesian-related data made by the Dept. Computational Sociology of Bandung Fe Institute.
• Mapping Our World Oxfam's interactive site to help pupils develop geography skills through activities all about maps, globes and how we view the world

Richard Jefferson

Jefferson during his second year tenure with the Spurs
No. 44 – Golden State Warriors
Small forward
Personal information
Born	(1980-06-21) June 21, 1980 (age 32) Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
High school	Moon Valley (Phoenix, AZ)
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
College	Arizona
NBA Draft	2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Pro career	2001–present
Career history
2001–2008	New Jersey Nets
2008–2009	Milwaukee Bucks
2009–2012	San Antonio Spurs
2012–present	Golden State Warriors
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2002)

Medal record
Men's Basketball
Competitor for  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze	2004 Athens	Team competition
FIBA Americas Championship
Gold	2003 San Juan	United States

Richard Allen Jefferson (born June 21, 1980 in Los Angeles, California) is a 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. He was also a member of the USA men's national basketball team at the 2003 Tournament of the Americas and the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics.

Early years[link]

Jefferson was born in Los Angeles and was raised in Phoenix, Arizona. His parents were both Christian missionaries, and he moved around frequently growing up.

Career[link]

High school[link]

Jefferson attended Moon Valley High School in west Phoenix, Arizona, where he was an integral part of the varsity basketball team that won the 4A State Championship in 1998.

College[link]

University of Arizona[link]

He played college basketball at the University of Arizona, under Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson from 1998-2001. During his 84-game career (77 starts), Jefferson averaged 11.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He capped his career by leading Arizona to the 2001 national championship game. Along the way, Jefferson was an all-Midwest Regional and all-Final Four selection.^[1] He was inducted into the Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor during the 2012 Pacific-12 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, March 10, 2012.^[2]

NBA career[link]

New Jersey Nets (2001-2008)[link]

Jefferson played seven seasons with the New Jersey Nets and was a key element of their back-to-back Eastern Conference Championship teams of 2002 and 2003. In addition, Jefferson was a member of the USA Men's Olympic basketball team in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Jefferson competed in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 2003.

Jefferson began his career as a substitute small forward for Keith Van Horn and showed great defensive skills and all-around ability. Because of his potential, and Van Horn's conflict with power forward Kenyon Martin, the Nets traded Van Horn to the Philadelphia 76ers and trusted Jefferson as a starter. Jefferson blossomed in the role, becoming a good mid- and long-range shooter in addition to his slashing ability. On August 13, 2004, Jefferson signed a six-year, $78,000,000 contract extension with the Nets.

Jefferson missed the majority of the 2004–05 regular season after rupturing a ligament in his left wrist, an injury he claimed occurred when Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups purposely undercut him on a layup attempt during a game on December 27, 2004. Jefferson ended up missing 49 games, but returned to action for the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat. Prior to suffering the injury, he had missed only five games in his three NBA seasons. Jefferson had been enjoying his best professional season, averaging 22.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. Through the 2005–06 season, Jefferson continued to perform at a high level and established himself as one of the NBA's most versatile players. On January 21, 2007, Jefferson's knee was injured once again and decided to have ankle surgery. After missing around six weeks, he was back in the lineup. His absence proved to be a major setback for the struggling Nets, who surged back into playoff contention once Jefferson returned.

In August 2007, Richard Jefferson pledged $3.5 million toward the University of Arizona's then-planned basketball and volleyball practice facility, which was eventually named in his honor. UA officials believe it is the largest donation ever from a former player.

He started the 2007–08 season in the best form of his NBA career. In the first 7 games, he averaged 26.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists, while also notching up 1.3 steals, 97.1% in free-throws and 49.1% in field-goals. On October 31, in a game against the Chicago Bulls, Jefferson injured his right wrist slightly, thumping his chest following a clutch three-pointer. The Nets went on to win the game in overtime. On December 4 he passed Kerry Kittles to become the Nets' second all-time leading scorer.

Milwaukee Bucks (2008-2009)[link]

On June 26, 2008 Jefferson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.^[3] He was not happy with the trade at first because he planned on being a Net until retirement. However, he later expressed enthusiasm about playing alongside Michael Redd.^[4]

San Antonio Spurs (2009-2012)[link]

On June 23, 2009, Richard Jefferson was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Fabricio Oberto.^[5] On June 30, 2010 Jefferson opted out of his contract with San Antonio and became an unrestricted free agent. On July 21, 2010, Jefferson re-signed with the Spurs.^[6]

Golden State Warriors (2012)[link]

On March 15, 2012, the Golden State Warriors traded the newly acquired Stephen Jackson for Jefferson, along with a conditional first-round pick.^[7]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richard Jefferson

External links[link]

• Richard Jefferson's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• NBA profile
• ESPN profile