Definition of Coropletic Map

The discipline who studies maps is the mapping. This area of ​​knowledge dates back to ancient times, when ancient civilizations had the need to develop maps for knowledge of the territory and for navigation.

Any map has an obvious visual component. In addition to traditional physical and political maps, choropleths or choropleth maps are those that allow knowing all kinds of data of a territory from different colors or shades. In the world of cartography, this type of map stands out for its quantitative meaning.

These designs allow the understanding of complex statistical data

Everything that is located in a territory and that can be measured can be transformed into a map of this modality.

With different colors objective data are indicated. Thus, it is possible to know the age distribution of the population of a country, the distribution by ethnicity, the electoral results of a nation, the population density, the number of forest fires according to the affected hectares or the number of illiterates per thousand inhabitants.

In any case, some statistical data are captured on a map and for this information to be correctly interpreted it is necessary consult the legend associated with the map (each color corresponds to a specific data and this relationship is reflected in an attached memory known as legend). In this type of map, the enumeration units used are called chorograms.

The data that are explained in the choropletic maps are not presented in an absolute way, but in percentages or averages. These maps are especially useful for understanding the evolution of a phenomenon over time.

By looking at a map of these particularities, it is easier to understand any topic

From an educational point of view, these cartographic representations have an evident didactic value. When studying a topic, it is more useful and practical for a student to distinguish a reality through colors than to do it through numerical analysis. In journalistic information and encyclopedias it is also very common to resort to this cartographic modality.

Each type of map has a specific utility

The physical map It is the representation of the geographic relief of a determined area. The division by countries or regions is done through a political map.

Data related to temperature, the wind or the rain are reflected in climatic maps.

The structure of the earth's surface is projected on a geological map and a topographic map is made to represent the areas of a terrain.