Connections and Content

Behind every great map is a network and behind every great network is a map.

In Connections and Content: Reflections on Networks and the History of Cartography, cartographic cogitator Mark Monmonier shares his insights about the relationships between networks and maps through a collection of essays. Using historical maps, he explores:

• Triangulation networks used to establish the baselines of a map's scale,
• Astronomical observations, ellipsoids, geodetic arcs, telegraph networks, and GPS constellations that establish latitude and longitude at control stations,
• Cartographic symbols that portray network features on a map,
• Survey networks used to situate and construct canals, railways, roads, and power lines,
• Postal and electronic networks that created and disseminated weather maps, and
• Topological networks that underlie modern census enumeration and satellite navigation systems.

Connecting the past to the present via maps and reflection, Monmonier continues his contribution to cartographic scholarship by demonstrating the network as a unifying concept for understanding and using maps.