Francisco Maza Vázquez

The Evolution of Cartography and Georeference

Cartography—defined as the science that studies the set of scientific, artistic and technical operations involved in map preparation and analysis—aims to collect and analyse spatial data used to determine the geographic features that define a particular area. Ever since its appearance as a technical discipline, cartography has undergone a significant evolution to be analysed in the light of technological advances and spatial analysis techniques in general. Likewise, and within the processes of cartographic evolution, the importance of georeference to define the location of a space object in a coordinate system and certain geodetic datum should be highlighted. The following statement analyses the technological advances allowing geographic representation—as well as information management contained in databases and their connection to the spatial location of the phenomena—using a Geographic Information System (GIS), whose final result means to provide with answers to new global mapping challenges.