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7+ Types of Special Purpose Maps – The Definitive Guide

  • 6 min read
Types of Special Purpose Maps

Maps help people understand location and time relationships in complex stories, such as those about climate change or migrations. They also help visualize abstract concepts by representing them spatially. Maps can be used to illustrate relationships between locations or trends, making them ideal for information graphics like infographics. In this article, We will learn more about the types of Special Purpose Maps and How they will help us to visualize the whole world in a new way.

What Is A Special Purpose Map?

A Special Purpose Map is a map that has been created for a specific purpose. It can serve any type of function, such as showing the locations of a company’s retail outlets or highlighting the areas with the most crime. The creators of this type of map want to make sure that it best suits their needs.

There are many different types of Special Purpose Maps, which can be used for anything from military purposes to disaster management and emergency response.

These maps are often custom-made by the person using them to ensure that they have all the information and details they need at their fingertips when they need it most in an emergency situation.

What Does A Special Purpose Map Show?

A Special Purpose Map is a map designed for a specific dataset to visualize it in an effective way. This map type is also referred to as infographics. These maps are not used for navigation but just for data visualization purposes.

The data is often displayed in different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures on the map background depending on what information needs to be conveyed.

The data could be shown as points, lines, or areas according to their denseness in the space and shapes that convey density are used accordingly.

What Is The Difference Between A General And Special Purpose Map?

Maps come in two flavours: general and special purpose map.

General Purpose Map

A general-purpose map is one that has the basic elements found on all maps. It contains a title, a legend, a scale bar, and usually a north arrow.

General maps are not limited to any specific area and may contain any number of different features such as physical or man-made features (rivers, lakes, landmarks) and sociological or economic information (population density).

One of the most popular examples of general-purpose maps is Google Maps, which help people find the best routes to get from one place to another.

Special Purpose Map

Specialized maps or Special Purpose Map are focused on specific types of features or areas. 

They cannot do anything beyond their intended focus and so don’t include any additional geographic information that an expert would leave out if they were consulting their own specialization map for the same area.

A special-purpose map would be appropriate when you need to show only one type of data over a large area.

An example of a special-purpose map would be a topographic map, which is generally used in the outdoors to show terrain.

What Kinds of Things Are Found On A Special Purpose Map

A special-purpose map is a type of graphics that describes the physical or social geography of an area. They are used to display information about a particular region, and sometimes they are created as an aid for navigation.

There are many different types of maps, each one showing very specific aspects of the region in question.

For example, some maps show natural features like mountains and rivers, while others show population density or land use patterns.

It depends on you while creating such kind of map, what should you include in your map. A Special Purpose map serves a special purpose only.

Types of Special Purpose Maps

Some maps are created with a specific purpose in mind. They are not meant to be read as a whole but only for portions of the information contained within them.

There are many different types of maps, each with its own specificity and use. The Different Types of Special Purpose Maps are:

#1. Vegetation Maps

Vegetation maps are a type of map that show the distribution of various types of vegetation across an area. They can be created using any land-covering data (e.g. satellite imagery, aerial photography, etc.)

#2. Elevation Profile Maps

DEM stands for Digital Elevation Model. Digital Elevation Model Maps are very useful data maps because they present information about natural height and slope.

#3.  Precipitation Maps

Precipitation maps show the amount of precipitation that falls over a given period. They are often seen as a visual representation of how wet or dry is a particular location.

#4. Relief Maps

Relief Maps presents topographical features of an area by showing elevations in different hues or colors. It also shows changes in elevation, usually through contour lines forming distinctive patterns at certain heights.

#5. Economic Activity Maps

Economic activity maps can be used to generate new revenue streams by highlighting areas where there is high spending potential. They can also be used to identify patterns in urban development and the potential for economic growth.

#6. Weather Maps / Climate Maps

Weather / Climate maps are graphical representations of weather patterns in a geographical area.

Weather maps can help us to understand the atmosphere and how it affects the Earth’s surface. 

#7. Population Density Maps

Population density maps are a visual representation of the population of a geographic area. It can be used to show how the population is distributed and where there are more people concentrated.

These can also include Population concentration & Population forecasts map.

Special Purpose Map Examples

Maps have been helpful in understanding customer journeys for many years. It is also an excellent way to document how your customers interact with your product or service.

Since maps show both the macro and microelements of the customer journey, they provide a lot of value to anyone in business.

Maps are useful for many different fields, such as geography, business, engineering and more. They are used for research and can also be made interactive so people can explore the map themselves.

Examples of Special Purpose Maps can include National Park, a bike trail map or even a National Treasure Map (as we mostly see in Movies).

Conclusion: Types of Special Purpose Maps

In conclusion, this article has explained what is a Special Purpose map is and Types of Special Purpose Mapshow it can be an extremely useful tool in your design process.

A Special Purpose map is a visual storyboard that uses drawings, images, and words to help you brainstorm ideas or visualize design concepts. It helps you think creatively about how to organize information in a way that makes sense for people who will be using the final product.

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