Excursion into the history of relief imagery on geographic maps

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to acquaint geographers with the history of transforming the ways depicting the relief on geographical maps in different countries of the world in order to optimize the choice of methods and techniques for working with old maps. Basic material. An unequivocal, balanced and objective representation of the terrain is one of the main tasks of cartography. However, the representation of a three-dimensional element, which is a relief on a horizontal plane, is a problem that for centuries caused scientific controversy among geographers, cartographers, mathematicians and required new and new attempts to improve the image of this element on the maps. The article examines the retrospective of relief visualization development over the past thousand years. The authors highlight advantages and disadvantages of each of the applied methods of depicting the relief on geographical maps over the centuries. First of all, such as conditional-prospective and profile-silhouette ones. The article gives examples of these methods application in cartography. The study considers a place and role of Kharkiv scientists in the process of forming the doctrine of digital relief models. Conclusions. Having analyzed the history and modernity in the field of relief visualization, it is possible to extrapolate its prospects for the future. Thus, the prospects may include improved resolution and detailing of input and output information, as well as the further development of techniques and methods for dynamic visualization of the terrain, which changes under the influence of adverse anthropogenic and natural (exo- and endogenous) processes and phenomena in real time