This book from the “What is What” series tells about the history of cartography from ancient times to the present day, about how geographical maps have been improved over the centuries, about the great scientists, travelers and cartographers who have made a great contribution to the study of the appearance of the Earth.

The book is intended for school-age children.

In terms of the meaning that a geographical map has for a person, it can only be compared with a book. If a book symbolizes all the knowledge collected over many generations, then a map is a long comprehension of the spatial structure of the world. The book and the map come into our lives - together. Remember: maps in textbooks of natural history, history and, of course, geography. But most often we do not even suspect that a geographical map is much older than a book and even writing itself.

CONTENTS: Ancient travels and the first maps What were the primitive maps like? 4What are the oldest maps that have come down to us? 5When did people dare to travel long distances? 6Did ancient sailors make maps? 8Why did the Greeks become the founders of cartography? 9 Maps of antiquity Did... Homer have a map? 10How did Anaximander imagine the world? 11Where did Pytheas swim? 12How did the Earth stop being flat? 13How did Eratosthenes measure the Earth? 14What new did Hipparchus introduce to cartography? 15Did Ptolemy know about Australia? 16What kind of maps did the Romans create? 18Maps of the Middle Ages and Modern TimesWhy did the Earth become flat again? 20What do cartographers owe to Marco Polo? 23Were there maps in Ancient China? 24What maps did the Arabs make? 25What is a portolan? 26When were Ptolemy's maps published? 28What is Gerardus Mercator famous for? 31Why is a collection of maps called an atlas? 34When did the first globes appear? 36What did Snell and Harrison invent? 38Maps of the Russian StateWhat is the “Book of the Big Drawing”? 40What maps did Semyon Remezov make? 41How did cartography develop in Russia? 42What maps were created in Russia in the 19th century? 44Modern maps 46