Atlas of author's originals of thematic student maps: essence and meaning

Abstract

Based on the processing and systematization of the author's original thematic maps of students majoring in «Geodesy and Land Management» of the National University of Water Management and Nature Management (Rivne), which were compiled in classes on the discipline «Cartography» during the last 25 years, prepared for publication in electronic and paper forms, a corresponding collection in the form of an atlas. The atlas contains sections: «Administrative and territorial structure», «Natural conditions and natural resources», «Population and human development», «Economy», «Ecological state of the natural environment». A total of 100 thematic maps are presented, which differ in terms of compilation time, dates of source data, technologies used, territorial coverage, scale, detail of thematic content, author's cartographic solutions. When creating all the maps, official data, mainly from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, were used. Examples of such maps and notations for them are given in this article. For the convenience of using the atlas, the frames of all maps and their out-of-frame fields in each section have one, only their own, color. According to the same principle of unification, the content of the atlas is displayed, each section is highlighted in its own color. Above the north side of the map frame on the left is the name and surname of the author of the map, and in brackets it is indicated whether it was handwritten or created using a specific software product. Below the southern side of the frame on the left is the date of the original data, according to which the corresponding map was drawn. On the endpapers of the atlas, for unifying and educational purposes, the symbols of the educational institution are placed: a stylized image of the main building of the National University of Water Management and Nature Management, its coat of arms and logo. Such presentation, in our opinion, contributes to consolidation and patriotic education. In order to properly develop the author's originals, it was necessary to study the given topic, analyze the source data and the features of their territorial distribution, familiarize yourself with already known maps of the same or similar topic, decide on the cartographic projection and scale, justify and carry out cartographic generalization, choose the most appropriate methods of representation and notations, create a paper sketch of the future map. Only with such a step-by-step approach and the presence of creative inspiration could one hope for a full-fledged final result when using the selected software product and subsequent meticulous editing of the image. The value of the «Atlas of the author's originals of thematic student cards» is highlighted, which consists primarily in the performance of educational, research and unifying and educational functions. Keywords: atlas, mapping, author's original, thematic map, notations.