A map is a reduced and simplified image that depicts a certain territory. 

Maps are a part of our everyday lives. We look at weather maps for predictions, examine news maps for information, search for addresses from map services and plan our journeys with route maps. Our mobile devices receive and send location data constantly. Think about what kinds of different maps and location services you have used during the last week. 

One map cannot - and should not - depict everything about the region it covers. If maps would try to do this, they would quickly become impossible to read and interpret. This is why various kinds of maps are needed for different uses. 



Topographic maps depict the central geographical features of a region, such as elevation, vegetation and bodies of water. There are many variations of topographic maps. 

• Road maps focus on presenting highways, streets and roads, and do not pay a lot of attention to the environment surrounding them.
• Land register maps concentrate on presenting the borders and surface areas of land plots.
• The tourist maps of various cities focus on presenting houses, streets, parks and other landmarks as accurately as possible, so that people can navigate a new city easily.
• Political maps that illustrate the borders between nations and regions do not generally focus on presenting topographic data.
• Maps that depict the regional distributions of various phenomena are called theme maps. For example, a theme map can depict the average temperature in different parts of Finland or focus on illustrating the voter turnout of an election. 

Various organizations and institutions concentrate on making maps for various uses. In Finland, the National Land Survey is in charge of gathering information used to create maps. It also produces various map products needed by normal citizens, such as basic maps, topographic maps, land register maps and municipal maps. Various kinds of maps are available on the NLS website. A number of search engines and other search service companies focus on making and updating city and street maps for the use of consumers. 

Maps by the NLS