Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively; the fundamental uses of traditional cartography are to: Set the map's agenda and select traits of the object to be mapped. This is the concern of map editing. Traits may be physical, such as roads or land masses, or may be abstract, such as toponyms or political boundaries. Represent the terrain of the mapped object on flat media; this is the concern of map projections. Eliminate characteristics of the mapped object that are not relevant to the map's purpose; this is the concern of generalization. Reduce the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped; this is the concern of generalization. Orchestrate the elements of the map to best convey its message to its audience; this is the concern of map design. Modern cartography constitutes many theoretical and practical foundations of geographic information systems.

What is the earliest known map is a matter of some debate, both because the term "map" is not well-defined and because some artifacts that might be maps might be something else. A wall painting that might depict the ancient Anatolian city of Çatalhöyük has been dated to the late 7th millennium BCE. Among the prehistoric alpine rock carvings of Mount Bego and Valcamonica, dated to the 4th millennium BCE, geometric patterns consisting of dotted rectangles and lines are interpreted in archaeological literature as a depiction of cultivated plots. Other known maps of the ancient world include the Minoan "House of the Admiral" wall painting from c. 1600 BCE, showing a seaside community in an oblique perspective, an engraved map of the holy Babylonian city of Nippur, from the Kassite period. The oldest surviving world maps are from 9th century BCE Babylonia. One shows Babylon on the Euphrates, surrounded by Assyria and several cities, all, in turn, surrounded by a "bitter river". Another depicts Babylon as being north of the center of the world.

The ancient Greeks and Romans created maps from the time of Anaximander in the 6th century BCE. In the 2nd century CE, Ptolemy wrote his treatise on Geographia; this contained Ptolemy's world map – the world known to Western society. As early as the 8th century, Arab scholars were translating the works of the Greek geographers into Arabic. In ancient China, geographical literature dates to the 5th century BCE; the oldest extant Chinese maps come from the State of Qin, dated back to the 4th century BCE, during the Warring States period. In the book of the Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao, published in 1092 by the Chinese scientist Su Song, a star map on the equidistant cylindrical projection. Although this method of charting seems to have existed in China before this publication and scientist, the greatest significance of the star maps by Su Song is that they represent the oldest existent star maps in printed form. Early forms of cartography of India included depictions of the pole star and surrounding constellations.

These charts may have been used for navigation. Mappae mundi are the medieval European maps of the world. About 1,100 of these are known to have survived: of these, some 900 are found illustrating manuscripts and the remainder exist as stand-alone documents; the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi produced his medieval atlas Tabula Rogeriana in 1154. By combining the knowledge of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Far East with the information he inherited from the classical geographers, he was able to write detailed descriptions of a multitude of countries. Along with the substantial text he had written, he created a world map influenced by the Ptolemaic conception of the world, but with significant influence from multiple Arab geographers, it remained the most accurate world map for the next three centuries. The map was divided with detailed descriptions of each zone; as part of this work, a smaller, circular map was made depicting the south on top and Arabia in the center. Al-Idrisi made an estimate of the circumference of the world, accurate to within 10%.

In the Age of Exploration, from the 15th century to the 17th century, European cartographers both copied earlier maps and drew their own, based on explorers' observations and new surveying techniques. The invention of the magnetic compass and sextant enabled increasing accuracy. In 1492, Martin Behaim, a German cartographer, made the oldest extant globe of the Earth. In 1507, Martin Waldseemüller produced a globular world map and a large 12-panel world wall map bearing the first use of the name "America". Portuguese cartographer Diego Ribero was the author of the first known planisphere with a graduated Equator. Italian cartographer Battista Agnese produced at least 71 manuscript atlases of sea charts. Johannes Werner promoted the Werner projection; this was an equal-area, heart-shaped world map projection, used in the 16th and 17th centuries. Over time, other iterations of this map type arose; the Werner projection places its standard parallel at the North Pole. In 1569, mapmaker Gerardus Mercator fir

Dennis Webster DeConcini is an American lawyer, philanthropist and former Democratic U. S. Senator from Arizona; the son of former Arizona Supreme Court Judge Evo Anton DeConcini, he represented Arizona in the United States Senate from 1977 until 1995. After his re-election in 1988, no Arizona Democrats were elected to the United States Senate for 30 years until Kyrsten Sinema in 2018. DeConcini was born in Tucson, the son of Ora and Evo Anton DeConcini, his father was Judge on the Arizona State Superior Court for 10 years served as the Arizona Attorney General for one two-year term from 1948-49 before being appointed to the Arizona State Supreme Court where he served as a Judge for four years from 1949–53. DeConcini received his bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona in 1959, his LLB from the University of Arizona in 1963, he worked as a lawyer for the Arizona Governor's staff from 1965-67. Dennis DeConcini rejoined the law firm of DeConcini McDonald Yetwin and Lacy, which he and his father had co-founded in 1968, after leaving the Senate in 1995.

He is a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. DeConcini served one elected term as Pima County, Arizona Attorney, the chief prosecutor and civil attorney for the county and school districts within the county, he was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1976 as a Democrat, defeated Republican Representative Sam Steiger for the open seat left by retiring Republican Senator Paul Fannin. DeConcini served three terms in the Senate. DeConcini sponsored an amendment to the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 which allows the United States "to take such steps as each deems necessary, in accordance with its constitutional processes, including the use of military force in the Republic of Panama, to reopen the Canal or restore the operations of the Canal, as the case may be." DeConcini was noted as a member of the Keating Five in a banking and political contribution ethics investigation during the 1980s which grew out of the U. S. Savings and Loan Crisis; the Senate investigation involved Charles Keating and Lincoln Savings/Continental Homes, the sixth largest employer in the state of Arizona at the time.

The Senate Ethics Committee looked into the actions of five United States Senators in relation to their actions connected with Charles Keating and concluded that Senators DeConcini, McCain and Riegle "broke no laws or Senate ethics rules, but were aggressive in their actions on behalf of Charles Keating." DeConcini did not run for a fourth term. In the 101st Congress, DeConcini served on the Senate Appropriations Committee, chairing the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government, he served on the Subcommittees on Defense and Water Development and Foreign Operations, on the Senate Judiciary Committee, chairing the Subcommittee on Patents and Trademarks. He served on the Subcommittees on Antitrust and Business Rights, the Constitution and the Courts. In 1993 and 1994, DeConcini chaired the Select Intelligence Committee. In February 1995 DeConcini was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, where he served until May 1999.

In 2006, he and former Del E. Webb Construction Company President Anne Mariucci were selected by Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano to sit on the Arizona Board of Regents. DeConcini's congressional papers are held at the University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections. DeConcini served on the board of directors of the Corrections Corporation of America from 2008 to 2014. Starting in 2010, some individuals protested his membership on the board, saying his involvement is "not suitable for a public figure like DeConcini." Although he claims he has not lobbied for harsher immigration laws and sentencing practices, he admits meetings with the Arizona Department of Corrections Director Chuck Ryan and "publicly speaking in favor of" for-profit prisons. It was alleged that, in 1979, DeConcini had insider knowledge about the proposed route of the Central Arizona Project and that he used this knowledge to purchase land that he resold six years to the federal government for a gain of $1,000,000.

DeConcini is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, a global nonprofit organization that combats child sexual exploitation, child pornography, child abduction. Senator Dennis DeConcini: From the Center of the Aisle by Dennis DeConcini & Jack L. August Jr.. "Dennis DeConcini". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Appearances on C-SPAN Speaking about President Carter and Senate on KJZZ Radio Dennis DeConcini on IMDb Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms Deconcini Mcdonald Law Firm Deconcini on Panama Canal Book Award DeCONCINI & Warner DeConcini Backs Senator Obama

Gylen Castle is a ruined castle, or tower house, at the south end of the island of Kerrera in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, on a promontory overlooking the Firth of Lorne. It was made a scheduled monument in 1931. Built in 1582 by the Clan MacDougall. Gylen was only occupied for a short time; the castle was besieged burned by the Covenanters under General Leslie in 1647 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In May 2006 extensive conservation of the castle was completed with a £300,000 grant by Historic Scotland and £200,000 raised by worldwide members of Clan MacDougall. Media related to Gylen Castle at Wikimedia Commons Map sources for Gylen Castle