Maps as visual documents Maps Visual perception Visual perception of location is a basic survival tool among many forms of animal life and it predates human language. Sight is nearly indispensable for many predators, and prey. In many settings, simply going home involves use of sight with other senses. And while spoken language can enhance description of location, visual representation of location, as contrasted with visual perception, facilitates planning, memory and communication. But there are useful one-dimensional representations.
Most maps are two-dimensional, i.e. identifying location requires two components.
Since the sixteenth century, with growing acceptance of the shape of Earth as essentially spherical, there have been many attempts at constructing representations in a plane of Earth's nearly spherical surface. Such projections of Earth to a plane represent many collections of advantages and compromises. Accurate representation of shape, magnitude and continuity of the entire planet on a flat surface is impossible. Report-generating Geographical maps are necessarily incomplete. They are not large enough to represent all visible detail, political subdivisions, etc.