The art and science of mapping were developed to satisfy a basic human curiosity of wanting to explore the world. Maps were produced to capture the essence of geographical features on paper.
Maps serve very useful purposes.
They are depositories of geographical information and they are tools for decision making. Maps, therefore, have always been valuable products for the public. As a result, Canada, like most countries, has well-established programmes for national and regional mapping. Different techniques have been developed over the ages for mapping. The objective of mapping, however, remains unchanged, and that is to record geographical information.