Raised-relief map
Encyclopedia
A raised-relief map or terrain model is a three-dimensional representation, usually of terrain. When representing terrain, the elevation dimension is usually exaggerated by a factor between five and ten; this facilitates the visual recognition of terrain features.
, John Evelyn
(1620–1706) believed that wax models imitating nature and bas relief maps were something entirely new from France. Some later scholars attributed the first raised-relief map to one Paul Dox, who represented the area of Kufstein
in his raised-relief map of 1510. The 20th century historian G. Sarton
pointed to the writing of Ibn Battuta
(1304–1368 or 1377), the latter who witnessed a raised-relief map while on Gibraltar
in the 14th century. However, the raised-relief map may have existed in China since the 3rd century BC, if the accounts in the Records of the Grand Historian
(by Sima Qian
, 91 BC) about Qin Shi Huang
's (r. 221–210 BC) tomb prove correct (when it is excavated). It is known that Ma Yuan (14 BC–49 AD) created a raised-relief map in 32 AD made out of rice, a type of map described in detail during the Tang Dynasty
(618–907) by Jiang Fang in his Essay on the Art of Constructing Mountains with Rice (c. 845). Xie Zhuang (421–466) of the Liu Song Dynasty
(420–479) created a 0.93 m2 (10 ft2) wooden raised-relief map of the empire (showing mountains and rivers) which could be taken apart and pieced together like a giant jigsaw puzzle
. While on a court assignment of inspection along the Song Empire's
(960–1279) frontier, the polymath
scholar and official Shen Kuo
(1031–1095) created a three-dimensional, raised-relief map depicting miniature roads, rivers, mountains and passes composed of wood, glue-soaked sawdust, beeswax, and wheat paste. His wooden model pleased Emperor Shenzong of Song
(r. 1067–1085), who later ordered that all the prefects administering the frontier regions should prepare similar wooden maps which could be sent to the capital and stored in an archive. In 1130, Huang Shang made a wooden raised-relief map which later caught the attention of the Neo-Confucian
philosopher Zhu Xi
(1130–1200), who tried to acquire it but instead made his own map out of sticky clay and wood. The map, made of eight pieces of wood connected by hinges, could be folded up and carried around by one person.
one can cut out from some sheet material successive layers, with edges following the contour line
s on the map. These may be assembled in a stack to obtain a rough approximation of the terrain. This method, without vertical exaggeration
, is commonly used as the base for architectural models. For models of landforms, the stack will then be smoothed by filling with some material. This may then be used directly or for greater durability a mold may be made from this. This mold may then be used to produce a plaster model.
History
In his 1665 paper for the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal SocietyPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. It was established in 1665, making it the first journal in the world exclusively devoted to science, and it has remained in continuous publication ever since, making it the world's...
, John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
(1620–1706) believed that wax models imitating nature and bas relief maps were something entirely new from France. Some later scholars attributed the first raised-relief map to one Paul Dox, who represented the area of Kufstein
Kufstein
Kufstein is a city in Tyrol, Austria, located along the river Inn, in the lower Inn valley, near the border with Bavaria, Germany, and is the site of a post World War II French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp.Kufstein is the second largest city...
in his raised-relief map of 1510. The 20th century historian G. Sarton
George Sarton
George Sarton was a Belgian chemist and historian who is considered the founder of the discipline of history of science. He left Belgium because of the First World War and settled in the United States where he spent the rest of his life researching and writing about the history of science...
pointed to the writing of Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...
(1304–1368 or 1377), the latter who witnessed a raised-relief map while on Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in the 14th century. However, the raised-relief map may have existed in China since the 3rd century BC, if the accounts in the Records of the Grand Historian
Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
(by Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
, 91 BC) about Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...
's (r. 221–210 BC) tomb prove correct (when it is excavated). It is known that Ma Yuan (14 BC–49 AD) created a raised-relief map in 32 AD made out of rice, a type of map described in detail during the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(618–907) by Jiang Fang in his Essay on the Art of Constructing Mountains with Rice (c. 845). Xie Zhuang (421–466) of the Liu Song Dynasty
Liu Song Dynasty
The Liu Song Dynasty , also known as Song Dynasty , Former Song , or Southern Song , was first of the four Southern Dynasties in China, succeeding the Eastern Jin Dynasty and followed by the Southern Qi Dynasty....
(420–479) created a 0.93 m2 (10 ft2) wooden raised-relief map of the empire (showing mountains and rivers) which could be taken apart and pieced together like a giant jigsaw puzzle
Jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces.Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture...
. While on a court assignment of inspection along the Song Empire's
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(960–1279) frontier, the polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
scholar and official Shen Kuo
Shen Kuo
Shen Kuo or Shen Gua , style name Cunzhong and pseudonym Mengqi Weng , was a polymathic Chinese scientist and statesman of the Song Dynasty...
(1031–1095) created a three-dimensional, raised-relief map depicting miniature roads, rivers, mountains and passes composed of wood, glue-soaked sawdust, beeswax, and wheat paste. His wooden model pleased Emperor Shenzong of Song
Emperor Shenzong of Song
Emperor Shenzong of Song was the sixth emperor of the Chinese Song Dynasty. His personal name was Zhao Xu...
(r. 1067–1085), who later ordered that all the prefects administering the frontier regions should prepare similar wooden maps which could be sent to the capital and stored in an archive. In 1130, Huang Shang made a wooden raised-relief map which later caught the attention of the Neo-Confucian
Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism is an ethical and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, that was primarily developed during the Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang Dynasty....
philosopher Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi
Zhū Xī or Chu Hsi was a Song Dynasty Confucian scholar who became the leading figure of the School of Principle and the most influential rationalist Neo-Confucian in China...
(1130–1200), who tried to acquire it but instead made his own map out of sticky clay and wood. The map, made of eight pieces of wood connected by hinges, could be folded up and carried around by one person.
Construction
Starting with a topographic mapTopographic map
A topographic map is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief, usually using contour lines in modern mapping, but historically using a variety of methods. Traditional definitions require a topographic map to show both natural and man-made features...
one can cut out from some sheet material successive layers, with edges following the contour line
Contour line
A contour line of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value. In cartography, a contour line joins points of equal elevation above a given level, such as mean sea level...
s on the map. These may be assembled in a stack to obtain a rough approximation of the terrain. This method, without vertical exaggeration
Vertical exaggeration
Vertical exaggeration is a scale that is used in raised-relief maps, plans and technical drawings . The exaggeration is used to emphasize vertical features, which might be too small to identify relative to the horizontal scale....
, is commonly used as the base for architectural models. For models of landforms, the stack will then be smoothed by filling with some material. This may then be used directly or for greater durability a mold may be made from this. This mold may then be used to produce a plaster model.
Vacuum formed models
By using automated machinery a topographic model may be made by cutting a form with a numerically controlled mill guided by interpretation of the data used to produce a topographic map, The map may then be printed on a sheet of thermoplastic, which is then heated and drawn over the master. Vacuum is then applied to draw the soft plastic into the shape of the form. Such maps are commonly available in specialty map stores.Non-terrain applications
For appropriate mathematical functions and especially for certain types of statistics, a similar model may be constructed as an aid to understanding a function or as an aid to studying the statistical data.See also
- Digital terrain model
- Hypsometric tintsHypsometric tintsHypsometric tints are related to contour lines. They can be used to depict ranges of elevation as bands of color, usually in a graduated scheme, or as a color ramp applied to contour lines themselves. A typical scheme progresses from dark greens for lower elevations up through yellows/browns, and...
- List of Chinese inventions#R
- Musée des Plans-ReliefsMusée des Plans-ReliefsThe Musée des Plans-Reliefs is a museum of military models located within the Hôtel des Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is open daily except the first Monday of each month; an admission fee is charged....
- Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM)Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM)Participatory 3D modelling is a community-based mapping method which integrates local spatial knowledge with data on elevation of the land and depth of the sea to produce stand-alone, scaled and geo-referenced relief models...
External links
- Terrain Models, a website of the Institute of Cartography at ETH ZurichETH ZurichThe Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
- Library of Congress: Geography and Maps - Globes and Terrain Models
- Report of the Relief Map Department, G-2-C, G.H.Q., of the American Expeditionary Forces
- Allan McCollum: The Topographical Model Donation Project
- How to build a landscape-model by Konrad Weber
- Participatory Avenues a web site dedicated to the participatory manufacture of raised relief models in the context of participatory planning, development and advocacy
- Adding the Third Dimension, an article (PDF 744KB) that describes ways of creating maps that "effectively present the third dimension."