AbstractsGeography &GIS

In tracing the growth of cartography the science, four basic elements were selected to assemble and organize the data collected. Those elements were: the shape of the earth, latitude, longitude and the projection. The earth, its shape and dimensions were described in early Greek Mythology. Then, it was believed te be an inverted disc supported by a series of pillars in the care of Atlas. About 523 B.C. Pythagoras pointed out to the scientific world that the earth was spherical in shape. It was left to Aristotle in 370 B.C. to prove that the earth was truly a sphere. Eratosthenes, the keeper of the famous library at Alexandria, Egypt, made a serious attempt to determine the earth's circumference. His result was stated to have been remarkably accurate, but unfortunately it was not accepted by later geographers. [TRUNCATED]