Types of Thematic Maps

Thematic maps are used to communicate information about a location. The “theme” of the map could be
anything: cars per square mile, religious distribution, trade, oil consumption, amount of McDonald’s Big Macs
sold, distribution of rap-music lovers, etc. That information, that theme, however, can be displayed in many
ways. Below, you will find some different map types.

Categorical: This type of map uses different colors to show different features/categories. In this case, the
most practiced religion per country.

Choropleth: This type of map uses shades of one or two colors (lighter purple to dark purple or white to
purple) to show a change in value from location to location.
Dot Density: This type of map uses a dot to show how much of a feature is found in a location. Each dot
represents the exact same value/number so a cluster means there is a lot of that feature at that location.

Cartogram: This type of map typically shows an amount of some feature through a shape like a square.
The more squares, the more of that feature is found in that location. It results in oddly-shaped maps.

Flow Vector Map: This type of map has arrows that show the “flow” or movement of some feature. The
arrows may also vary in size/magnitude to show how much of the feature is moving. Thinner arrows mean
less of the feature is moving while thicker arrows mean more of it is moving.

Proportional Symbol Map: This type of map usually uses circles to show differences in a value. The larger
the symbol, the more of something is present.

Topographic Map (Isolines): This type of map uses contour lines, a.k.a. Isolines, to show changes in
elevation on the surface. Each continuous line represents the same value.