Cartography has been defined by the International Cartographic Association as “the art, science and technology of making maps, together with their study as scientific documents and works of art.” It has also been defined as “the production—including design, compilation, construction, projection, reproduction, use, and distribution—of maps” (Thrower, 2008, p. 250)
The term geographic cartography is frequently used to distinguish the kinds of maps that geographers use in world and regional studies to distinguish it from engineering cartography, which is used for the type of maps that city engineers create for water lines, sewer lines, gas lines, and the like that would be used in planning and engineering. Many of the principles apply to both; the difference is one of scale.
Source: Tyner, J. (2010). Principles of Map Design. The Guilford Press.