5. REPRESENTATION OF THE EARTH MAPS: Representations of all or part of he Earth in a flat surface. CARTOGRAPHY: it’s the study and practice of making maps. MAPS FUNCTIONS: - To locate a place - To identify geographical features (relief, water, and so on) - To collect several types of information. CHARACTERISTICS: 1. They are reduced (geographical space is represented in a small surface) 2. They are simplified (they only show certain features) 3. They take a standard form, using colours and symbols defined in a key.