What is the primary purpose of cartography?

The primary purpose of cartography is to study and understand spatial relationships and geography. Cartography involves the art and science of making maps, which are essential tools in visualizing spatial information. By creating maps, cartographers help convey complex geographic data and relationships between different places, whether they are physical features like mountains and rivers, human-made structures like roads and cities, or patterns of climate and population.

This understanding of spatial relationships is crucial for a variety of applications, including urban planning, environmental management, and navigation. Maps allow individuals to see how different geographic elements interact with one another and how they can influence social, economic, and environmental factors.

While documenting economic data and political boundaries are important aspects of mapping, they fall under the broader goal of cartography, which encompasses a wide range of geographic phenomena and relationships. Thus, focusing on spatial understanding reflects the core objective of the discipline.