ABSTRACT
Only recently have cartographers devoted much attention to the study of the map as a communication system. It is now generally accepted that the study of how maps convey knowledge to a recipient, and therefore the study of the percipient as well as the process, are important areas of research. Various models of communication systems are analysed from the point of view of the inputs and transformations involved. The element of 'noise', characteristic of all systems, is examined as it relates to the map. The problem of assessing the amount of information included in a map and the efficiency with which geographical knowledge is evoked in a percipient is reviewed. Because a map is a two-dimensional presentation it is a very different form of communication from the one-dimensional linear forms that depend upon a temporal sequence, and consequently, the techniques of information theory are judged not to be directly applicable.
