What is a cartographer? Simply put, it is a person who draws or produces maps. So why is the title of this post the rise of, rather than the end of the cartographer?
If all things must evolve or die, the role of the cartographer in the 21st century is so far removed from the origin that an argument could be made either way. This thought struck me in 2016 when pulling off the road to refresh and resupply in the small town of Mazabuka in Zambia. Acting on the instinct to pull up Google Maps to find a place to eat, the search was empty. Understandable was my surprise when looking up from the screen to see Seasons Restaurant across the road, but no mention of it in my trusty guide. Curiosity left no option but to inspect the venue. Walking across a hot and dusty street into the cooled room to find a clean and fresh-looking restaurant with no digital presence seems like a different era now.
Students of cartography may be dying out, but contributions to the field have surged. Thanks to crowdsourcing, we can use our smartphone to help map the world. We add a new business, post a photo or leave a review. Be it the addition of knowledge or offering of opinion we are all 21st-century cartographers. It took a few minutes, and now any hungry traveller can find an eatery in Mazabuka, thanks to Google and a local guide.
Here is a photo of the posting, and below some pictures from the destination of the journey Victoria Falls, and the Zambezi river.
