North arrow
The north arrow was once a primary element for orientation of a map to the reader. However, contemporary convention dictates that the top of the map is north, so the arrow is no longer needed. A north arrow does need to be included when a map is not aligned with north at the top, or additional information about direction is required, such as magnetic north.
Production information
Production information can include:
- author
- date of publication
- publisher
- limitations of what is shown on the map
- citations
- projection
- disclaimers
- logos
- copyright.
Some of this information may need to be removed from the map when it is produced within a report or publication. In such cases, the production information may be transferred to credits or acknowledgments within the publication itself.
Inset maps
Inset maps are small, additional maps, which may require their own scale bar. They have 2 main functions:
- to zoom out of the primary map to show location (locational diagram)
- to zoom in on an area of the primary map to show more detail (enlargement).
The features, styles and orientation for the inset map should be the same as for the primary map. For zoom-in inset maps, it is important to indicate the position of the inset map in relation to the primary map using a box or shading. Leader lines coming from the box on the primary map can be used to connect with the box of the inset map.
