Kartat

Kartat is the Finnish plural of kartta, the word for map. In everyday Finnish usage, kartat refer to graphical representations of geographic areas, created for printing or as digital layers in software. Maps typically indicate scale, a map projection, and a legend, and may show terrain, roads, political boundaries, or thematic data such as population or climate.

Different types of maps exist, including topographic maps that show elevation and landforms, road maps that emphasize transportation networks, nautical charts for marine navigation, and thematic maps that visualize specific information. Digital maps combine multiple layers and can be interacted with in web or mobile applications, enabling zoom, search, and feature querying. Common considerations in map design include resolution, accuracy, licensing, and data sources.

In Finland, official mapping is produced by the National Land Survey of Finland (Maanmittauslaitos), which provides base maps, cadastral maps, and geospatial data used by government, businesses, and the public. Finnish map services enable online viewing and analysis, and the term kartta is widely used across education, media, and navigation. The word kartta stems from Swedish karta, which in turn derives from Latin charta.