What does the term "cartography" refer to?

The term "cartography" specifically refers to the science of map-making, encompassing both the creation and study of maps. Cartography integrates elements of artistic design, geographic information, and spatial analysis to visually represent geographic areas in a way that is informative and easy to understand. This field plays a crucial role in various applications, such as urban planning, disaster management, and navigation, providing essential tools for interpreting spatial relationships and geographic data.

While other options mention related topics within geography, they do not accurately define cartography. The study of human geography focuses on human interactions with the environment and how societies organize space, while the art of navigation pertains to the techniques used to determine one's position and route. The analysis of climatic systems involves studying weather patterns and phenomena, which falls under meteorology and climatology rather than map-making. Each of these areas connect to geography in different ways, but only the definition of cartography is strictly tied to the creation and study of maps.