"In first instance the end result and final goal of all geographic investigations, explorations, and surveys is the depiction of the earth’s surface: the map. The map is the basis for geography. The map shows us what we know about our earth in the best, clearest and most exact way. The contemporary map should so depict the earth’s surface that one can not only measure the horizontal positions of and distances between all points and localities, but also clearly distinguish vertical variations, from sea level to the highest summits."