asscciation for mexican cave studies box 7672 ut station austin ...

17Discussion of Map Symbolsby Bill RussellThe purpose of a cave map is to give an accurate. easily understood.visual impression of the cave as a complex three-dimensional void extendingthrough the earth. And to accomplish this. many special symbols are used toindicate features found in the cave. Many of these symbols. such as the breakdownsymbol. are simply a diagramatic expression of the actual feature. whileothers like the number in a circle for ceiling height are purely artificialconceptions. And the more detailed a cave map. the more important the artificialsymbols become. Many modern cave maps could not be understood without alist of symbols. The standardization of symbols is important so cavers of allareas and languages can easily communicate. An important step in this directionis the adoption of a set of standard symbols by the NSS.Unfortunately. the only list so far presented to the NSS is the H~dgeslist, a very lengthy list that contains many unacceptable symbols. Cave mappingis generally not the type of activity that generates political discussion,but the time has come for all cave mappers to make some political noise or theNSS board of governors will take our silence for agreement. First. I would liketo propose that the NSS adopt the AMCS set of map symbols, calling it for conveniencethe "NSS Standard." The AMCS symbols are better adapted to contemporarycave mapping, and the adoption of the same set by both organizations willunify cave mapping over a wide area. The discussion that follows is intendedto point out the numerous advantages of the A}~S system, and to indicate someof the various choices available in choosing a set of map symbols.Any list of symbols is a compromise between the large number of possiblesymbols and the number of symbols the map user can be expected' to know. TheANCS list can be adequately presented on two pages and contains 41 symbols; therevised Hedges' list is 19 pages long and contains 163 symbols. The Hedges listincludes a large number of specialized symbols. including symbols for bothwarm and cold air currents. polluted and potable water. mold. fungus. and evencoprolites. To be useful the Hedges list will have to be severely revised. withthe commonly used symbols printed as a short two page list that could be easilyutilized. The rest of the symbols should then be collected and issued as a listof special symbols. to be annotated on maps where they are used. This supplementallist could include symbols for various types of archaeological material,special cave features such as mud cracks, ripple marks. high water marks. andnumerous man-made features such as core holes and electric wires. The supplementallist will provide a suitable symbol to show these features. and insurethat all cavers use the same symbol. The Hedges 19 page list is a valuablecompilation of map symbols but is too long to be adopted as a standard list.[2] @] ~ ~ 1:\·; I G ~ [ili], 2 3 I. 5 6 7 eSimbolos: 1. pared de La cueva: 2.dolino: 3.estoLoctitas etc: I..derrumbes: 5.ti erro:6.guono de murcielago:7. pendiente: 8. gours.Cuban r.ave ~apSymbols