mapmaking patterns

[ratings]

In North America, the north-south axis dominates people’s cognitive sense of orientation. (We say that we’re going ‘up’ to Burlington or ‘down’ to NYC.) Many people will often assume that ‘north is up’ unless they are told otherwise.

If north is not ‘up’ on the map, then you should provide an arrow that points to the direction of true north. If north is ‘up’ on the map, then a north arrow may not be necessary.