Definition: Maps

Category: Land Use/Land Cover

"A map is a 2-dimensional graphic representation of the physical features (natural, artificial, or both) of a part or the whole of the Earth's surface, by means of signs and symbols or photographic imagery, at an established scale, on a specified projection, and with the means of orientation indicated." (DRURY 1998).
The definitions of (geographic) maps almost always includes the term representation: 
1.a: a representation on a flat surface of the whole or a part of an area  
1.b: a representation of the celestial sphere or a part of it  
2: something that represents with clarity suggestive of a map... http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/KS-34-00-407-__-I-EN.pdf#page=69