Summary of Map Types

Dot Maps are effective when the goal is to visualize the distribution of geolocated objects.

Heat Maps and Binned Maps are effective when the goal is to visualize the density (or frequency) of a phenomenon. In a heat map, the spatial field is continuous, whereas in a binned map, it is discretized.

Choropleth Maps and Symbol Maps are effective when the goal is to visualize statistics associated with specific geographical regions. Choropleth maps color the entire region and may use color intensity to represent quantity whereas symbol maps use size (of the symbols) to represent quantity. While choropleth maps can use only one channel at a time (either color hue for categories or color intensity for quantities), symbol maps are more versatile and can use two channels at a time (color hue for categories and symbol size for quantities).