Overview of Tableau maps

Tableau contains an internal geographic database that allows it to recognize common geographic elements and render a mark at a specific latitude and longitude on a map. In many cases, such as with a country or state, Tableau also contains internal shapefiles that allow it to render the mark as a complex vector shape in the proper location. Tableau also leverages your specific geospatial data, such as latitude and longitude, shapefiles, and spatial objects. We'll consider some of those possibilities throughout this chapter. For now, we'll walk through some of the basics of how Tableau renders maps and some of the customizations and options available.