Each of the maps in a linguistic atlas will explore the distribution of a different variant (a sound, a word, a phrase) using a sequence of points on a map
An isogloss is like a variant boundary. It’s a line drawn on the map to show where a linguistic variant is found.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isogloss
When several of these lines intersect, you can consider it a dialect boundary. I.e. all these features together are what give you a specific dialect like , for example.
5/ Time for some history.
There have been thematic maps since at least 350 BC, but many linguists agree the first significant linguistic map was Gottfried Hensel’s famous 1741 map showing linguistic variation across Europe in the Lord’s Prayer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synopsis_Universae_Philologiae
#geoweirdness