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Map Work

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22 views

Map Work

Uploaded by

smchironda
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Map work

A map is a form of short handwriting. It represents the world created by people called
cartographers to help other people navigate the world.
What is a map?
A map is a flat visual representation of an area of the Earth drawn to scale for a specific
purpose. In other words, it can be defined as:

• A map is a diagram drawn accurately on a flat surface to show a whole or part of


the Earth’s surface. Maps are said to be accurate because they are generally
drawn to scale.
Maps may not show everything from the area represented, but only important things
that represent the area well using symbols (such as points, lines, and colours) to show
some information. Most maps show both natural or physical features of a given area
(those things made by nature) and human or cultural features of an area (those things
made by people).

Activity 1

The list below is made up of some features which could be shown on maps.

Railway line cliff dam windmill mountain

Factory lake town road houses

Airport river forest waterfall railway station

Draw a table and divide the above list of features into natural and human
made features.

Maps are very important in Geography because through them; we can:


• Determine where we are going.
• Locate places on Earth, continents, countries, cities, towns, and villages.
• Learn about the physical features of particular places such as highlands,
lowlands, drainage, or vegetation.
• Learn the human geography of other places, such as the distribution of
population, settlements, and industries.
• Learn where natural resources such as minerals can be found.
• Study boundaries that show the properties owned by people or the boundaries
of a country.
• Do fieldwork by being able to locate places in the area.
To read a map successfully, there are fundamental things that a geographer
should be familiar with:
Title Tell us what, where, when and the
subject of the map
Orientation Directions: North, South, West, East
(compass rose)
Date When map was made
Cartographer Who made the map
Legend Key of symbols and scale
Symbols Markings on the map e.g. for rivers,
bridges etc
Scale Distance a unit of measurement
represents on the map
Index Alphabetical listing to show the address
of places on map
Grid Letters and/or numbers on map that
locate place: latitude…..
Glossary Definition of physical features located
Source Where did you get the information

Characteristics of a good map


Title- the title describes the map and tell us what information the map is showing us.
The title should be in a large clear font that is easy to read.
Legend /key- this tells us what the different symbols and colours on the map mean.
Without a key, we will not be able to read or understand a map.

Direction information- a map should indicate in which direction north lies. This is
done using a north arrow, or a compass rose. From this, we can work out what
direction a feature lies from another. North is generally at the top of the map.

N
Scale- the map scale is the relationship between the distance on the map and the
corresponding distance on the ground. The scale of the map determines the amount
of detail that can be shown. We can calculate distances between objects in reality if
we know the scale of the map.

Co-ordinate reference system- latitude and longitude are called co-ordinates. When
we use a grid of lines of latitude and longitude, we can call it a co-ordinate reference
system. They are measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds. We can give the exact
location of a place or feature by giving the latitude and longitude.
Grid- this is a network of horizontal and vertical lines that we use to locate points on a
map. The grid divides a map into a system of rows and columns, which are sometimes
identified by letters and numbers. The grid can also show lines of latitude (horizontal
lines) and longitude (vertical lines).

Types of Maps
Maps are used to show specific information, and so different people use them in
different ways. Geographers use them to study the pattern and distribution of both
physical and human features.
Common types of maps include:
Topographic Maps
These show landscape which includes natural features such as relief (differences in
land elevation) and rivers, as well as artificial features such as settlements, roads and
dams. Boundaries are also included on topographical maps.
Political Maps
Boundaries and sub-divisions of areas or properties are indicated on these maps. The
areas may be farms, districts, provinces, or countries.

Physical Maps
Physical maps contain natural features that include relief and drainage. Highlands
such as mountains and hills and lowlands such as river valleys represent relief.
Large and small rivers and their tributaries represent drainage. Different colours are
used to show the relief where green is usually for low elevations and orange or brown
for higher elevations.
Economic Maps
Economic maps show the location of industries, agricultural activities as well as the
communications and trade activities of areas.
These maps give information on types of industries, the use of agricultural land,
transport types and routes used.

Thematic or Distribution Maps


Maps may be used on some specific topics of interest or themes.
Themes might relate to temperature, rainfall, soil types, relief, vegetation, land use,
agriculture, population, settlement, transport, and trade. Tourism attraction maps focus
on the specific sites in a specific location, such as national parks, world heritage sites,
hiking trails, waterfalls, and monuments.
On thematic maps such as temperature and rainfall maps, lines may be used to join
places with the same value; these lines are called isolines.

Climatic map
Show information about climatic conditions of an area. They show elements such as
temperature and rainfall. Regions receiving same rainfall and temperature are
allocated same colour code.
Activity 2

Name the type of map the following people would use and state what they
would use it for: a) Tourist
b) Driver
c) Soldier
d) Archaeologist

e) Builder

f) Surveyor
g) Farmer

h) Geologist

i) Population census enumerator

Sources of information for use in maps


All maps, regardless of the type, have three common sources of information.
1. Surveying
Until fairly recently, all information used in map-making had to be obtained by a team
of surveyors skilled in using specialised instruments. Survey teams would tour a region
for several weeks or months. They would set up an observation point or trigonometrical
station on a high point, then work from it to other prominent points and objects in the
landscape. After the basic map of a region has been drawn, other survey teams would
add details such as houses, boundaries, woodlands areas, etc.
2. Aerial photography
Survey work is still necessary today, but it is done on a smaller scale; however,
nowadays, there is increasing use of aerial photographs. These photographs are taken
vertically from an aircraft that flies on a trip or sortie. During the sortie, the aeroplane
flies up and down in a series of planned lines called flight paths; the camera will
constantly take photographs of the Earth’s surface. These are later compiled and used
by cartographers to construct maps.
3. Satellite photographs
The recent development of aerial photography and map-making uses satellites, which
are constantly circling the Earth and giving a continuous to date picture of the world’s
surface features.

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