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STD : VII REPRESENTATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES SUB: GEOG

Maps are used to represent features of the Earth on a flat surface. Geographical
features like rivers, block and fold mountains can be represented with the help of
diagrams. Similarly geographical and human-made features can be represented with
the help of topographical maps.

Geographical maps Topographical maps

The word ‘topography’ means’ the shape of the land surface’. Thus, topographical maps
are large-scale maps that show in great detail the natural and the cultural or human-
made features of an area. As they are drawn on large sheets of paper, topographical
maps are also called topographical sheets. Different colours and symbols are used to
represent geographical features on the map. Colours used in the map are called
conventional colours. The use of colours is one of the oldest and most effective
methods of conveying information in maps. This gives an immediate visual effect which
is easy to understand and interpret. This can also convey a lot of information about the
area under study. Some of the basic colours and their meanings are given in the
following table.
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Sr no Colour Features they represent

1. Yellow Agricultural land
2. Green Land under forests, scattered trees, scrub and
orchards
3. White Barren or unproductive land
4. Blue Perennial water bodies such as rivers, lakes,
reservoirs
5. Red Permanent settlements, grid lines, cart track and
metalled roads
6. Black Latitudes, Longitudes, National, International, state,
district, tehsil/taluk boundaries, prominent surveyed
tree, non perennial stream, seasonal tanks,
telephone/telegraph lines.
7. Brown Contour height, sand features such as sand dunes.

SCALES AND THEIR USES

It is a known fact that all maps are reduced in size. Maps cannot show things as they
are in real life. This is the reason why we use a scale to define the features. Distances
between two places on the ground have to be reduced proportionately before plotting
them on a map. Every map has a scale.

A map scale refers to the ratio of the distances on the map and the corresponding
actual distance on the ground. The scale of the map is used to find out the actual
distance between places shown on a map. If a map is drawn to a scale of 1 cm equals 1
km, it means that places on the map that are actually 1 cm apart are 1 km away from
each other on the ground. A world map is drawn on small scale as it requires less
scaling down. The features look small on such maps. Smaller and finer details regarding
a region cannot be seen. On the other hand, a map of a smaller place like a city or a
village that shows details of roads, buildings and wells is drawn on a large scale There
are three different types of maps scales

a. Statement scale
b. Linear scale
c. Representative fraction

A. Statement scale: This scale is also called Verbal Statement. Scale written in a
statement form like 2 cm to 1 km is called a statement scale. It means 2 cm on
the map represents 1 km on the Earth.
B. Linear Scale: A linear or a graphic scale expresses the scale of a map. It consists
of a horizontal line divided into equal sections. Each section represents a fixed
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distance on the ground. For eg, in the scale given below, each cm on the map
represents 500 metres on the ground.

C. Representative Fraction. Scale can also be written as a representative fraction (

R.F.) For eg, 1:50000. It means 1 cm on the map represents 50000 cm on the
ground. It shows the ratio between map distance and ground distance. The main
advantage of R.F. is that they can be compared between two different maps as
they do not carry any units.

MEASURING DISTANCE
Measuring distance between places is an integral part of map work. Distances can be
straight lines which can be measured using a ruler or a pair of dividers. Then using the
scale of the map the actual distance on the ground Is worked out.

a) Measuring Distance along a Straight line.

When you know the scale of a map, you can measure the ground distance of the
map. The measurement of direct distances can be done in the following manner.

i) Mark the two points on the map between which the distance is to be
measured.
ii) Measure the distance with the help of a divider between the given points
on the map.
iii) Now place the divider on the linear scale drawn on the map. This will
directly give the distance on the ground between the two points.
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b) Measuring Distance along a Curved Line

When we need to measure distance along a curved line, we first mark the two
points whose distance is to be measured.

i) Take a piece of thread and mark the point with a pen which shows the
starting point.
ii) Spread the thread along the line following each curve till the last point.
iii) Now stretch the thread along the scale to find the length.
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CONVENTIONAL SIGNS AND SYMBOLS

A variety of features seen on the ground are depicted with the help of symbols on
the topo maps. Signs and symbols are used to represent various features on
topo maps. Using symbols gives maps a neater look and makes reading them
easier. Symbols that are commonly used by cartographers and which are
accepted universally are called conventional symbols. The information given on
the topographical maps in the form of conventional symbols are categorized
under physical features, drainage, vegetation, land use, settlement, transport and
communication.

PHYSICAL FEATURES: Contour lines depict physical features of a place.

DRAINAGE: This includes all natural and human-made water features.

VEGETATION: The colour green is used to represent the different kinds of

vegetation.

LAND USE: The nature of use of the land, that is the various functions or
purposes that humans apply to the available land is called land use. Each land
use is depicted by means of a colour. For eg: yellow depicts agricultural land and
white denotes barren land.

SETTLEMENTS: These may be small villages or large cities. Each single red
square symbolizes a hut, for features, such as post office, post and telegraph
office and police stations symbols PO, PTO and PS are used respectively.

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION: Black lines are used to show railway

tracks. Double lines in red colour represent metalled roads. Telegraph lines are
set up for communication and are depicted in black lines. Cart track is meant for
use by carts only while Pack tracks is used by pack animals(load-carrying
animals).

BOUNDARIES: Administrative boundaries are shown in black with various

symbols made up with lines, dots and dashes. Boundaries may be international,
national, state, district and tehsil or taluk.

LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES: Latitudes and Longitudes on the

topographical map indicate the exact location of a place. In every topographical
map, another set of lines is drawn in red known as grid lines. Lines that are
drawn horizontally are called northings as their numbers increase northwards.
Vertical lines are eastings as their numbers increase eastwards.
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