Geography Unit 3 Maps

maps

graphical representation of earth’s surface drawn to scale on a flat surface

main features shown by maps

physical environment, human environment

atlas maps

locating places in the world, showing information about the world and the various countries

general reference maps

helps locals and tourists find their way around the area, show in detail the roads, streets, names of places of interest, and important landmarks in a locality, town or city,

topographical map

shows the physical and human features that occur on a part of the Earth’s surface, these features are represented using point, line, and area symbols, shows some ways in which human activities have changed the physical environment, contain a lot of info on the physical and cultural landscapes of a place

vertical lines

eastings

horizontal lines

northings

4-figure reference

used to show the area or the grid square where a feature is located

6-figure reference

used to show a more precise location of a feature on a topographical map

map scale

ratio between a given map distance and the actual ground distance

large-scale maps

covers a small area, show many details, e.g. a street map/ topographical map

small-scale map

covers a large area, show few details, e.g. a political map of a country

contours

lines on a map that join all places having the same height above sea level, show the height of a land, shape of the features and the steepness of the slopes, height in m of a particular point

steep slopes

contour lines are close together

gentle slopes

contour lines are further apart from each other (widely spaced (landforms))

hill

below 600m above sea level

mountain

600m and higher above sea level

trigonometrical station

denotes the height in m of a particular point, generally shows the highest point of a hill or a mountain

linear settlements

buildings are usually seen along a road, river, railway etc.

dispersed settlements

buildings are spread out and are far apart from each other, usually found in areas of low population due to lack of water supply/ difficult terrain eg. steep mountain slopes

nucleated settlements

buildings are usually close together at road junctions, river and in the valleys etc.

economic activities

provision of jobs, source of income, education opportunities