Geography- Mapping Skills

Key Terms:

Geography: the study of earth

Physical Geography: the study of non-human processes (climates, natural disasters, etc..)

Human Geography: the study of humans/ human interaction (population, immigration, etc..)

Map: a simplified representation of the earth’s features drawn on a flat surface

General Purpose Maps: provide a variety of detail such as roads, water bodies, parks, towns, and cities

Thematic(theme) Maps: provide information about one particular detail (population, crime, etc..)

Topographic Maps: provide detailed information necessary for navigation/orientation( elevation, grid systems, etc..)

Direction: the cardinal points( North, South, East, West)

Large Scale Map: have a large amount of detail (specific info)

Small Scale Map: have a small amount of detail (general info)

Latitude: 90° in two directions, north and south (vertical lines)

Longitude: 180° in two directions, east and west (horizontal lines)

Prime Meridian: a vertical line that extends from one pole to the other (0° of longitude)

International Date Line: a vertical line that extends from one pole to the other (180° east and west) {exact opposite of the Prime Meridian}

Equator: the line that runs horizontally along the center of the earth

Tropics of Cancer/ Capricorn: the northern and southern lines that run 23.5° from the equator

Bearing: the direction in degrees of where you need to go

Time Zones:

  • there are 24 different time zones, one for each hour on the clock

  • every place within a single time zone sets its clock to the same time

  • many countries have shifted their time zone boundaries to fit their own political boundaries

  • Newfoundland has a half-hour time zone

  • There are 6 time zones in Canada

Scale: is a measurement on a map that is represents an actual distance on Earth's surface

Direct (verbal) Statement Scale: uses words to describe the relationship between distance on a map to the distance in real life. Ex. 1 cm to 10 km

Line (linear) Scale:uses a special kind of ruler that is divided into units of distance

■ ■ ■ ■ 1 cm = 10 km

Representative Fraction (RF) Scale: uses a mathematical ratio without mention of units

Ex. 1:50 000 (could be cm, km, feet, toe nails)

Ant/Arctic Circle: 66.5° north/south of the equator

North/South Poles: the most northern and southern point of earth

Elements of a Map:

  • Title

  • Border

  • Direction

  • Scale

  • Legend

  • Date of publication

  • Horizontal Labels

  • Name of Cartographer