AP Human Geo: 1.02 Maps & Geographic Data
%%Basic Map Elements%%
Maps are used for two reasons: to store and communicate that information to others
The science of creating maps is called cartography
- Cartography: the science or practice of making maps
Process in Creating a Map
- establish the map’s purpose
- simplification is used to determine what information is needed for a map, or the amount of detail needed to make the map information valuable
- Simplification: the process of eliminating unnecessary details on a map
- Basic elements are added to the map
- basic elements include: title, compass rose, scale, toponyms, and a legend or key
Parts of a Map
- Compass rose: the map’s directional indicator
- Toponym: a place name
- Symbol: symbols indicate something like the symbol of a circle around a start which indicates a national capital
- Legend: explains what the symbols on the map mean
- Distance Scale: compares a unit of length on the map to a unit on Earth
Identifying Map Elements
Maps reveal info about a place like human and physical features
- Physical features are the natural features of Earth, such as mountains, lakes, and deserts
- Human features are geography features that human beings made, such as infrastructure (roads, bridges, tunnels), landmarks, and cities
Creating a Map
Cartographers use projection to identify the method used to show Earth and to alert the viewer of possible distortions. There are 3 main categories of map projections: planar, conical, and cylindrical
- Projection is a method of showing the curved Earth on a flat surface
Distance refers to the distance between the shapes on the map, and direction refers to the precision of the cardinal directions and intermediate directions on a map
- Cardinal directions are associated with the compass points north, south, east, and west
- Intermediate directions are associated with northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast