Map Skills Parts of a Map There are 4 main parts of a map: The Title The Compass Rose The Map Key The Scale The Title The title of the map is usually at the top and describes the topic of the map Example: The title of this map is British Empire 1900. 1
The Compass Rose The compass rose is the symbol on a map that shows the 4 cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West) and the 4 intermediate directions (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest.) NW SW NE SE The Map Key The map key is the part of the map that describes what various symbols and colors on a map mean. Example: On this map, the red line indicates the Trans-Siberian railroad, the black line is a national boundary, and a black dot is a city. The Map Key On this map, different colors are used to show different things. Example: the lavender color shows where the Han people live. The red color shows where the Mao people live. 2
The Scale The scale is the part of the map that compares a distance on the map to its actual distance in the real world. Example: On this map, 1 inch is equal to 100 miles. Types of Maps There are many different kinds of maps, depending on what the map is to be used for. Examples: 1. A map showing the 50 states of the United States 2. A road map of Indiana 3. A map of Romeoville High School Political Maps Political maps show man-made boundaries between countries and states. The capital city of each country is designated by a circle with a star inside. 3
Physical Maps Physical maps show natural features such as rivers, lakes, oceans, plateaus, mountains, and peninsulas. Elevation (height of the land above sea level) is also shown with the use of different colors. Climate Map A climate map uses various colors to show different types of climate (the weather throughout the year.) Example: On this map the dark green color represents a tropical wet climate. Blue is a marine climate Vegetation Maps Vegetation is the natural plant life of the area. Example: On this map turquoise area is coniferous (evergreen) forest. The beige area is desert scrub. 4
Natural Resource Map A natural resource map uses symbols to show where resources such as minerals and plant products are located. Example: The cart with a c on it represents coal. The coiled wire represents copper. Population Distribution Map In this map, different colors are used to show the population density (the number of people per square mile.) Symbols are used to show the population of major cities. Example: The purple areas have a high population density (over 520 people per square mile very crowded!) A represents a city with over 5 million people. Road Map Road maps are used for traveling. Names and types of highways and roads are indicated. Distances between cities are labeled on the map also. Example: The cities of Joshua and Kitson are 14 miles apart and are connected by Highway 31. 5
Historical Maps Historical maps are used to show where things were at a certain time in history. Example: On this map, the gold area is the extent of Asoka s Empire. The orange arrows show the path of the Aryan invasion. Finding Location on a Map To find locations on a map, a grid system is used. This can either be a grid with numbers and letters on a street map, or the latitude and longitude system used for larger areas. Using a Grid This type of grid is called a map index. There are letters down the left and numbers across the top. Example: To locate Miles City, go to C and then 2. You should find it in the square where the two meet. 6
Using latitude and longitude To find locations for larger areas such as countries or continents, latitude and longitude are used. This is a giant grid where degrees are used. Latitude The equator is 0 (degrees), and is the starting place for measuring latitude, the distance north or south of the equator. Example: A city on this line is said to be located at 40 S. Longitude The Prime Meridian is 0 (degrees) and is the starting place of measuring longitude, the distance east or west of this. Example: A city on this line is said to be located at 20 W. 7
Put them both together! By using lines of latitude and longitude, you can give the absolute location of any place on earth. Example: A city here is located at 20 S, 60 W. The End! 8