Introduction & Lessons

Learning how to read maps allow us to understand the geographical themes of location, place, relationships, movement & regions.

Contour Map Activity!

Lesson 1

Photo of Salt Lake City, Utah
Here is a picture of Salt Lake City. It's a city by a lake with mountains & snow. Salt Lake City is Utah's capital. You can see the domed State capitol building in the picture.

Shaded Relief Map of Salt Lake City Region
This map helps you find the locations of the cities & towns. It shows the shape of the land-mountains, valleys, rivers & lakes. Shaded relief maps show how a particular area looks with sunlight shining on it from a particular direction. This map shows part of the Great Salt Lake-a huge inland body of water.

Road Map of Salt Lake City Region
Road maps show people how they can travel from one place to another. They also show some physical features, such as mountains & rivers & political features, such as cities & towns. A road map can also show you which are the main highways & which are small country roads. This map's legend will explain town sizes.

Topographic Map of Salt Lake City Region
This topographic map shows a small area of Salt Lake City & the nearby mountains. Topographic maps use contour lines to show elevation (height above sea level). Contour lines join points of equal elevation above a specified reference, such as sea level. A contour line is an imaginary line on the ground that takes any path necessary to maintain constant elevation. Using the legend for this map, you can locate school, churches & railroads. Hikers use maps to plan trips. Builders use topographic maps to figure out where to put buildings & roads. There's a topographic map like this for every part of Canada.