Topographic Maps

Things You Need to Know to Read a Map

Key Points

Mapmakers use north, south, east & west to describe direction.
Mapmakers usually orient their maps to show north at the top.
It is possible to describe the relationship of one place to another. One place is north, south, east, or west of another place. This kind of orientation is known as relative location.
Using longitude & latitude, a grid of imaginary lines created by geographers, it is possible to identify the absolute location of any point on the Earth's surface.
The relationship between a distance on the map and the corresponding distance on the ground is known as scale.
Using the distance scale, it is possible to determine the actual distance on the ground between two points shown on a map.
Geographers use the terms "large-scale" & "small-scale" to describe the amount of area on the ground covered by a map. A large-scale map shows a small land area in great detail. A small-scale map shows less detail, but a larger land area.

Geographic Themes

Location:

Absolute location refers to the system of latitude & longitude used to designate a point on the Earth's surface.

Relative location includes understanding what direction one point is from another, as well as how to orient yourself from one map to another & from a photograph to a map.

What You Can Learn From a Map

Key Points

The legend is the key to unlocking the secrets of a map.
Different maps highlight different physical & manmade features of a particular location. Mapmakers choose to emphasize different characteristics depending on the intended use of the map.
A road map shows people how they can travel from one place to another. It also shows some physical boundaries, such as mountains and rivers; political features, such as States and counties; and populated places, such as cities, towns, and villages.
A shaded relief map is designed to highlight the physical features of a place. It portrays relative elevations.
A topographic map shows the elevation of the land at all points, so the reader can learn the absolute elevation of any given place.
1. Comes from two Greek words--"topo," meaning "place," and "graphos," meaning "drawn or written."
2. You can learn more about a place by looking at several different maps of that place.

Maps are the best tool to view the arrangement of things on the Earth's surface. Maps of various kinds--road maps, political maps, land use maps & maps of the world--serve many different purposes.

Topographic Maps

Example of a topographic map. Topographic maps are widely used. The use contour lines to portray the shape & elevation of the land. Topographic maps show the three-dimensional ups & downs of the terrain on a 2D surface.

Topographic maps usually portray both natural & manmade features. They show & name works of nature, including mountains, valleys, plains, lakes, rivers & vegetation. They also identify man-made things such as roads, boundaries, transmission lines & buildings.

The wide range of information provided by topographic maps makes them useful. Topographic maps are used for engineering, energy exploration, natural resource conservation, environmental management, public- works design, commercial & residential planning & outdoor activities like hiking, camping & fishing.