Types of Maps
This type of map shows human-made features such as countries, states, cities, capitals, and borders.
What is a political map?
This mandatory part of a map tells the reader exactly what the map is about.
What is the map title?
This primary cardinal direction points toward the top of almost all standard modern maps.
What is North?
This imaginary line circles the Earth horizontally at 0 degrees latitude, dividing the planet into northern and southern halves.
What is the Equator?
If a map scale states that 1 inch equals 50 miles, a measured distance of 2 inches on the map represents this actual distance.
What is 100 miles?
This type of map shows natural features of Earth such as mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, deserts, and plains.
What is a physical map?
This feature explains what the specific symbols, colors, and icons used across the map represent.
What is the map key or legend?
This is the cardinal direction that is located directly opposite of North.
What is South?
Lines of latitude run horizontally east-to-west, but they measure distances in these two directions relative to the Equator.
What are North and South?
This visual anchor looks like a small ruler printed on a map, showing marked segments to help calculate real-world miles or kilometers.
What is a graphic scale bar?
This type of map shows highways, streets, cities, rest stops, and airports to help people travel from place to place by vehicle.
What is a road map?
This star-shaped symbol shows directions on a map so the reader knows which way is North, South, East, and West.
What is a compass rose?
On a standard compass rose, this intermediate direction lies exactly halfway between North and East.
What is Northeast (NE)?
Lines of longitude run vertically north-to-south, but they measure distances in these two directions relative to the Prime Meridian.
What are East and West?
If a map scale reads 1 inch equals 10 miles, and two towns are separated by 5 inches on the map, this is their real-world distance.
What is 50 miles?
This type of map shows current and predicted conditions of the atmosphere, including temperature, rain, snow, wind, and storms.
What is a weather map?
This feature shows the relationship between a given distance measured on the map and the actual distance in the real world.
What is the map scale?
On a standard compass rose, this intermediate direction lies exactly halfway between South and West.
What is Southwest (SW)?
When writing or reading geographical coordinate pairs to locate a place, this coordinate type is always listed first.
What is latitude?
Map scales allow cartographers to take huge, real-world geographical spaces and mathematically shrink them down to fit onto this.
What is a sheet of paper or a digital screen?
This type of map uses contour lines to represent the shape, steepness, and elevation of features like hills, valleys, and mountains.
What is a topographic map?
These overlapping horizontal and vertical lines cross the globe to help us pinpoint exact addresses or locations on Earth.
What are latitude and longitude?
If you look at a standard map layout and move your finger straight from the left edge toward the right edge, you are moving in this direction.
What is East?
All lines of longitude eventually converge and meet at these two exact geographic points on the globe.
What are the North Pole and the South Pole?
A map that shows a small town neighborhood in extreme detail has a larger scale than a map that shows an entire continent. True or False?
What is True?