Map Vocabulary
This tells you what the symbols on a map represent.
What is a legend?
A piece of land surrounded by water on three sides.
What is a peninsula?
If Europe is north of Africa, this is the direction from Europe to Africa.
What is south?
The scale reads 1 inch = 500 miles. Two cities are 2 inches apart. How far in real life?
1,000 miles
This map type shows borders between countries.
What is a political map?
This feature on a map shows the cardinal directions (N, S, E, W).
What is a compass rose?
A large body of water completely surrounded by land.
What is a lake?
You are in the U.S. and want to fly to Japan. Which general direction do you travel?
What is west?
1 cm = 100 km. A city is 3.5 cm from a river. How far in real life?
350 km
A map showing mountains, rivers, and deserts is called this.
What is a physical map?
This tells you how distance on a map compares to real-life distance
What is scale (or scale factor)?
A flowing body of water that moves through land and eventually reaches an ocean or lake.
What is a river?
The direction directly opposite northeast.
What is southwest?
The distance between two mountains is 4 inches. Scale = 1 inch = 200 miles. Real distance?
800 miles
On a map, green areas show forests, blue areas show water, and brown areas show mountains. Where would you check to understand what each color means?
What is the legend/key?
A small illustration or explanation on a map that tells you the meaning of colors and symbols is called this.
What is a key?
A large flat elevated area of land.
What is a plateau?
You are facing east. Turning 90 degrees to your right points you here.
What is south?
Two cities are 800 miles apart. Map scale = 1 inch = 100 miles. Distance on map?
v
A long, narrow valley with steep sides, often carved by a river over millions of years, is called this.
What is a canyon?
This term describes the usual weather patterns of a region.
What is climate?
A group of islands clustered together.
What is an archipelago?
A star on the southeast corner of a country represents the capital. From the center, this is its direction.
What is southeast?
Map scale = 1 inch = 4 miles. You walk 2 miles. How far on map?
0.5 inch
The scale on a map is 1 inch = 200 miles. Two cities are 3 inches apart. How far apart are the cities in real life?
3 × 200 = 600 miles