Location
This imaginary reference line, located at 0° latitude, divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
The Equator
These four primary compass directions—North, South, East, and West—are known by this term.
Cardinal Directions
This type of map is designed specifically to show human-made boundaries, national borders, capital cities, and major urban areas.
Political Map
Mountains, plateaus, canyons, and plains are all naturally occurring surface features classified under this general geographic term.
Landforms
A border formed by natural features such as rivers, mountain ranges, or oceans is classified as this type of boundary.
Physical Border
Running through Greenwich, England, this line marks 0° longitude and serves as the baseline for global time zones.
Prime Meridian
Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest are categorized as this type of direction.
Intermediate Directions
Featuring contour lines or shading, this map style focuses on natural landscape features like mountains, rivers, elevations, and valleys.
Physical Map
The physical geography of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" is heavily defined by high levels of activity from these two natural phenomena.
Volcanos
Drawn using straight lines, arcs, or specific lines of latitude and longitude regardless of natural terrain, this type of boundary is common in western US states and parts of Africa.
Geometric Border
Unlike absolute location, which relies on coordinates, this term describes where a place is situated in relation to other landmarks or locations around it.
Relative Location
If you are traveling directly from Chicago, Illinois, to Miami, Florida, you are heading primarily in this intermediate direction.
Southeast
Rather than showing general geography, this map type focuses on a specific topic or distribution, such as population density, climate zones, or average income.
Thematic Map
This term refers to the total number of people who live in a specific country, state, or city.
Population
The border between the United States and Canada along the 49° Parallel north is one of the world's most famous examples of this boundary type.
Geometric Border
Located at approximately 180° longitude, crossing this imaginary line going west causes you to jump forward an entire calendar day.
The International Dateline
This tool on a map uses a small drawing to illustrate both cardinal and intermediate directions to help orient the reader.
A Compass Rose
If you want to plan a road trip across the country and need a map showing state lines, highway routes, and major cities, you would use this type of map.
Political
A large, crowded center where many people live and work closely together—like New York City or Tokyo—is called this type of area.
A City
The Rio Grande serves as a physical border separating these two sovereign nations.
United States and Mexico
Unlike lines of latitude, which are parallel, lines of longitude (meridians) all converge at these two geographic points.
The North and South Poles
If I am traveling from Denver to Japan, what direction will my plan be traveling?
West
If a map uses different colors specifically to show where tropical rainforests, grasslands, and deserts are located across the world, it is classified as this general type of map.
Thematic
Spoken by people around the world, Spanish, English, and Mandarin are all examples of this key human characteristic.
Language
The crest of this high mountain range forms a prominent physical border dividing Chile from Argentina in South America.
Andes Mountains