Map Making

History of Maps

Why Maps?

Location -- where things are -- is the most fundamental geographic concept. The first task in geography is to locate places. Maps are the tools students need to accomplish this task. This lesson also helps students understand that there are many different kinds of maps.

Place -- physical and human characteristics -- is another key concept in geography. All places on Earth have distinctive characteristics that give them meaning and character, and that help distinguish them from other places.

Terms

Cartographer: A person who makes maps

Equator: A unique circle dividing the earth midway between the north and south poles.

Latitude: east-west lines parallel to the equator.

Longitude: north-south lines connecting the poles.

The coordinate system with latitudes and longtitudes is used for figuring out the location of any spot on the earth.

A compass rose is a design on a map that shows directions. It shows north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest.

On the compass rose above, only north is filled in. Fill in the rest of the directions on the compass rose, using the standard abbreviations:
N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West, NE=Northeast, NW=Northwest, SE=Southeast, SW=Southwest.

When north is at the top of the compass rose (as it often is), south is at the bottom, east is on the right, and west is on the left. Northeast is between north and east, northwest is between north and west, southeast is between south and east, and southwest is between south and west.

The legend is the key to unlocking the secrets of a map.
Different maps highlight different physical and 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.
You can learn more about a place by looking at several different maps of that place.

To learn more about the history of map making click here.