Map Elements

By
Dr. Asma Th. Ibraheem

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 DEFINITION OF A MAP

A MAP IS A GEOGRAPHIC PREPRESENTATION OF

A PORTION OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE DRAWN
TO SCALE, AS SEEN FROM ABOVE. IT’S USES
COLORS, SYMBOLS AND LABELS TO REPRESENT
FEATURES FOUND ON THE GROUND.
 PURPOSE OF A MAP
A MAP PROVIDES INFORMATION ON THE EXSISTENCE,
THE LOCATION OF, AND THE DISTANCES BETWEEN
GROUND FEATURES, SUCH AS POPULATED PLACES
AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL AND COMMUNICATON.
THE MAP ALSO INDICATES VARIATIONS IN TERRAIN,
HEIGHTS OF NATURAL FEATURES, AND THE EXTENT
OF VEGETATION COVER.
 Latitude and Longitude
►The earth is divided into lots of lines
called latitude and longitude.

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 Lines
►Longitude lines run east and west.
►Latitude lines run north and south.
►The lines measure distances in
degrees.

Longitude
Latitude

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 Where is 0 degree?
►The equator is 0 degree latitude.
►It is an imaginary belt that runs
halfway point between the North Pole
and the South Pole.

Equator
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 P M
E
Where is 0 degree?
R
R
I I
D
► The prime meridianMis 0 I degrees
longitude. This imaginary
E A line runs through
N
the United Kingdom, France, Spain, western
Africa, and Antarctica.

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 Hemispheres

►Byusing the equator and prime

meridian, we can divide the
world into four hemispheres,
north, south, east, and west.

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 Compass
►A compass is a tool that helps
the user know what direction
one is headed.
►On a map, a compass or a
compass rose helps the user
locate these directions.

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 Scale
►Maps are made to scale; that is, there
is a direct connection between a unit of
measurement on the map and the
actual distance.
►For example, each inch on the map
represents one mile on Earth. So, a
map of a town would show a mile-long
strip of fast food joints and auto
dealers in one inch. 12
Scale
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 Map Legends
► Thelegend is the key to unlocking the
secrets of a map. Objects or colors in the
legend represent something on the map.

Religions
Legend
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Age Expectancy

Legend

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Scale and Distance

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The scale of a map is usually defined as the
ratio of a single unit of distance on the
map to the corresponding distance on the
ground. Clearly such a map projection
must be comparable to the size of the
Earth and, in order to represent it on a
small sheet of paper, it must be reduced.
The ratio defined on the printed map
projection is then re-interpreted as the
representative fraction, or in short, the
RF.

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 How is scale shown on a map?
► 1. As a written statement
4cm = 1 Km
► 2.As a ratio or fraction
1 : 25 000

► 3.Using a scale line.

0 500m

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 (Graphical) bar scale
 may be a suitable physical ruler which can be
used to measure distance on the map, or maps, if
the ruler has several scales. The maps themselves
usually have one or more scales drawn on them.

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 Large Scale & Small Scale
► Largescale maps show the most detail but
only cover a small area e.g. road maps,
town plans.

► Smallscale maps show less detail but cover

a larger area e.g. maps of the whole of the
UK.

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Large Scale & Small Scale

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Large Scale & Small Scale

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Large Scale & Small Scale

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 Large Scale & Small Scale
► Large scale:
Large representative fraction (1:50,000 or Larger)
 More detail
 Covers smaller spatial area of Earth’s surface

► Intermediate Scale:
1:50,000 to 1:250,000
► Small Scale:
1:250,000 to 1:7,500,000
 Less detail
 Covers larger spatial area of the Earth’s surface

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Scale Conversion
Example of Maps

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Example 1
Write the scale 1 cm to 1 m in ratio form.
Example 2
Simplify the scale 5 mm : 1 m.
Example 3
Simplify the scale 5 cm : 2 km.

Example 4
A particular map shows a scale of 1 :
5000. What is the actual distance if the
map distance is 8 cm? 33
Example 5
A particular map shows a scale of 1 cm :
5 km. What would the map distance
(in cm) be if the actual distance is 14
km?
Example 6
Find the length of the bridge in cm which
connect between two points A and B having
the following coordinates:
xA = 15320.15m xB = 15585.39m
yA = 1357.22m yB = 1357.22m
Drawn a map with 1/500 scale.
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Example 7
What is the convenient scale to draw a
map for a rectangle ground (7 X 10)
km on a sheet of (50 X 60)cm.
Example 8
What is the convenient scale to draw the
following points on (20 X 30)cm sheet:

Point X (m) Y (m)

A 500.00 500.00
B 700.25 615.07
C 430.50 330.22
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Example 9
To draw the previous points A, B, C with
scale 1/2000, find the dimension of the
required sheet.

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