Map Elements

The Global Grid Global grid: the system of imaginary lines used to divide the surface of Earth; help us find absolute location

Parallels of Latitude Latitude: runs east and west around the globe Equator—parallel at zero degrees latitude

Longitude (Meridians) Longitude: runs from the North to South Pole Prime meridian—Prime meridian marks 0 longitude; runs through Greenwich, England International Date Line— 180° from the prime meridian Crossing IDL, one day ahead

Geographic Coordinates Geographic coordinates: numbers of the lines(longitude and latitude) that lead to a specific place; tell exact location

Map Scale Map scale: tells how to read distances on a map Large-scale map: gives a close-up view of a small area with a lot of detail Map scale

Small-scale map Small-scale map: shows a larger area with fewer details

Legend Legend or Key- tells the user about the symbols on the map

Compass Rose Compass Rose—shows where the cardinal directions (north, east, south west) lie on the map Intermediate directions—northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast

Hemispheres Hemisphere: half a world Equator splits globe into N & S hemispheres Prime meridian and IDL split globe into E & W hemispheres

Earth’s Tilt Earth’s axis is tilted at an angle relative to sun Toward the sun= summer, away from the sun= winter

Tropical Zones Area between the equator & Tropic of Cancer, & equator & Tropic of Capricorn Usually hot- hot rainy season, no winter

Types of Maps Physical Map– shows physical features Relief map– shows height of land above sea level; represented by change in colors

A Round World on a Flat Map? All flat maps have distortions Map projections—ways of showing the earth on a flat page; try to lower distortion (altering of original shape) Mercator Peters Robinson

Political Map– shows how humans have divided the surface of the earth (ex. countries, states, cities)

Special-Purpose Map– designed to display very specific information or data (ex. climate, population density)

Time Zones 24 time zones Places that have the same longitude will be in the same time zone.

MAPPING LAB