Map Skills

Quick Review: Where do we live? Planet Earth

United States of America

Minnesota

Reading A Map

 Drawing of a place from above  Can show all of earth or just a small part of it What is a map?

 This picture shows a globe  A globe is a model of the earth  The North and South poles help you tell directions Understanding Directions

 A symbol that shows the four main directions on a map  Important to check the compass rose when reading a map – North might not always be up!! Compass Rose

Cardinal Directions The four main directions on a compass rose: North East South West

 Northeast  Northwest  Southeast  Southwest Intermediate Directions

The four directions located halfway between the cardinal directions on a compass rose Northeast Northwest Southeast Southwest

In your notebook: Fill in the compass rose

 A scale is a ruler that helps you measure distance on a map Map Scale

Landforms and Water Formations

 A line that marks the limit of a country’s, state’s, or community’s territory  Ex: Minnesota/Wisconsin State Line Boundary (Border)

Boundary A line that marks the limit of a country’s, state’s, or community’s territory

 A body of water joining two larger bodies of water  Ex: English Channel Channel

Body of water joining two larger bodies of water

 Triangular section of land at the mouth of a river  Ex: Nile River Delta Delta

Triangular section of land at the mouth of a river

 Narrow strip of land between two bodies of water that joins two larger land areas  Ex: Panama Isthmus

Narrow strip of land between two bodies of water that connects two larger land areas

 An area of fairly level, flat land that is surrounded by steep slopes on several sides  Ex: The Mexican Plateau Plateau (Mesa)

Plateau An area of fairly level, flat land that is surrounded by steep slopes on several sides

 A lake that forms behind a dam, made by humans to hold water from one or more streams or rivers  Ex: Big Stone Lake Reservoir Reservoir

A lake that forms behind a dam, made by humans to hold water from one or more streams or rivers

 Narrow waterway that joins two larger bodies of water  Ex: Strait of Magellan Strait

Narrow waterway that joins two larger bodies of water

How Maps and Globes are Divided

 grid of intersecting lines on a globe enables us to identify every location on earth with a set of numbers or letters  A circle is 360 degrees – Divide the circle in half, each side is 180 degrees  North and South poles are 180 degrees apart from one another  Both poles are 90 degrees from the equator Dividing our Globe

 Equator divides the earth into two halves called hemispheres (Northern and Southern)  Prime Meridian divides the earth into two halves called hemispheres (Eastern and Western) Hemispheres

Hemisphere Half of the globe – divided by Equator or Prime Meridian

Continents and Oceans

 North America  South America  Africa  Europe  Asia  Australia  Antarctica The Continents

 Atlantic  Pacific  Indian  Arctic  (Southern) The Oceans

Continents North America South America Africa Europe Asia Australia Antarctica

Oceans Atlantic Pacific Indian Arctic

Let’s Look at North America!

 United States of America  Canada  Mexico  Greenland North American Countries:

 Atlantic Ocean  Pacific Ocean  Arctic Ocean Oceans that Border North America

Using an Atlas

 A collection of maps found in book form  Usually organized by region (continent, country, etc) What is an atlas?