Components of a Map

The Title The most basic component of a map is its title. The title should refer to everything the map covers. It could be a basic name of a country, such as "Japan," or it could be more extensive, such as "Water Tables in the Western Saharan Desert." The title should clearly state what the cartographer’s intentions and goals are; it should be specific, and it should not include irrelevant information.

The Title Why is it important to give your map a title?

The Legend Every map must have a legend or key. The legend is a vital tool in understanding and interpreting the map. The legend should explain every feature or symbol contained on the map. It should reveal what every marking means and sometimes provide additional information. For example, a city may be represented by a large black dot of a certain size on a map, and the legend may explain that this represents a city with a population greater than 1 million people.

The Legend What can you learn about the map from just looking at the legend?

Perspective With a Scale A scale is important to put into perspective for the reader the distances on the map and to provide accurate navigational information for the user. A scale tells the user what the scaled- down size of the representation is. This is usually represented by a ratio. For example, if a map represents an area that is actually 100,000 times bigger, the map’s scale is 1:100,000.

Perspective with a scale Why is it critical that the map provide the scale?

Compass Orientation All maps must have a compass orientation. Because the primary purpose of a map is to provide an insight into directions, a map has to be able to show which way is which on a compass. Most maps have "North" at the top and "South" at the bottom, but all maps should have an official representation of the compass orientation. The Compass Rose is used to show directions and can be as basic as North, South, East and West – or it can be detailed with degrees of direction.

Compass Rose The Compass Rose can be simple or detailed. It may indicate cardinal directions as well as degrees of the direction.

Compass Orientation Not all maps have to be in the north/south orientation. Why do you need a compass rose for some maps and not others?

Date your Map To give context to a map, the date of publication should be present. As maps are continually updated with additional information and improved accuracy, it is important to know the time when your map was published. For example, viewing a map of London published in 1970 might still be useful but will not be as accurate as one published in 2014.

Date your Map Why is a date so important for a map?