Map Skills Flashcards
What are the lines of latitude and longitude on maps?
They are the imaginary lines on maps to pinpoint the position of places on the Earth.
What is the name of the longitude line that divides the world into the eastern and western hemisphere?
Prime Meridian also called Greenwich Meridian which is at Longitude 0º
What is the name of the longitude line oat 180º longitude called?
the International Date Line
What is the name of the latitude line that divides the world into the northern and southern hemispheres?
The Equator which is at Latitude 0º and is situated at the widest part of the globe.
In which direction do the longitude lines run on maps?
North to South. They are drawn parallel to the Prime Meridian and at equal distance from each other.
In which direction do the latitude lines run on maps?
West to East. They are drawn parallel to the equator and at equal distance from each other.
Why are the latitude lines different lengths?
Because of the shape of the earth which is a globe.
At what latitude is the North Pole?
90º N
At what latitude is the South Pole?
90ºS
How are degrees of latitude numbered?
0º to 90º North or 90º to 0º south
What is the other name for the lines of longitude?
Meridians
How are degrees of longitude numbered?
0º to 180º East and from 0º to 180º West
What are lines of latitude used to measure?
The distance north or south that a place is from the equator.
How many degrees are their in the earth?
360º just like a circle.
How are the lines of latitude labeled?
They are labeled by the degree and either N or S depending on whether or not they are north or south of the equator.
What is a hemisphere?
The earth is round like a globe or a sphere - half of a sphere is called a hemisphere.
Name the four hemispheres
Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Hemispheres
Any place on earth is in two Hemispheres. Name the hemispheres that the following countries are in: Greenland Australia Japan Brazil
Greenland: Northern and Western Hemispheres
Australia: Southern and Eastern Hemispheres
Japan: Northern and Eastern Hemispheres
Brazil: Southern and Western Hemispheres
In which hemispheres is South Africa located?
Southern and Eastern Hemispheres
What is the name of the imaginary lines that run east to west
Latitude
What is the name of the imaginary lines that run north to south
Longitude
How are latitude and longitude lines measured?
In Degrees which is the measurement of an angle between two lines.
The Equator is marked as ___ degrees.
0º
Latitude lines that are above (North) of the equator are marked ____?
N for Northern Hemisphere.
Longitude lines that are left (West) of Prime Meridian are marked ____?
W for Western Hemisphere.
Longitude lines that are right (East) of Prime Meridian are marked ____?
E for Eastern Hemisphere.
What is the other name for lines of latitudes?
Parallels.
What is a grid reference?
It is the position of a place which is given by naming the lines of latitude and longitude which cross through it e.g. Cape Town is 34ºS and 3,18ºE.
What is another name for a grid reference?
Coordinates.
What is the scale on a map?
Maps are an exact number of times smaller than the areas they show. We use scale to make things
smaller than their real size. The map’s scale compares real distances on the land to the smaller distances on the map. The scale of a map is the amount by which the map is smaller than reality.
What are the two ways you can represent the scale of a map?
1) Word Scales e.g. one centimeter = 2500km
2) Line Scales - See pg 12 of your textbook
What is a large scale map?
This is the map of a small area e.g. Pinelands and shows more detail than a small scale map. An example is where 1 cm = 100m
What is a small scale map?
A map depicting a large area e.g. South Africa. A small scale map show more area but is less detailed. An example is where 1 cm = 1000km.
What does the word scale 1 cm represents 1000m mean?
It means that 1 cm on the map is the same as 1000m on the ground.
What is an atlas?
It is a book with many different types of maps showing different types of information such as: 1) where towns and cities are in an area, 2) how they are connected by transport routes particularly train routes and roadways, 3) the types of activities in the area e.g. farming, mining, etc, 4) the relief of the area including natural and man-made features e.g. rivers, mountains, dams, etc.
What is a map?
It is a plan or picture of the earth drawn on a flat surface. Maps show things in relation to other things.
What is the study and making of maps called?
Cartography.
What is the name of someone who makes/studies maps?
Cartographer.
Exercise: Draw a globe and label the following: 1) North and South Pole, 2) Equator, 3) Tropic of Capricorn, 4) Tropic of Cancer, 5) Greenwich/Prime Meridian, 6) the international date line, 7) the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, 8) the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Check your answers with your mum or dad
On your globe mark the 0º longitude and 0º latitude lines.
Check your answers with your mum and dad
A line of longitude always lies either ______ or ____ of 0º longitude.
East or West
A line of Latitude always lies either ______ or ____ of 0º latitude.
North or South
Please explain what the following entry from an atlas means: South Africa 28 33.9881° S, 22.4530° E
The City of George in South Africa is on page 28 in the atlas. It can be found where latitude 33.9881º South crosses longitude 22.4530ºE.
How many degrees of longitude are there on a globe?
360º : 180º East + 180º West
How many degrees of latitude are there on a globe?
180º : 90º North + 90º South
