Map Work

Question 1

Well drawn map should always have the following features:

Answer 1

• A north arrow
• A scale
• Symbols with a key
• Be drawn from a Birds Eye view
• Title or Latitude/longitude

Question 2

First world maps began to appear until

Answer 2

Early 16th century

Question 3

Leading cartographer of the mid 16th century

Answer 3

Mercator from Belgium: developed mapping projection based on mathematics

Question 4

Mercator published a map of the world in

Answer 4

1569

Question 5

What’s necessary for creating maps

Answer 5

Map projections

Question 6

All map projections…

Answer 6

Distort the surface in some fashion

Question 7

Different map projections exist in order to…

Answer 7

Preserve some properties of the sphere-like body at the expense of other properties. Some distortions are acceptable and others are not

Question 8

Mercator projection

Answer 8

Cylindrical map projection presented by the Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It became the standard map projection for nautical purposes.

Question 9

Advantages of Mercator projection:

Answer 9

• Uniquely suited to marine navigation
• Courses and bearings are measured using wind roses or protractors
• Corresponding directions are easily transferred from point to point on the map with the help of a parallel ruler or a pair of navigational protractor triangles

Question 10

Disadvantages of Mercator projection:

Answer 10

• Distorts the size of objects as latitude increases from Equator to poles where scale becomes infinite: Greenland & Antarctica appear much larger relative to land masses near the equator than they actually are

Question 11

Van der Griten projection

Answer 11

Places the entire Earth into a circle, though the polar regions are subject to extreme distortion

Question 12

Advantages of van der Griten projection:

Answer 12

It was made famous when the National Geographic Society adopted it as their reference map of the world from 1922 until 1988.

Question 13

Disadvantages of van der Griten projection:

Answer 13

Polar regions are subject to extreme distortion, it is an arbitrary geometric construction on the plane.

Question 14

Gall-Peters projection

Answer 14

Named after James Gall and Arno Peters, is an equal-area map projection.

Question 15

Advantages of Gall-Peters projection:

Answer 15

Areas of equal size on the globe are also equally sized on the map.

Question 16

Disadvantages of Gall-Peters projection:

Answer 16

Shows extreme distortion in the polar regions, as any cylindrical projection must, and its distortion along the equator is considerable.

Question 17

3 ways of illustrating scale on map

Answer 17

• Statement or word scale (simple statement)
• Representative fraction [RF] or ratio scale
• A line or linear scale (a line drawn in the margin or at the base of the map from which measurements can be taken).

Question 18

3 types of symbols

Answer 18

• Point symbols – buildings, dipping tanks, trigonometrical beacons
• Line symbols – railways, roads, power lines, telephone lines,river
• Area symbols – cultivation, orchards & vineyards, pans

Question 19

6 colour groups for symbols

Answer 19

• Brown: land or earth features = contours, eroded areas, sand areas & dunes
• Light blue: water features = coastlines, dams, lakes, marshes, swamps, rivers, reservoirs. National freeways are shown in dark blue.
• Green: vegetation features = cultivated fields, golf courses, recreational fields, nature & game reserves. White indicates natural vegetation.
• Black: construction features = roads, tracks, railways, buildings, bridges, cemeteries
• Grey: construction features = built-up areas, cadastral information.
• Red: construction features = national, arterial & main roads, lighthouses & marine lights.
• Pink: international boundaries.
• Purple - indicates man-made features that are in the process or have just been constructed and so are new to the map.

Question 20

5 elements

Answer 20

• Relief: contours, spot heights, trigonometrical beacons
• Water: lakes, rivers, waterholes, reservoirs
• Vegetation: cultivation, orchards & vineyards, forests, plantations, woodland
• Man made: communication lines, settlement
• Political: boundaries

Question 21

Grid reference:

Answer 21

Locates a point on the Earth in terms of latitude and longitude. Latitude is always written first.

Question 22

How is height shown on orthophoto and topographic maps

Answer 22

• Contour lines: black lines on photograph, brown on map
• Trig beacons: black triangles on highest points on the map; no. to the right = reference number, no. below = height above sea level
• Bench marks: arrow with the height above sea level
• Spot heights: dots with height above sea level