Topographical Maps Flashcards
3 basic feature types on a map
-Point (town, a tower) -Line (river, road or railway -Polygon (line surrounding something - an area or region eg. political boundary)
What are two types of maps
Reference maps & thematic maps
What is a reference map and give examples
Maps that give general information about the location of features.
Ex: Google maps or road atlas or topographic maps
What’s thematic maps and what are they also known as
Show the distribution of a specific topic (also known as statistical maps).
A map showing population distribution by country is a thematic map, or a soils map. Usually displays some specific subject or topic.
Can two maps be combined into 1 map?
Yes
What does GIS stand for
Geographical information systems
What geographical information system maps good for
Making different layers and building a map up
What’s a topographic map used for
Reading the shape of the land
What are topographic maps needed for
Needed to plan easiest access to the location esp in mountains
- good for hiking so you don’t get lost
What do they use to show the elevation of the ground
Contour lines
What’s contour intervals
Vertical distance between each contour line NOT horizontal
What does it mean when contour intervals are closer together
It means that there is a greater change in elevation over a shorter distance
What are 5 essential map elements
- Title or description
- Scale
- Locational grid
- Data & legend
- Direction indicator
NTS?
National topographic system
What is national topographic system
Provides general purpose topographic maps coverage of the entire Canadian landmass
What is UTM
Universal transverse Mercator
Lines that are tighter together and contour interval means
Steeper slope/area
Lines that are farther in contour interval means
Less steep
Sunrise are Darfur in somewhere lighter what does it mean
Lighter lines in between darker ones are how many metres it’s apart. Count the light ones
What is scale
Refers to the relationship between distance on a map and distance on the ground
Scale is usually in fraction
Ex: 1:50,000
Example of a scale
1:50,000 means 1 unit of measurement on a map represents 50,000 units of measurement on the ground
Example of title on a map
Ex: Port Coquitlam
What is data legend on a map
Symbols and definition
Ex: fort, wall ; fence (semi colon divides the features
How can you represent scale
Map skills can be represented graphically and verbally
What are the three types of map scale
- Graphic or bar scale (example in photos)
- Statement in words (ex. One centimetre represents two hundred & fifty metres)
- Representative fraction - RF - ratio of map distance to ground distance (ex: 1:25,000)

Numerator on an RF must always be at number?
One
Ex: 1:25,000
Units may be in centimetres inches or any other unit or system but both sides must be? (In regards to RF)
Expressing the same units
As in the case for all scales all units of measure are _____ distances
Horizontal distances
Maps are often referred to being
Large scale or small scale
Example of smaller map enlarge map scale
Smaller scale map , less detail ex. 1:25,000,00
Larger scale map, more detail ex. 1/10,000
Latitude runs
East and west they are horizontal.
Angular measurement of location in degrees north or south of the equator
Longitude runs
North and south vertical lines.
Angular measurement of a location east or west of the prime meridian. Run in the north to south direction from the two poles but measured in a west or easterly direction from the prime meridian.
Large scale
Cover small areas with greater detail: good for doing detailed planning
Small scale covers
Larger areas with less detail - a wall map 
1:50,000 - what is the numerator
1
What is a universal transverse Mercator system
System for providing plane coordinates based on a system of straight lines intersecting at right angles on a piece of paper
Coordinates are measured in blank units
Metric
All UTM coordinates are measured in
Metres
in UTM the north/south line is referred to
Easting coordinate
What’s referred to northing coordinate
Line that goes across the map and can only be moved north or south
Which coordinate is referenced first
Easting is always referenced first and northing is after that
