Teaching English through Geography- Maps

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What is a map?

A map presents information about the world in a visual way. It shows the shapes of countries, the distances from one place to the other, locations of lakes, seas, mountains, streets, rivers and many more.

Kinds of maps

There are different kinds of maps: 

  • Physical: they show the physical features of an area eg. mountains, rivers, lakes,etc

  • Political: they show the states, national boundaries, capital and major cities etc

  • Thematic: they give details of different aspects like weather, time, industries etc

Elements of a map:

  1. The title gives basic information about the map.

  2. A legend or key explains all symbols used in a map.

legend

  1. A map's scale shows the relationship between distances on the map and the real distances.

scale

  1. A map always shows the cardinal directions with the aid of a compass rose. The upper part of a map shows the north, the bottom part of a map shows the south, the left part of a map shows the west and the right part of a map shows the east.

compass rose



  1. Many maps include a grid. A grid is a series of crossing lines. A map's grid helps people locate specific places.

On small-scale maps, the grid is often made up of latitude and longitude lines. Latitude lines show the distance of a place from the Equator. They run parallel to the Equator, an imaginary line that circles the middle of Earth.

Longitude lines show the distance of a place from the Prime Meridian and run north-south, connecting the North and South Poles.

Latitude and longitude lines are numbered. The points where they cross each other are called coordinates. These coordinates indicate the exact location of a place.

grid

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