Geography why are maps important

Ordnance survey style maps are best suited for this purpose as they also display services and infrastructure which often complements the demographic data being studied.

Geographical Information Systems are also crucial to geographical research and analysis. GIS gives human geographers the ability to transform basic maps into more specialised data visualisations, whether it be creating a 3D model of topographic relief and adding layers of infrastructure and data, or grouping data and creating choropleth maps or data distributions.

These types of data plotting have brought mapping straight into the 21st century and can show innovation and creativity. An example of GIS in use would be a 3D topographic model of a study area overlayed with age structure data and transport networks, with emphasis on highlighting which age groups use each type of transport most often. This would have a wide array of uses such as being able to show businesses where to focus advertising strategy, or to give the government key information about whether their public transport policies are working — both areas where practical human geography is very important.

This creativity is not limited to information systems and can also be found within many other types of maps, indeed the versatility of maps is another reason why they are so important. Maps such as resource maps showing natural resources and secondary outputs are extremely useful within economic geography and likewise political maps focusing on boundaries and borders are useful to politicians and anyone interested in international relations. Thematic maps perhaps give the most room for specialisation, as a map can be tailored to show specific information and in a particular style in order to progress a theme of study, and in this way the map is useful to geographers and it can make data visualisation more focused and effective.

Particularly useful, for example, are: commercial maps produced for different purposes such as tourist maps or railway network maps are used for displaying and communicating information distribution maps to show patterns and relationships of specific information, e. Download this example of how one geography department used different maps: Use of maps at Key Stage 3 Geography originally created as an additional resource for Teaching Geography , Spring Look at this diagram about developing maps in the curriculum.

It gives a flavour of the many ways in which maps are important in geography. Activities for trainee teachers: Different types of map resources Explore some of these map resources and try some with your students: The Metlink website for weather charts and teaching resources. Start collecting examples of local tourist, transport or route maps that you could use in your lessons.

Think about learning activities you could use with these maps and any potential difficulties students could meet when using them.

Maps are often used in geography lessons in problem solving activities. This gives many examples of activities undertaken in schools. Could you use some of these in your teaching? Students making maps There is considerable learning potential in students creating their own maps. To make a map a student has to: collect data from primary or secondary sources to create the content select and process the data to display on the map draw the map using appropriate mapping techniques interpret the completed map to extract meaning from the patterns.

Evaluate student outcomes and consider carefully what makes for success in such tasks. Consider carefully the questions that arose from students that are described; how would you build on these questions in your classroom? Try out the activity in one of your lessons. Or we can say maps are drawn to reduced scales. But this reduction is done very carefully so that the distance between the places is real.

Sometimes we also differentiate a region of otherwise uniform relief by pointing out its elevation, relative to the surrounding regions. In this way, symbols are a convenient means of reading a map. A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to some maps, but unlike maps, do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down.

A model globe of Earth is called a terrestrial globe. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Essay What is the importance of map in geography?

Ben Davis April 30, What is the importance of map in geography? What are uses of maps? What is the importance of maps in teaching geography? Why are maps important in history? Who is father of map? What are the three uses of maps? What are 4 types of maps? How can a map help people? What are the two main purposes of a map? What is a map Short answer?

What are the five elements of a map? What is an example of a map? Grids Many maps include a grid pattern, or a series of crossing lines that create squares or rectangles. The grid helps people locate places on the map.

On small-scale maps, the grid is often made up of latitude and longitude lines. Latitude lines run east-west around the globe , parallel to the Equator , an imaginary line that circles the middle of the Earth.

Longitude lines run north-south, from pole to pole. Latitude and longitude lines are numbered. The intersection of latitude and longitude lines, called coordinates , identify the exact location of a place. On maps showing greater detail, the grid is often given numbers and letters. The boxes made by the grid may be called A, B, C, and so on across the top of the map, and 1, 2, 3, and so on across the left side.

The user finds the park by looking in the box where column B and row 4 cross. Title, date, author, and sources usually appear on the map though not always together. A map of areas threatened by a wildfire, for instance, would have a date, and perhaps even a time, to track the progress of the wildfire. A historical map of the ancient Sumerian Empire would have a date range of between 5, B.

Assessing accuracy and objectivity also requires checking sources. A map of a school district may list the U. Orientation refers to the presence of a compass rose or simply an arrow indicating directions on the map.

If only an arrow is used, the arrow usually points north. Map Projections Transferring information from the spherical , or ball-shaped, surface of Earth onto a flat piece of paper is called projection. A globe, a spherical model of Earth, accurately represents the shapes and locations of the continents.

But if a globe were cut in half and each half were flattened out into a map, the result would be wrinkled and torn. The size, shape, and relative location of land masses would change.

Projection is a major challenge for cartographers. Every map has some sort of distortion. The larger the area covered by a map, the greater the distortion. Features such as size, shape, distance, or scale can be measured accurately on Earth, but once projected on a flat surface only some, not all, of these qualities can be accurately represented.

For example, a map can retain either the correct sizes of landmasses or the correct shapes of very small areas, but not both. This determines which projection to use.

For example, conformal maps show true shapes of small areas but distort size. Equal area maps distort shape and direction but show true relative sizes of all areas.

There are three basic kinds of projections: planar, conical, and cylindrical. Each is useful in different situations. Imagine touching a globe with a piece of cardboard, mapping that point of contact, then projecting the rest of map onto the cardboard around that point. They are often used for maps of one of the poles. Imagine you wrapped a cone around Earth, putting the point of the cone over one of the poles.

That is a conical projection. The cone intersects the globe along one or two lines of latitude. When the cone is unwrapped and made into a flat map, latitude lines appear curved in circles or semicircles. Lines of longitude are straight and come together at one pole. In conical projection, areas in the mid-latitudes—regions that are neither close to the Equator nor close to the poles—are represented fairly accurately. For this reason, conical projections are often used for maps of the United States, most of which lies in the mid-latitudes.

The cylinder touches Earth along one line, most often the Equator. When the cylinder is cut open and flattened into a map, the regions near the Equator are the most accurate. Regions near the poles are the most distorted. Surveying and Remote Sensing Cartographers rely on survey data for accurate information about the planet. Surveying is the science of determining the exact size, shape, and location of a piece of land.

Surveyors gather information from regions both above sea level and beneath bodies of water. Surveying can be done on foot.

Surveyors use many instruments to measure the features, or topography , of the land. A compass, measuring device, and theodolites are often used by surveyors doing field work. A theodolite is an instrument that measures angles. A surveyor may calculate the angle of hills, valleys, and other features by using a theodolite, which is usually mounted on a tripod , or three-legged platform. Today, many surveyors use remote sensing to collect data about an area without actually physically touching it.

Sensors that detect light or radiation emitted by objects are mounted to airplanes or space satellites, collecting information about places on Earth from above. One method of remote sensing is aerial photography, taking photographs of Earth from the air. Aerial photography has eliminated much of the legwork for surveyors and has allowed precise surveying of some places that are impossible to reach on foot.

Satellites, spacecraft that orbit Earth, perform remote sensing. For example, Landsat , a satellite that circles Earth 14 times a day, transmits huge volumes of data to computers on Earth. The data can be used to quickly make or correct maps. How Maps Are Made Before making a map, cartographers decide what area they want to display and what type of information they want to present.

They consider the needs of their audience and the purpose of the map. These decisions determine what kind of projection and scale they need, and what sorts of details will be included. The language of the map is one thing a cartographer must consider. A blind reader needs a map that has information in braille , for instance. The audience for a map can determine how widely a map is used. A map might use red and green symbols to show the location of maple and pine trees.

This information might be easily displayed in a simple legend.