World Geography – Map Skills SOL WG 1 – Cloze Notes
Geographic Sources
Geographic information may be acquired from a variety of sources.
Geographic information supports the process of inquiry into the nature of countries, cities, and environments.
Parts of a Map
Absolute Location – Latitude and Longitude – used to find and exact point on the earth’s surface
Relative Location – Used to describe the location of a place based on physical features or known places
Map Projections
Mercator – Map projection used by ship navigators.
This projection is very distorted on the top and bottom.
If you look at Greenland you notice it is very large.
Antarctica is also too large.
Types of Sources
A. Geographic Information System
B. Field Work
C. Satellite Images
D. Photographs
E. Maps, globes
F. Databases
G. Primary Sources
H. Diagrams
A. Scale (Large and small scale maps) used to show detail
B. Scale (used to measure distance)
C. Compass Rose (used to find orientation)
D. Cardinal Directions (North, South, East, West)
E. Intermediate Directions (Northeast, Northwest,
Southeast, Southwest)
Polar – This map projection is used by airline pilots because it shows the shortest distance between two points. This projection also only shows part of the earth at one time.

World Geography – Map Skills SOL WG 1 – Cloze Notes
Robinson – This map projection is used to compare data in atlases because it has the best overall view of the earth. This map is commonly used in schools.
A. Mental maps are maps in your head that you can use to:
A. Carry out daily activities
B. Give directions to people
C. Understand current events
A. Mental maps can be refined by:
B. Comparing sketch maps to maps in atlases
C. Describing the location of places in terms of reference points, geographic features, or human characteristics.
Physical maps show – show landforms and elevation
Political maps show – show human made features such as cities and roads
Population maps show how many people live per square mile or kilometer
Resource maps show items that are valuable to humans
Contour maps show elevation using isolines
Changing place names
A. Formosa - Taiwan - Republic of China
B. Palestine - Israel - West Bank/Gaza
Boundaries
A. Africa in 1914 and 1990s
B. Europe before and after WWI and since 1990
C. Russia and the former Soviet Union
D. Middle East before 1948 and after 1967
Perspective of place names
B. Arabian Gulf vs. Persian Gulf
C. Sea of Japan vs. East Sea
D. Middle East vs. Southwest Asia
Disputed Areas
A. Korea – North and South Korea
B. Western Sahara – Occupied by Morocco
C. Former Yugoslavia – Broke into several countries such as Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia
D. Kashmir – Area fought over by India and Pakistan