Social Studies

What is a map?


A map is a graphic representation of a portion of the
earth's surface drawn to scale, as seen from above.
What maps have you used?

Physical map


Relief map


Map that shows the height of land above sea level.
Political map


Map that shows how the land looks.
Map that shows how humans have divided the
surface of the Earth.
Special Purpose map

Map that gives one particular kind of information.


Shows how the land looks
Give some examples of things a physical map
might show.





Mountains
Rivers
Plains
Lakes
Other physical features of the land.

Map that shows the
height of land above
sea level.

Map that shows how humans have divided the
surface of the Earth.


Divided into countries, states, etc…
Displays some physical features since those are
often used as boundaries.

A map that gives one particular kind of
information.

Rainfall maps, population density maps, Zip Code
map, interstate/highway map, etc…


Maps are usually a combination of physical,
political, and special purpose.
Example:

A map may show the products produced in each
state within the United States along with major
rivers.

What types of maps are represented in the examples
below?


A map projection is a way to show the rounded
Earth on a flat piece of paper.
Maps show four things






Direction
Distance
Shape
Size
Globes can show all four accurately but maps
cannot.
To get one thing accurate, we must give up
another.

Map projection


Conic projection


Map projection used for showing small areas
midway between the equator and the poles.
Gall-Peters projection


A way of showing the earth on a piece of paper.
Map projection that shows the sizes of the
landmasses correctly.
Mercator projection

Map projection that shows true directions and land
shapes but exaggerates size of landmasses.


Shows how the Earth would look if a piece of paper
were wrapped to form a tube around the globe.
The distances are not true. The sizes of the landmasses
near the North and South poles are greatly
exaggerated.


Compare the sizes of South America and Greenland on
a Mercator map.
South America is actually nine times larger than
Greenland.


Map projection that shows the sizes of the
landmasses correctly.
However, shapes and distances are not
accurate.


Map projection used for showing small areas
midway between the equator and the poles.
Size, distance, and direction are fairly accurate.
It comes from the idea of placing a cone over
part of a globe.




There are a number of other kinds of
projections which show the sizes and shapes of
landmasses fairly accurately.
Remember that no map can show direction,
distance, shape, and size at the same time as
accurately as a globe.
Every kind of map has a special use, but none
is perfect.
Be careful about making judgments about the
world based on maps since shape, size, or
distance may be inaccurate.