Chapter 1 Earth and Maps Section 3 Reading Maps

Chapter 1 Earth and Maps Section 3 Reading Maps

Learning to Read Maps

Maps are an indispensable tool for our daily life and learning geography. Different maps have been created to meet different needs. Different maps reflect different kinds of geographical things and the details of similar geographical things. A map is an image that uses various symbols to represent geographic objects on a flat surface at a certain scale and in a reduced size. Scales, directions, and legends are the "language" of maps, and the meaning of these "languages" should be clear when reading maps.

To read a map, you must learn to use the scale. The scale on a map is mostly expressed as a line segment, i.e., a line segment on the map indicating how many kilometers 1 centimeter represents in the field. Some maps use a numerical scale, such as 1:500000, which means that 1 cm on the map represents a distance of 500,000 cm, or 5 km, in the field.

To read a map, you need to learn to identify directions on the map. When faced with a map, it is usually "north up, south down, left west, right east". On this basis, you can also determine the direction of the northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. On a map with a pointer, follow the pointer to read the direction. On a map with a latitude and longitude grid, determine the direction according to the latitude and longitude grid.

To read a map, you must also learn to recognize the legend. There are various symbols in the map legend that represent certain geographical objects. By learning to measure distances, identify directions, and recognize legends on a map, you will be able to read maps.

Choosing a map to use

There are many different types of maps, and different maps can reflect different information. If you choose the right map for the purpose you want to use, you will be able to get useful information in a timely and accurate manner. For example, if you are visiting a park and need to find an attraction, you should look at a guide map to find the answer. If you are going on a trip to determine your itinerary, you should refer to a transportation map. To learn about international current events and to determine where events are taking place, you should consult country and regional maps of the world.

Maps come in different scales, and maps of different scales have different geographical coverage and different levels of detail. You should choose a map at the appropriate scale. For example, if you want to visit Beijing and want to know the location of Beijing, you should refer to a smaller scale map of China; if you want to know more about Beijing when you arrive, you should choose a larger scale city map of Beijing; if you want to visit Beijing Zoo, you should also choose a larger scale map of Beijing Zoo.

With the application of modern technology such as electronic computers, map information is increasingly accessible and presented in a variety of ways, greatly facilitating our selection and use of maps. For example, using satellites or airplanes, ground information can be quickly acquired on a large scale and processed into recognizable images that can either be printed on paper or displayed directly on the screen.

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