Map Reader
Which subject is most interesting subject
in your schooling? If you ask such question to any individual, you will rarely
expect an answer like “Geography”. Most of the students are afraid to Geography
as a subject in their schooling. Mapping is part of Geography and categorized
under Cartographic techniques. Everyone is using various maps in their day to
day life. It may be hard copy map or digital map in a computer screen. Even if
anybody asking about a location where he never been to that place, then we draw
a hand map through a pen & paper to describe the location. Map reading is
very much essential not only for a Geographer but for all the people to know various
earth places where they are living. They enable us to depict spatial
phenomenon. A map is a navigation aid. A wide variety of maps are available for
a wide variety of uses. Political maps are
having various administrative boundaries like district boundaries, state
boundaries, country boundaries or any local administrative area. Road maps with all the roads available or a
tourist maps with all the locality and have areas of interest clearly labeled
on the maps. It is not always possible to represents each earth objects on a
map. The representation of elements is depending upon the map scale and the
purpose of use. Large scale maps are gives more representation of the spatial
objects but the area of coverage is very limited. We can represent a minor part
of the earth surface. Like wise in small scale maps the area of coverage is
more but only some of the entity can be viewed.
Purpose of a Map
Map is used for identifying the existence
of the spatial features, the location and distance between two or more location
etc. it also used to get idea on existence ground cover (forest area, agriculture
area, settlement etc). Most of the planning is possible just because of maps.
If you have a soil map and you don’t know about the soil classes then that will
be not useful for you or if you want measure distance between two locality by
road then a soil map can not be solve you purpose. In another way, you have a
road map and you want to measure the exact distance between your current places
with destination place but you don’t know the map scale, then also it will not
fulfill your purpose. So in the very first we should know for what purpose we
are going to use such map.
Adopting a right map against the purpose of
use is interrelated. To identifying a location one should take the road map
with various land marks. For general people, map is only used to identifying a
location. So adopt the right map which will fulfill your requirements. The
normal methods to read a map is first identify the location “where are you
now”. Then identify the destination
location where you suppose to go. Once the current location and destination
location identified, then you can follow the way with right direction. But it
is always suggested to mark the location through the pencil so that you can
easily access in the next time.
Map Elements
There are various elements present on a map
which provide basic information to the reader. Among these are the titles,
scale, legend, body of the map, north arrow, neatline, date of production,
projection used, information about sources etc... The placement of such
elements and the style of its representation may vary from one map to another.
Some of the elements are found almost in all maps no matter what the themes
are. The theme area is the largest area in map representing the spatial
features.
Title:
The title is displayed on top of the map to
provide a clear indication on the thematic and geographic area displayed on the
map. It is describe the area name, representation, subtitle or date of
publication. A title might be sufficient for the readers where one can be
assumed to be familiar with the theme being presented.
Legend:
The legend is a vital part of a map and
help us for map reading. It shows the lists of the styles, color, pattern of
the symbols used on a map and what they stand for. These symbols in the legends
are appearing exactly as they are found in the map theme. Sometimes the
necessary information is put in a caption, or leble placed directly on the theme
of the map.
North
Arrow:
The north arrow is an integral part of the
map. A North arrow is shows the direction of north on the map. Its primary
function is to convey information regarding the orientation of the map.
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| Various North Arrow Styles |
Neatline:
The border delineating and defining the
extent of geographic data on a map. It demarcates exactly where the area of a
map begins and ends. In a cartographical map, it is the most accurate element
of the data; other map features may be moved slightly or exaggerated for
generalization or decorative point of view, but the neatline is never adjusted.
 |
| Neatline define the extent of the Map |
Scale:
The scale of a map defined as the ratio of
a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground. The map
scale is usually located in the legend box of a map, which explains the symbols
and provides other important information about the map. A map scale can be
printed in a variety of ways.
Example:
Distance on the Map
Scale = ----------------------------
Distance on the Ground
The scale is defined by RF (representative fraction) which
indicates how many units on the earth's surface are equal to one unit on the
map. It can be expressed as 1/100,000 or 1:100,000. In this example, one
centimeter on the map equals 100,000 centimeters (1 kilometer) on the earth. Scale Bar is found at every National Topographic System
map to determine distances between points or along lines on the map sheet.
Map Notes:
Map notes are not always found in general
maps. Maps prepared by any National topographical Map agencies or Govt. Maps
having such kind of notes. Some of the relevant notes which may concern to the
restrictions of map use or where the reference of the map was taken or any
other relevant points the creator of the map wants to shares are comes under
map notes.
Label:
Labels are mentioned along with the spatial
features in map theme. These labels are make easy for the map reader to easily
identify any location on a map. This may be road name or a location name or
rive name etc.
Reference:
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