World GeographyChapter 1:

The Tools of Geography

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How do geographers show information on maps?

Map Titles and Symbols• Map Title: identifies the map’s main topic

Example: Physical Features of Latin America

• Compass Rose: shows directions on a map• Cardinal Directions: North, South, East, and West• Intermediate Directions: Northwest, Northeast,

Southeast, Southwest

• Map Legend/Key: a box or list on a map that identifies each symbol on a map and explains what it shows on the map

Map Grid

• Map Grid: system of imaginary lines to divide up space on their maps.

Map Scales

• Map Scale: tells you how to read the distances on the map– Example: 1 inch

on a map might equal 10 miles on Earth.

Hemispheres, Continents, and Oceans

• Hemisphere: half of a sphere. The Earth is divided by the equator into Northern and Southern hemispheres, and can be divided into Eastern and Western hemispheres by the prime meridian and international date line.

Latitude and Longitude (GLOBAL GRID)

• Parallels of Latitude: lines that run east and west around the globe, they are parallel (equal distance from one another). The most important line of latitude is the equator.

• Meridians of Longitude: half circles that run from the North Pole to the South Pole- Not parallel. Most important lines of longitude are the prime meridian and international date line.

Showing a Round World on a Flat Map

• Distortion: a change in the shape, size, or position of a place when it is shown on a map

SEE PICTURE ON PAGE 13 FOR EXAMPLE OF DISTORTION

How do Geographers deal with Map Distortion?

• Map Projection: a way of representing the spherical Earth on a flat surface