Wiki Page, A2:World Geography and Civilizations, term 1-1: Basic Map Components

Wiki Page
2013-10-21T08:01:11-06:00

meridians - lines of longitude, run from pole to pole, crossing the lines of latitude

parallels - lines of latitude, run parallel to the Equator

cardinal directions - north, east, south, and west

compass rose - directional indicator, shows where the cardinal directions lie on the map

legend - tells the user about the symbols used on the map

scale - tells the user about the size of a map in relation to the size of the real world by giving the ration between distances on the map and actual distances on the earth

relief - the changing elevation of the land, represented either by shading or changing colors

Below is a link to the National Geographic website about mapping. Go here to see what these different map components look like.

National Geographic Mapping