What is a map?
• A map is a drawing of the earth's surface or a part of its area
drawn on a flat surface. Maps can show the country, region, state,
a town, or even the whole world. They can be on paper or on a mobile
phone, tablet or computer. Most maps are drawn on a flat surface.
map of Accra
● Maps help plan routes from one place to another.
● Map helps find certain features like hills or rivers, or a landmark
such as a castle.
Map Title
● A map title tells what a map shows. It gives us our first clue about a
map’s content. The title usually describes the area shown on the map.
It also identifies the map’s main topic.
Map scale
● A map is always smaller than the area it represents. Most maps
include something called a scale to show how much smaller the map
is. The scale shows how distances on the map are related to the
●
map scales
A compass rose
● Maps usually have a symbol called a compass rose. A compass
rose shows the cardinal directions. The cardinal directions are the
main compass points—north, east, south, and west.
● The four points exactly in between each of these, are north-east,
south-east, south-west, and north-west.
Latitude and Longitude
● Any place on Earth can be located using a
system called latitude and longitude. Latitude
and longitude are sets of imaginary lines that
circle Earth.
● Lines of latitude run east and west while lines
of longitude run north and south. They are
often printed on maps. Any place can be found
on a map using its measurements of both
latitude and longitude.
● LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE
Map Symbols
● Map makers replace pictures with symbols. Each symbol represents one
particular thing. A map may have different symbols for cities, rivers, lakes,
roads, railroad tracks, and so on.
● A map key / Legend tells what each symbol stands for. For example, a main
road may be shown by double black lines with red between them.
