Using and understanding atlases
A book containing global and national maps. provide maps on global and national The ratio of a distance on a map, graph or diagram to the corresponding actual distance.. Some atlas maps show A natural landform., whilst others show An aspect to do with humans, eg poor sanitation..
Physical maps
Physical maps show natural features such as mountains, lowlands, major rivers, seas, oceans and A community of animals, plants and microorganisms, together with the habitat where they live. like deserts and rainforests - on a global scale. On a national scale, physical maps show The way that the landscape changes in height. and drainage features, such as rivers.
Some maps show physical features that are experienced rather than seen. Examples of this are average temperature and rainfall maps.
Human and political maps
Political maps show country boundaries and major cities. Human maps show features that people have created. Examples of these are The location of people in an area., When people move from one place to another. flows, A form of transportation, eg a road, railway or ferry route. and A settlement is a place where people live and work. They come in all shapes and sizes – they can be as large as megacities like London or as small as individual houses dispersed across the Lake District. layout.
Some maps show human features that are experienced rather than seen. Examples of this are The average number of years a person is expected to live depending on where they live., The amount of wealth or personal comfort that a person or group of people have. or even measures of world happiness.
Direction
All maps should have a Information to give the direction of travel, or the direction of a force, for example, a speed of 20 m s-1 to the left, or a force of 15 N to the right. arrow to show which way is north. North is at the top of the globe and south is at the bottom. East is to the right and west is to the left. Compass points in between these four are shown as combinations, eg the point in between north and east is called north-east. If the point is slightly closer to the east, it is called east-north-east.
Latitude and longitude
Imaginary lines around the Earth running parallel to the equator. These are measured in degrees north or south of the equator. and Imaginary lines around the Earth running from the north to the south pole. These are measured in degrees east or west of the Greenwich or Prime Meridian. enable users to find locations on atlases.
- As the earth is a sphere, lines of latitude and longitude are measured using degrees of a circle.
- Lines of latitude run from east to west. The The line around the centre of the Earth, parallel to the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. is a line of latitude that lies at 0°. Lines above this are shown as °N (north) and lines below this are shown as °S (south).
- Lines of longitude run from north to south. The The line of longitude at 0° that runs through Greenwich, in London. or The line of longitude at 0° that runs through Greenwich, in London. in London is a line of longitude at 0°. Lines to the right of this are shown as °E (east) and lines to the left of this are shown as °W (west).
Latitude is shown first and longitude is shown second, eg Manchester in the UK is at 53.5°N, 2.2°W.