All kinds of maps
Maps show you all kinds of things about the earth and space. The kind of
map you probably know best is a road map. This kind of map shows roads,
cities, rivers, and important places. You use road maps when you go on
auto trips.
Sailors and airplane pilots also use a sort of “road map” called a
chart. Their charts show the “highways” of the oceans and skies.
In school, you use maps that show countries, states, provinces, cities,
and other important places. You also might use a map that shows how
rough or smooth the land is. One kind of map has a raised, bumpy
surface. You can see and even feel the earth’s hills and valleys!
There are maps that show where people live. Other kinds of maps show the
weather, crops, or events of history. There are even maps of the moon,
the stars, and the planet Mars!
Map language
Follow the Yellow Brick Road!
If you were in the Land of Oz, the Yellow Brick Road would lead you to
Emerald City. But in real life there are no Yellow Brick Roads to guide
us to where we want to go. So, we use maps. And mapmakers use symbols
and colors to show us what we want to know.
Map symbols stand for real things on the surface of the earth. Most of
the symbols are simple and quite easy to understand. They are usually
explained in a box near a corner of the map. And the colors help.
Man-made things—such as highways—are usually red or black lines. The
wider the line, the bigger the highway. Crossed lines stand for railroad
tracks, and dots stand for cities. A star or dot inside a circle means a
capital city. And to find an airport, look for a tiny drawing of an
airplane.
Water is shown in shades of blue, so those squiggly blue lines show
rivers. Sometimes color is used to show the height, or elevation, of the
land. Fairly low land might be colored green. High mountains may be dark
brown.
The next time you see a map, look again. You’ll be surprised to find out
how symbols and colors help mapmakers show a lot on a very small map.
