GLOBE AND MAPS

 

Let’s have a look upon the Globe and Maps with its various features

We all known that our living planet Earth is round in shape, but for a long time it was believed that the Earth was flat. They were afraid of falling from its edges. So, they never travelled far.

About 500 years ago, a Portuguese explorer man named Ferdinand Magellan went on a long voyage from Spain. He started the voyage in 1519 with five small ships. He sailed west and kept on sailing in the same direction. After three years, he returned to the same place from where he had started his voyage. This proved that the Earth is round and not flat.

There were also people like Aristotle and Copernicus who confirmed that the Earth is round in shape. Copernicus also stated that the Earth moves around the Sun.

Can you imagine what would happen if the Earth were flat? Yes, if we travelled to the edge of the Earth, we would fall off!

Have you ever seen a photograph of the Earth taken from space? The Earth is so big that we cannot see or study the whole of it at the same time. Therefore, to study the Earth, we use a model of the Earth called the globe.

THE GLOBE                                                    

Globe

A globe is a small three-dimensional model of the Earth which gives us a clear picture of what the Earth actually looks like. The shape of a globe is sphere as the real Earth is. Globe helps to study the Earth and gives us an idea about the shape and location of different continents, countries, oceans and seas. The larger the globe, one can easily find places on it.

Globes show a very few details and it cannot show only a part of the world. We cannot see all the places on the globe and when the larger the globe, the more difficult it is to carry it from place to place.

MAPS

Did you know? The word ‘map’ comes from the Latin word ‘mappa’, which means a napkin. This word was used because, like a napkin, a map can be easily folded.

A map can be defined as a two-dimensional representation of the whole or part of the Earth, drawn to scale, on a flat surface. Can we flatten all the three-dimensional features of the Earth on a flat surface accurately? It is nearly impossible. In a map, the shapes and sizes of places get slightly distorted. The large the area covered by a map, the greater the distortion. Maps are a rich source of information. Maps help us answer basic geographic questions.

Maps serve different needs of map users. So, maps vary in content. Maps are classified on the basis of scale of the map, content of the maps and purpose they serve.

PHYSICAL MAPS

An example of Physical map

Physical maps show physical features such as mountains, seas, rivers, lakes, forests, plateaus. They are also known as relief maps.

POLITICAL MAPS

An example of the Political map

Political maps show cultural features like countries, capital cities, towns, villages and other important places.

THEMATIC MAPS

An example of Thematic map

Thematic maps show specific information. They deal with a single themes or topics such as rainfall, crops, industries, population, temperature, roadways etc.

CADASTRAL MAPS

They are village maps which show trees, fields, streams, settlements, village schools, temples, etc.

Languages of a Map

We need to know certain things about a map, such as its direction, its scale and meaning of the various colours and symbols used in it in order to understand the map. This is why these features are called the languages of a map.

Directions

The main component of a map is direction. The four principal directions – north, east, south and west are indicated as arrowheads on a map. They are called cardinal points. The inter-cardinal points are north-east, north-west, south-east and south-west.

Scale

The size and distance between places on a map is shown by a scale. A scale is the ratio of the distance between two places on the map to the actual distance between these two places on the ground.

The scale of a map can be represented in different ways.

Verbal or Statement scale

A verbal scale describes the scale in words. For example: ‘one centimeter on the map is equal to one kilometer on the ground’.

Representative Fraction

It represents the scale of a map in terms of a fraction or a ratio between the distance on the map and the actual distance on the land. For example: if 1cm on the map represents 1km on the ground, we say the RF of the map is:

 1:1,00,000

Linear Scale

A linear scale is one where the scale of the map is represented by a straight line with uniformly spaced divisions. The division on the extreme left of the scale is further graduated to show the sub-divisions of the main unit of measure.

Large Scale and Small Scale Maps

Maps are also classified as large scale or small scale maps. The larger the scale of the map, the smaller the area it will cover. For example, if a map has a large scale of 1:1000, it means that 1 unit on the map represents 1000 units on the ground. If a map has a small scale of 1:5,000,000, it means that 1 unit on the map represents 5,000,000 units on the ground.

Legend or key

The legend or the key of a map explains what the colours and symbols used in the map mean. It is usually given in a box in one corner of the map.

Certain standard colours and symbols are used to show different features such as oceans, seas, mountains, plains, deserts, cities, roads, railways, etc. it is important to understand these colours and symbols because they help us to read the map. All maps follow a common scheme of colours.

·        Blue : water bodies such as oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, etc.

·        Brown : hills, mountains and plateaus

·        Yellow : hot deserts

·        White : cold deserts, snow-covered areas

·        Green : planis and lowlands

Symbols are marked on maps to show capitals, ports, cities, roads, bridges, airport, hospitals, rivers, boundaries, post offices and many such things.

Maps also have lines drawn over them to form squares. These squares are called grids. Each grid has a number which helps us to locate a place easily on a map.

One of the most important fact about the maps is the different types of maps can be put together in a book and the book is called atlas.

Globes and maps help to find a place in the living plant Earth. As a human being we don't have the proper information of each and every places of the Earth and it is also not necessary and thus we take the help of globe as well as map.