Map Skills Study Guide

Latitude lines run East to West. (also called parallels)

(they are like a “ladder” going up and down the Earth.

The Equator is the main line of latitude that is at 0 degrees

latitude. Divides the Earth into the North and South Hemi-

spheres.

The Equator is halfway between the North and South Pole.

Longitude lines run North and South. (also called meridians)

The Prime Meridian is the main line of longitude. It runs

through Greenwich, England.

7 Continents:

Africa

Antarctica

Asia

Australia

Europe

North America (where you

live)

South America

4 Oceans:

Arctic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Indian Ocean

Pacific Ocean

A hemisphere is half of a sphere, or half of the Earth. We have 4 hemispheres: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western.

A Compass Rose is drawing showing different directions on a map, is usually

found somewhere on the edge of a map. It shows the four cardinal directions,

which are north, south, east, and west.

Cardinal Directions— North (N), South (S), East (E), West (W)

Intermediate Directions: Northeast (NE), Northwest (NW),

Southeast (SE), Southwest (SW)

North Pole

South Pole

A Political Map shows

governmental boundaries

of countries, states, and

counties, the location of

major cities, and

sometimes significant

bodies of water.

A Physical Map

shows physical

characteristics of

the Earth such as

mountains, oceans,

rivers etc. Features

that are on the

Earth naturally.

Map Key or Legend -included with a map to

help read and understand it. Maps often use symbols

or colors to represent things, and the map key or

legend explains what they mean. Symbols in the

key might be pictures or icons that represent

different things on the map.

Map Scale - the relationship (or

ratio) between distance on

a map and the corresponding

distance on the ground. For example,

on a 1:100000 scale map, 1cm on

the map equals 1km on the ground.

Map Scale

The study of the human and nonhuman features of Earth. Geography is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.

Geography-