Unit 1: An overview of Geography Topic: Introduction to Maps Content Objective: Which type of map do you think is the most important in understanding the culture of a country? Explain. TLWBAT identify the different types of maps and know how to read maps using latitude and longitude

Types of Maps

Physical Maps Illustrate landforms Mountains Deserts Topographic maps shape and elevation using contour lines

Political Map Display cultural information Borders Some physical features

Thematic Maps Information on a specific theme Population density Land use Climate

Don’t Use the Metric System Liberia Mynamar Date back to the 18th century for the U.S. not the 1970s

Countries that Britain has invaded

Driving Orientation

Internet Usage

Global Population Density

Alcohol Consumption Light purple: Kazakhstan, Australia, Uganda, Nigeria, Spain, Italy, Argentina, Greece

Highest paid public employee

Dracula = Romania

Measuring the Earth

Earth is a sphere Measured in degrees Based on a grid Sexagesimal scale Distance between Lines If you divide the circumference of the earth (approximately 25,000 miles) by 360 degrees, the distance on the earth's surface for each one degree of latitude or longitude is just over 69 miles A circle has 360 degrees 60 minutes per degree minutes ' of arc 60 seconds per minute seconds " of arc There are 3,600 seconds per degree

Latitude

Equator = Zero degrees Run horizontally Equal distance 69 miles apart 0° to 90° north and south

Longitude

Are widest at the equator about 69 miles apart Prime Meridian Greenwich, England (0°) They run vertically 0° to 180° Are widest at the equator about 69 miles apart Gradually decrease to zero at the poles East or West of the Prime Meridian Greenwich, the site of the British Royal Greenwich Observatory, was established as the site of the prime meridian by an international conference in 1884. Why Greenwich? Why do we use Greenwich to set where zero longitude is located?  At the time when European sailors began to spread out around the world, in the 1500s, England was one of the most active in colonization.  As a result, they had many ships sailing the seas and many chances to lose ships to poor navigation.  Longitude could be measured accurately on land by (a) using very accurate pendulum clocks and (b) using rare astronomical events to set the clock to match one at home. However, on a ship a pendulum clock is not very good!  The Royal Greenwich Observatory (now a museum, near London) was established mainly to find a way to solve the longitude problem for ships.  The RGO established its "meridian" by where it built the main instrument for timing stars.   There was some rivalry; the Paris Observatory had its own meridian and French sailors preferred to reckon longitude from there.  To make a long story short, the English solved the longitude problem and gained the Prime Meridian. The first longitude line was the Prime Meridian. Any meridian could have been chosen as the Prime Meridian because they are all exactly the same. The Prime Meridian was selected by international agreement at the International Meridian Conference called by President Chester Arthur in October of 1884. Representatives from 25 nations met in Washington, D.C. All other longitude lines are measured in degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian. There are a maximum of 180 degrees on longitude to the east or the west of the Prime Meridian

How latitude/longitude work together

How to read one Format Latitude before longitude Latitude always N or S Longitude always E or W The U.S. Capitol is located at 38° 53'23"N 77° 00'27"W 38 degrees, 53 minutes, and 23 seconds north of the equator 77 degrees, no minutes and 27 seconds west of the meridian

Map Symbols

Black Blue Brown Green White Red roads, buildings water, lakes, rivers, streams Brown contour lines Green vegetation White areas with little or no vegetation; white is also used to depict permanent snowfields and glaciers Red major highways; boundaries of public land areas

Map Scales

Scale A scale of 1:250,000 inches, feet, or meters 1 inch = 250,000 inches in real world Most USGS maps are either 1:24,000, also known as 7 ½ minute maps

Assignment Latitude and Longitude