1. CE / AL Geography Map Reading Skills and Techniques

2. Major skills and techniques  Read and interpret variety of maps at different scales (1:20 000 and 1:5 000).  Interpret ground and aerial photographs to extract and analyze geographical information from them

3. What kinds of basic skills have been tested before?  Drawing a transect (AL-98, 04)transect  Drawing a sketch map (AL-99, 03, 05 + CE-05)sketch map  Drawing a cross-section (AL-01, 02)cross-section  Giving map evidence (AL-98, 99, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06 + CE-05, 06)

4. (Land-use) transect  Shows the land-use distribution  Along a line  Between 2 points

5. Types of land uses in urban landscapes  R – residential, e.g. houses  C – commercial, e.g. offices  I – industrial, e.g. factories  T – transportation, e.g. railway station  In – institutional, e.g. schools  Rc – recreational, e.g. parks  V – vacant / open space, e.g. construction site

6. Types of land uses in rural landscapes  C – cultivated land  W – woodland  G – grass / shrubs  V – vacant / abandoned land

7. How to draw a transect?  Identify the 2 points.  Connect the 2 points with a straight line.  Use a strip of paper and mark the land uses on it.  Add a key and a title. R Rc TRW A land-use transect from A to B A B

8. Example: Draw a land-use transect from point A to point B shown in the photograph. (AL-2004) (4 marks) F I O T OR W A land-use transect from A to B Key: I: industrial O: open space T: transportation R: residential W: woodland F: waterfront A B

9. Extract information from both photograph and the map. Yau Tong Estate MTR Station Factories / warehouses Construction sites / open space for car parks

10. Points to pay attention when drawing a transect  The length of the transect must be the same as the distance between 2 points.  The land use types instead of the objects should be mentioned, e.g. write institutional land use rather than school / educational land use.  You should have a clear concept about various types of land uses.

11. Sketch map  A simplified map  Showing specific information, e.g. transport routes, contour or land use  With the same / different scale from the map extract  With a title, a key and direction.

12. Example: Draw a sketch map to show the major land uses in grid squares 1086, 1087, 1088, 1186, 1187 and 1188. (AL-2003) (4 marks)

13. Points to pay attention when drawing a sketch map.  Read the questions carefully if the sketch maps are drawn in the same or a different scale from the map extract.  Include only information as required by the question.  Sketch the features roughly.  Shade the land use in a simple way.  Add a key and a title.

14. Cross section / River profile  Horizontal scale (HS) of the cross section must be the same as the map extract.  Vertical scale (VS) depends on vertical exaggeration (VE).  If the HS is 1:20000, with VE of 4 times, the VS should be 1:5000.  The vertical interval of the cross section must refer to the map.

15. A river profile

16. Points to pay attention when drawing a cross section.  Clearly identify the 2 points.  Read the height of the 2 points carefully.  If several points have the same height, don’t draw a straight horizontal line to connect all points. Decide what parts o f the line are ups and downs.  Mark the features clearly by using a key, e.g. R – river.

17. Map evidence