MAP TYPES & HOW TO READ THEM

ON THIS POWERPOINT, YOU WILL FIND SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF MAPS. THROUGHOUT THIS CLASS, YOU WILL BE LEARNING HOW TO MAKE AND ANALYZE THESE MAPS.

FOR EACH MAP TYPE, YOU WILL

• CREATE 2-3 BULLET POINT NOTES ON A WORD DOCUMENT

• SEARCH THE INTERNET FOR 2 EXAMPLES OF MAPS THAT ARE EXAMPLES OF THE TYPE OF MAP YOU ARE STUDYING

• MAKE 1 OBSERVATION PER MAP EXAMPLE YOU USE

POLITICAL MAPS

Political maps are used to show only political features of an area. This means that you will see political boundaries such as county, state, or country boundaries. They may also include national and state capital cities. Often times these maps use colors to further separate political units

PHYSICAL MAPS

Physical maps show mainly physical or natural features of an area. This includes rivers and mountains. They may also use colors to show elevation levels above or below sea level.

CATEGORICAL MAP

A categorical map is used to show different groups using different colors. These maps often use colors on different spectrums to highlight the differences.

CHOROPLETH MAPA choropleth map uses colors to show amounts. Often, these maps use different shades of colors within the same spectrum, with the lightest shade being the smallest number and the darkest being the largest number.

DOT-DENSITY (PIN) MAP

DOT MAPS, SOMETIMES CALLED PIN MAPS) USE A SMALL DOT REPRESENT A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SOMETHING. THESE MAPS MAKE IT EASY TO SEE WHERE CERTAIN FEATURES HAVE A DENSITY.

ON THE MAP TO THE RIGHT, EACH DOT = 1,500 COWS

GRADUATED SHAPE MAPA graduated shape map uses a certain shape to represent the feature, and then changes the size of the shape to show different amounts. Some maps may measure more than one feature, using different shapes or different colors of the same shape.

SYMBOL MAP

SYMBOL MAPS ARE ANOTHER TYPE OF CATEGORICAL MAP OFTEN FOUND IN SOCIAL STUDIES TEXTBOOKS WHERE A VARIETY OF SYMBOLS ARE USED TO SHOW THE LOCATION OF DIFFERENT FEATURES, AND THE READ SIMPLY MATCHES THE SYMBOL IN THE KEY TO THE SYMBOL ON THE MAP.

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS Topographic maps are used to show elevation. They are sometimes called contour maps. They use lines, where the distance between the lines is a certain measurement of elevation change. The closer a pair of lines is together, the steeper the incline. These are often used by the military and on hiking trails.