Geography
The study of Earth’s physical features
and human interactions with them
What is a MAP?
A map is a special kind of drawing used to
show what the Earth or part of the Earth
looks like overhead.
Cartographer
A person who makes maps.
Globe-a sphere-shaped model of the Earth
Main Features of a Globe
Continents Oceans
• A large body of land • A large body of water
• There are 7 continents • There are 5 oceans
Africa, Antarctica, Arctic, Atlantic,
Asia, Australia, Indian, Pacific, and
Europe, North Southern
America, and South
America
Hemisphere
- The name
given to any
half of the
Earth
Challenge
Can you identify all
seven continents and
all five major oceans
on a map?
Map Symbols
Symbols are pictures that
represent real places and things.
Map Key
A Map key tells you what objects the
symbols represent.
A synonym for Key is Legend
Use the Legend to answer the questions
1. What is located in the Western portion of the map?
2. What is represented by the star on the map?
3. The blue line is a symbol that represents a ______.
4. What is the symbol for a railroad?
Check Your Answers
1. mountains
2. police
3. river
4. a dotted line
Types of Maps
Challenge
• Work with your shoulder partner.
• Search through your Atlas.
• Find a PHYSICAL map in your
atlas.
• What information is the PHYSICAL
map telling you?
• Pair and share with your shoulder
partner.
Physical Maps show landforms
and elevation.
Landforms Elevation
Features of the The height of the land
Earth’s surface measured in distance
made by nature. above or below sea
Examples: level.
Mountains
.
Lakes
Basins
Plateaus
Physical Map
Challenge
• Hand up, Stand up, Pair up
• Find a partner who does not sit at
your table.
• Find a POLITICAL Map in your
Atlas.
• Tell three key pieces of information
you can find on your Political map.
• Find your original seat.
Political Maps
show locations of boundary lines, cities
and capitals.
Specialty Maps
Show specific types of information
such as: population, resource,
product, climate, rainfall, road
maps
Grid- A group of lines that form
imaginary squares on a map that
help locate places using coordinates.
We use a special type of grid called a
Coordinate Grid to locate places on the Earth.
The lines are called latitude and longitude
lines, and they give us absolute location, an
exact location on the Earth, using a system of
coordinates. Carl Junction is located at
coordinates:
37.1767° N, 94.5655° W
Longitude Lines
Longitude lines are (LONG) vertical lines
that run north and south. They are also
called Meridians, and they measure in
degrees east and west of the Prime
Meridian.
The Prime Meridian is a longitude line
at 0 degrees that divides the Earth into
the Eastern and Western hemispheres.
Latitude Lines
Latitude lines are (FLAT) horizontal
lines that run east and west. They are
also called Parallels, and measure in
degrees north and south of the
Equator.
These 4 special lines of latitude
define the Climate Zones of the
Earth
Arctic Circle at 66 ½ N
Tropic of Cancer at 23 ½ N
Tropic of Capricorn at 23 ½ S
Antarctic Circle at 66 ½ S
The Equator is at 0 degrees latitude
and divides the Earth into the Northern
and Southern hemispheres.
Map of Missouri with Latitude and Longitude Coordinate Grid
Google Earth
To practice locating places on
Earth, we will be using Google
Earth. Use this web address to
download it to your computer.
https://www.google.com/earth/
