Chapter 2: Portraying Earth

  
    

‘ áap- A two-dimensional representation of Earth and the spatial distribution of selected

phenomena
a‘ A scaled drawing of a portion of a landscape

‘ A map serves as a substitute for a surface that we wish to portray/study

a‘ Ôhow geographical areas

‘ Ohe larger the map, the more likely it is that it will not be detailed

‘ Ohe smaller the map, the more limited a map is in area

‘ asic Abilities of áaps:

a‘ 0istance
a‘ Ôize
a‘ Ôhape in their horizontal spatial relationships

‘ áaps are not perfectly accurate

a‘ ^t is impossible to portray the curved surface of the Earth on a flat piece of paper

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‘ áap- A form of symbolization, governed by a set of conventions, that aim to communicate a

sense of place

‘ Ôix Groups of áaps:

a‘ Climate áaps
º‘ Give general information about climate and precipitation

a‘ Economic/Resource áaps
º‘ Ôhow the types of resources or economic activities in an area

a‘ Physical áaps
º‘ ^llustrate the physical features of an area

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 a‘ Political áaps
º‘ Ôhow state and national boundaries; indicate capitals and major cities

a‘ Road áaps

a‘ Oopographic áaps
º‘ se contour lines to show shape and elevation of an area

‘ asic Elements For áaps:

a‘ Oitle ʹ A brief summary of the map͛s concept
a‘ 0ate ʹ Oime span over which the information was collected
a‘ regend ʹ Ôymbols, colors, shading, etc͙
a‘ Ôcale ʹ sed to show relative or absolute size between objects on map
a‘ 0irection
a‘ rocation
a‘ 0ata Ôource
a‘ Projection Oype

 

 
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‘ Globe- A three-dimensional scale model of Earth (terrestrial globe) or other spheroid celestial
body

‘ Globe Advantages:
a‘ Globes accurately represent spatial relationships of features on Earth͛s surface
a‘ Globes give a more realistic depiction of Earth than flat maps

‘ Globe 0isadvantages:
a‘ Cumbersome, do not display much detail
a‘ Înly visible to half of the human eye at a time

 

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‘ ^soline- A device for portraying the spatial distribution of some phenomenon. ^t refers to any
line that joins points of equal value of something.

‘ Also known as :
a‘ ^sarithm
a‘ ^sogram


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 a‘ ^sopleth
a‘ ^sometric rine

‘ Elevation Contour rines- A line on a map joining points of equal elevation

‘ áost isolines signify intangible features as temperature and precipitation, and some express
relative values such as ratios or proportions

‘ ^mportant types of ^solines:

a‘ %
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º‘ A line joining points of equal elevation

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º‘ A line joining points of equal temperature

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º‘ A line joining points of equal atmospheric pressure

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º‘ A line joining points of equal quantities of precipitation

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º‘ A line joining points of equal magnetic declination

‘ asic Characteristics of ^solines:

a‘ ^solines are Ar AYÔ closed lines (they have no end)

a‘ ^solines can never touch or cross one another (with exceptions or special circumstances)

a‘ ^solines have intervals (Ohe difference between one line and the next)

a‘ ^solines close together indicate a steep gradient (rapid change). ^solines far apart
indicate a gentle gradient.

‘ Edmund Halley (1656-1742):

a‘ English astronomer and cartographer
a‘ Produced the first published map with isolines in 1700 (showed isogonic lines in the
Atlantic Îcean)

‘ Patterns that are too large/abstract/detailed are often significantly clarified by the use of
isolines


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‘ GPÔ- A global navigation satellite system for determining accurate positions on or near Earth͛s
surface

‘ 0eveloped in the 1970͛s/80͛s, by the .Ô. 0epartment of 0efense

‘ Ohe system is based on a constellation of at least 24 high-altitude satellites

a‘ 4-6 satellites will be in view of any position on Earth

‘ ide Area Augmentation Ôystem ( AAÔ):

a‘ as originally implemented to increase the accuracy of instrument based flight
approaches for airplanes

‘ Continuously Îperating GPÔ Reference Ôtations (CÎRÔ)

a‘ Capable of detecting location differences of less than 1 centimeter of latitude,
longitude, and elevation
a‘ Îne way they are used is for the monitoring of slight changes in the ground surfaces


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