Mapping Our World

BIG Idea:
Earth Scientists use
mapping technologies to
investigate and describe
the world.
I. Latitude and Longitude

 How can I remember which

lines are which?
 A. Latitude: distance in degrees
NORTH and SOUTH of the EQUATOR
(0°)

Think of latitude like the rungs of a ladder (ladder sounds a

lot like latitude). Latitude lines run east and west, but they
tell how far up (north) you can go or how far down (south)
you can go.
 Because lines of latitude
never meet, they are also
known as…
 Parallels: circles around the globe N
or S of the Equator

 Each degree consists of 60 equal parts called minutes.

 Each minute is divided into 60 equal parts called seconds.

D.C. is located at 38°53’51” North

 B. Longitude: distance EAST and WEST
of the PRIME MERIDIAN (0°)

When you think of longitude, think of

long, tall telephone poles (because
longitude lines run from pole to pole).
Longitude lines run north and south,
but they tell how far east you can go
or how far west you can go.
 Because the Prime MERIDIAN
is the main line of longitude,
they are also known as…
 Meridians: semicircles running
from pole to pole.

 As with latitude, there are minutes and

seconds: D.C. is 77°0’33” West
Great Circle: any circle that cuts
the Earth into a perfect half.

 any 2 lines of longitude directly

across from each other on opposite
sides of the globe, or
 the Equator (the only parallel of
latitude that forms a great circle)
 Using Coordinates
 Both latitude and longitude are
needed to locate positions on
Earth precisely.
 When giving coordinates,
latitude is always given first.
 Do you know the coordinates of
Staunton, VA?
 Latitude: 
38° 8' 57" N
38 degrees, 8 minutes, 57
seconds North
 Longitude: 

79° 4' 18" W

79 degrees, 4 minutes, 18
seconds West
 Distance
• The distance on Earth's surface for
each one degree of latitude or
longitude = 69 miles (111
kilometers)
• The distance between lines of
latitude remains constant. Why?
• What happens to the distance
between lines of longitude as you
move north or south of the
Equator?
 Time Zones
 Earth is divided into 24 time
zones
 Why 24?
 Earth takes about 24
hours to rotate once
on its axis (360°)
 360° ÷ 24 hours =
15° per hour
 Each time zone is 15° wide
 Each time zone represents a
different hour
 International Date Line (IDL)
 180° meridian
 gain or lose a day
 travel WEST across the IDL ►
advance one calendar day
(add 24 hours)
 travel EAST across the IDL ►
move back one calendar day
(subtract 24 hours)
Why is the IDL crooked?
 Tues. Feb. 1, 2011
03:05:50
Wed. Feb. 2, 2011
03:05:50
 II. Types of Maps
 Maps are flat projections that
come in many different forms
 Reading a Map
 Legend: list of symbols
and their meanings

 Scale: ratio between

distances on a map and
actual distances on
Earth’s surface

 1:25,000 - one unit on

the map equals 25,000
units on Earth’s surface
 Finding Direction
 Geomagnetic poles: points on the Earth’s
surface just above the poles of the
imaginary magnet
 Magnetic Declination: angle between
geographical North Pole and where a compass
points to (magnetic north pole).

 True North: Geographic North Pole

 A. Map Projections
 Map projection: a flat map that
represents a 3-dimensional globe

Distortions?
Cartography: the science of
map making
1. Mercator Projection: map that is
accurate at the equator and highly
distorted at the poles.
 Mercator projections show correct
shapes of landmasses, but the sizes
are distorted…
 What’s wrong with this picture?
 2. Conic Projections: cone comes in
contact with one parallel of latitude.

Accurate along the

parallel the cone is in
contact with.

Polyconic: a series of
cones, each on a
different parallel

* The most accurate projection

3. Gnomonic Projection: most accurate
at the poles and shows great circles.
B. Topographic Maps: maps that show
topography (surface features and
elevation changes)
 What are some surface features
on Earth that you might find on a
topographic map?
• mountains
• hills
• valleys
• rivers
• forests
• bridges
• depressions
 Elevation
A term that describes the height of a point on
Earth’s surface above (or below) sea level.
This point is 6300 feet (1920 meters) above sea
level.

http://www.math.montana.edu/~nmp/materials/ess/mountain_environments/novice/yosemite.jpg
Contour Lines: lines on a map that
connect points of equal elevation.
Contour Interval: the difference in
value between adjacent contour
lines on a map.
 Adjacent:
 next to
 adjoining
 abutting
 bordering
 Contour Rules:
 1. Contours never cross or just stop

 2. Contours never split

 3. The closer they are to each other,

the steeper the land

 4. The further they are from each

other the flatter the land
 5. If a contour line shows a “V”, the
point of the V points UP hill

 6. A river will always flow in the

opposite direction of the V’s point
(DOWN hill)

 7. When contours close in a circle,

that represents a hill top
 Little ‘teeth’ (hachures) show
depressions (holes) in the land
Rule s fo r S uc c e s s ful Co nto uring
Rule #1

Every point along a

contour line
represents the same
elevation.

This entire line

represents 1200 feet
above sea level.
Rule s fo r S uc c e s s ful Co nto uring
Rule #2

Contour lines NEVER

split or divide!

Can’t happen!
Rule s fo r S uc c e s s ful Co nto uring
Rule #3
This is fine!

Contour lines cannot

00
just stop. They must

00
11

12
50
either form a closed

11

50
loop, or run off the

12
edge of your map.
?
What’s the elevation
here???
?
Rule s fo r S uc c e s s ful Co nto uring
Rule #4

Contour lines NEVER,

EVER cross

What’s going on?? Is

this area above or
below 1200 feet?

?
 Tip 1: What does contour line spacing
indicate?
The closer together
the contour lines are,
the steeper the hill is.
The more spread
apart they are, the
gentler the slope.
Traveling along the red
line would be much
steeper than traveling
along the green line.
 Tip 2: Which way is the stream
flowing?
When contour lines
cross a stream or
river, they form v-
shaped kinks in the
lines that always point
upstream.

Also remember - Water

always flows
DOWNHILL! Blue Creek flow towards the East.
 Tip 3: Finding the hill tops
Hill tops are easy to find. Just look for the
concentric closed contour lines that form the top
of a hill. Notice the contour lines that form the
two peaks below.
 Tip 4: What do those funny
hachure marks mean?
Some features, such as 80
0
the Grand Canyon,
lakes, mines, or
00
sinkholes actually are 7

0
60
holes in the ground.
The hachured
contours indicate a
depression. Don’t
confuse it with a
Depression Contour Lines
hilltop!
1. If you traveled from
point A to point B,
would you be going
uphill or downhill?
2. What landform do
you think this map A
depicts? X
825
a. Valley B

b. Mountain
c. Plain
3. In which direction
does Maple Creek
flow?
a. Northeast
b. Southwest
c. Can’t tell from
information given
4. What is the contour
interval of this map?
a. 50
b. 100
c. 400
5. What is the
approximate
elevation at the top
of this hill?
C D
a. 1240
b. 1300

1200
c. 1000
B

1150
6. Which hike would
be steeper, from A
to B or from C to D? A

1100
7. What is the contour
interval of this map?
a. 20 feet
b. -20 feet
c. 60 feet

8. What type of
landform is depicted
here?
a. a mountain
b. a depression
c. a valley
 Topographic Profile
 The side-view of a surface feature