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Map from: http://www.maps-for-free.com/
Maps can tell you a lot:
This location is a coastline, has some rivers, and seems to have a pretty tall mountain range. The climate seems
pretty mild on the coast, but it also gets drier as you go east.
Jeffrey Pang. Creative Commons 2.0, March 2009
Without some sort of context, it is hard to tell where this is. The mountain range on this map is the Sierra Nevada
Mountains in California and Nevada. But how could you
know that?
• Geography helps us understan
d why things are the way
they are in the world.
• But if we do not know
where we are, it’s kind of hard to
understand those lessons.
Anyone know where
this is?
It would also be nice to see the whole picture!
You might spend a while looking for these details on a large map.
It is always better when you can see all the coastlines. You will have more patterns to help you figure out what
you are looking at.
Like the boot of Italy means you
are in Europe
Or the “peace” fingers of the Red Sea mean you’re in the Middle East
It’s kind of like seeing pictures in clouds, whatever it
takes for you to remember a few of these for each area of the world, you
need to do it!
It always helps to look for patterns on maps, but everything gets a little easier when the maps become
“political”. Political maps add human factors and characteristics to the geography. Below we see changes
to the map when the countries have been added.
Outline Map of Europe Political Map of Europe with countries
Mirar abajo. Creative Commons 3.0, 2008.Mirar abajo. Creative Commons 3.0, 2008.
Political Map of Europe
Often there is a color change between countries on political maps. This can help you see the borders more
clearly. However, in this case the colors do not really have any other special meaning.
Physical Map of Europe
You can pick up a lot of geographic patterns and predict what geographic issues might occur by using a physical
map.
Physical and Political Map of Europe
Even though there is no map legend on this one, everyone can tell where the mountains and rivers are located.
http://mapofeurope.com. Used with Permission for this instance only.
This travel map does not seem to have too much
detail about this region’s physical geography.
However, could you use this map to figure out some
characteristics of the physical geography of Europe?
Stefan2904. Creative Commons 3.0, April 22, 2007
It can get a little complicated when maps start adding in other types of data. This map indicates the locations of the nuclear
reactors in Europe. Political maps within a GIS system can tell you a lot. Take a look at this map and see what you can find out.
Where are the wealthiest
countries in Europe?
Which countries in Europe have a large
enough population to require a large amount of power resources?
• Election maps are thematic maps like any other. We are most familiar with the maps that appear on the TV on the night of the presidential election.
• Most of the election maps will appear in two colors: red and blue. This is unlikely to change in the United States anytime soon. It has been a long time since a third political party, or any independent candidate that did not have a party, has been a serious candidate for President.
• However, we have had several elections where there were more than two candidates. That is OK, if you get one of those maps on the EOC test, just follow the key and use your head. You will be fine.
Election maps are thematic maps like any other. We are most familiar with the maps that appear on the TV on the night of the
presidential election like the one below.
2004 Presidential Election Map
These maps can be a lesson in population density. This is a map of the results of the 2000 presidential election, the closest in history. A lot more people live in blue states than the red. In fact, Al Gore (blue) actually had more votes than George Bush (red) in this election, but the electoral college, which you learned about last year, gave it to George Bush.
Interesting Note: Florida was the last state to be
decided. In the end, when all the counting was done,
it appears George Bush won the state by fewer
votes than there are students in this school!
Usually on the maps of the United
States the conservative
Republican party is red and the more liberal
Democratic party is blue. It is the opposite on this political map of
Latin America. It does not matter, a
key is a key!
Always analyze the key!
Unknown. Creative Commons 3.0, November 2010.
Alaska
So tell me about the population
density of the US and how it might
relate to those political maps you just saw.
New York
Dallas
The more complicated the map, the more it has to tell you. You may have
heard the statement:
“Maps are the language of geography”.
Maps are very much a language. Your job when you look at a map is to
understand the “language”. What is it trying to tell you? If you can figure that out, you can handle just about any map.