Map Reading Easypeasy

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    Map readingmade easy

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    2a. Have a look at the key on a 1:25 000scale map and see if you can nd outwhat these symbols mean.

    A B C D E

    2b. You can invent your own symbols forthings on your own sketch map. Here aretwo ideas; can you guess what they are?

    A B

    Get your friends and family to test you onhow well you know the symbols. If youcan learn them, then map reading is easy.

    3. Which direction am I going?

    Just as it is important to know which isyour left and your right hand, in mapreading it is importantto understand wherenorth, east, southand west are. Youcan remember wherethe points of thecompass are by using

    one of these rhymes:N aughty E lephants S quirt W ater

    or

    N obody E ver S wallows W hales

    If you are walking in a direction half waybetween two of the points of a compass, youcan say you are heading north-east,south-east, south-west or north-west,depending on the direction.

    Ordnance Survey maps are always printedso that north is at the top of the sheet.

    Using the 1:25 000 scale BembridgeExplorer extract on this leaet can youanswer these questions?

    3a. Which general direction are you headingif you are walking from point 1 to point 2?

    3b. Which general direction are you headingif you are walking from point 2 to point 3?

    3c. Which general direction are you heading

    if you are walking from point 3 to point 1?

    4. How do grid references helpme to nd places?

    You might have noticed by now that a 1:25 000 scale Ordnance Survey map is covered in aseries of blue grid lines. These grid lines helpyou to pinpoint an exact location anywhere onthe map by giving a unique number known asa grid reference. The vertical lines are calledeastings, since they increase in value as youtravel east on the map. The horizontal linesare called northings, since they increase invalue as you travel north on the map.

    Four-gure grid references

    A four-gure grid reference is a handy way ofidentifying any square on a map. Grid referencesare easy if you can remember that you alwayshave to go along the corridor before you go upthe stairs. To nd the number of a square rstuse the eastings to go along the corridor until

    you come to the bottom left-hand corner of thesquare you want. Write this two-gure numberdown. Then use the northing to go up the stairsuntil you nd the same corner. Put this two-gurenumber after your rst one and you now have thefour-gure grid reference, which looks like this:2951

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    Always remember: Along the corridor andthen up the stairs .

    4a. Can you work out the four-gure gridreferences for the following examples?

    A .................. B .................. C ..................

    Using the Bembridge Explorer extract onthis leaet, can you answer these questions?

    4b. What is the name of the school in gridsquare 6486?

    4c. What is the name of the named building ingrid square 6488?

    4d. What grid square is Black Rock found in?

    Six-gure grid references

    If you want to pinpoint an exact place on amap, such as your own house, you will needto use a six-gure grid reference. First nd thefour-gure grid reference for the square andwrite it down with a space after each set ofnumbers, like this:

    62_ 33_

    Now imagine this square is divided up into100 tiny squares with 10 squares alongeach side. Still remembering to go along thecorridor and up the stairs , work out the extranumbers you need and put them into yourfour-gure grid reference like this:

    625 333

    4e. Can you work out the six-gure gridreferences for the following examples?

    A .................. B .................. C ..................

    Using the Bembridge Explorer extracton this leaet can you answer thesequestions?

    4f. What is at grid reference 648876?

    4g. What would you be doing at gridreference 644885?4h. What building is to be found at grid

    reference 643882?

    When giving directions you canprovide even more accuracyto your grid referenceby stating anearbylandmarkor feature.For example,on the BembridgeExplorer extract I

    am at grid reference644874, at the

    crossroads .

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    5. What is

    scale?The scale of a mapshows how much youwould have to enlargeyour map to get theactual size of the pieceof land you are lookingat. For example, yourmap has a scale of1:25 000, which meansthat every 1 cm on themap represents25 000 of those same units of measurementon the ground (for example, 25 000 cm = 250metres).

    That might sound a bit complicated, butOrdnance Survey maps have been designedto make understanding scale easy. Look atthe front of a 1:25 000 scale map and you will

    see that the scale has been written out for youlike this:

    4 cm to 1 km

    This means that every 4 cm on a map = 1 kmin real life. To make it even easier, the gridlines are exactly 4 cm apart, so every squareis 1 km by 1 km.

    Maps are made at different scales fordifferent purposes. The 1:25 000 scale mapis very useful for walking, but if you use it in acar you will quickly drive off the edge ! On theother hand, maps at 1:250 000 scale (notethe extra zero) show lots more land but in farless detail.

    1:25 000 scale Explorer extract

    1: 250 000 scale OS Travel Map Road extract

    5. Is a 1:250 000 scale map useful forwalking or driving?

    6. How do we measuredistance?

    It is always important to know how far youhave to travel and how long it is going

    to take you. By measuring a distance onyour map, you can work out how far thatis in reality. You can measure this distanceeither in a straight line (as the crow ies) orfollowing a winding route such as a countrylane. To get this information from a map isvery easy.

    Here is a way of doing it:

    You can measure between two points by usinga piece of thin string. If you are measuring thedistance in a straight line, then simply stretchthe string between the two points. If you arefollowing a road or track that is not straight,bend the string to follow the exact shape untilyou reach the second point.

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    Measuring distance using string

    Now that you have a distance in centimetresmarked on your string you can nd out the realdistance. You can do this in a couple of ways:

    By eye

    Place string against the scale bar on the map.This is usually at the foot of the map sheet.

    By measuring

    Measure your distance on your string with aruler.

    Suppose your string is 10 cms long. You knowthat 4 cm = 1 km, so the answer is 2.5 km.

    Have a go at measuring the distances inthe questions below using the BembridgeExplorer extract on this leaet.

    6a. How far is it in a straight line on theground from point 1 to point 2?

    6b. How far is it to walk along the road frompoint 4 (IRB Sta) to point 5 (PO)?

    6c. Can you work out how long it would takeyou to walk both these distances?

    (Most people walk at 3 km per hour, so itwill take 20 minutes to walk in a straight lineacross a 1 km grid square.)

    Remember that the grid lines on a1:25 000 scale map are 1 km apart.

    A quick way of estimating distance is tocount each square you cross in a straight

    line. If going diagonally the distanceacross the grid square is about 1 km.

    7. How are hills and mountainsshown on a map?

    The ability to understand the shape of theground from a map is a useful skill to learn,

    particularly in mountainous landscapes. Theheight and shape of the ground is shown on1:25 000 scale maps by brown contour lines.

    A contour is a line drawn on a map that joinspoints of equal height above sea level. For1:25 000 scale maps the interval betweencontours is usually 5 metres, although inmountainous regions it may well be 10 metres.

    The above diagram shows the link betweenthe shape of a hill and the contoursrepresenting it on a map. Another way ofthinking about contour lines is as a tide markleft by the sea as the tide goes out, leaving aline every 5 metres.

    Remember contour numbering reads uphill in other words the top of the numberis uphill and the bottom is downhill.

    Also remember the closer contour linesare together, the steeper the slope. Theexamples below illustrate this:

    Shallow slope

    Steep slope

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    Try this quick contour quiz using theBembridge Explorer extract on thisleaet

    7a. What type of slope is at the point wherethe parking symbol is on the map in gridsquare 6385? Is it a shallow slope or asteep slope?

    7b. If you are walking from point 2 to point 5in a straight line, is it uphill or downhill?

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    Take aim with our gamesCheck out our brilliant selection of free and fun games. We regularlyadd new puzzles, so dont forget to call back again soon.

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    Hands up for Homework HelpBanish homework hassles and snap up some map skills with ourinteractive guide. Whether youre testing your MapAbility in theMapTivity quiz or taking a seat in our MapSchool, Homework Helptakes the mystery out of mapping.

    The future is GIS ZoneHeard about geographical information systems (GIS)? Possibly not, butthey affect your life every day. Get ahead of the game and learn aboutthem in a fun way.

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    Mission controlWant to have fun and also prove that you can make the decisions thatmatter? Use GIS to sift the evidence in our six exciting missions thatwe have specially created for you.

    GIS is coming to a screen near you

    The future of GIS may be on your mobile phone screen. Find out aboutthis and other developments that are changing the way we see things.

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    A n s w e r s t o q u e s t i o n s

    2 a . A . R a i l w a y s t a t i o n . B . O r c h a r d . C . C a m p s i t e . D . M a r s h , r e e d s o r s a l t i n g s . E . V i e w p o i n t . 2 b . A . S p o r t . B . B u r g e r b a r . 3 a . N o r t h . 3 b . E a s t . 3 c . S o u t h - w e s t . 4 a . A . 8 3 2 6 . B . 8 4 2 4 . C . 8 5 2 3 . 4 b . B e m b r i d g e S c h o o l . 4 c . E a s t C l i f f . 4 d . 6 4 8 6 . 4 e . A . 6 1 5 3 3 5 . B . 6 3 5 3 2 4 . C . 6 3 2 3 4 1 . 4 f . S c h o o l . 4 g . H o r s e r i d i n g . 4 h . P l a c e o f w o r s h i p w i t h s p i r e , m i n a r e t o r d o m e . 5 . D r i v i n g . 6 a . 1 1 8 0 m e t r e s o r 1 . 1 8 k m . 6 b . 1 2 5 0 m e t r e s o r 1 . 2 5 k m . 6 c . P o i n t s 1 t o 2 = 2 4 m i n u t e s a p p r o x i m a t e l y ; p o i n t s 4 t o 5 = 2 5 m i n u t e s a p p r o x i m a t e l y . 7 a . I t i s a s t e e p s l o p e . 7 b . U p h i l l .

    Maps can be great fun and they can lead you to all sorts of discoveries. They can helpyou get to know an area really well, because they pinpoint interesting places that areoften hidden away, which you might otherwise never nd. They can also help you nddifferent routes to places you already know.

    To be sure you are not missing anything important you need to know about map symbols,scale, direction and distance. Knowing about these will help you unlock the secrets ofmaps. This leaet explains the main things you need to understand, especially whenusing Ordnance Survey Explorer maps at 1:25 000 scale.

    Maps can also help you in your geography, history, environmental science or citizenshipclasses but they can provide entertainment, too. Find out how by discovering the games,quizzes and competitions featured on the web at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone.

    Happy exploring!

    Vanessa LawrenceDirector General and Chief ExecutiveOrdnance Survey

    Contact details

    Ordnance Survey Customer HelpLinePhone: 08456 05 05 05Fax: 023 8079 2615Welsh Language HelpLine: 08456 05 05 04Website: www.ordnancesurvey.co.ukEmail: [email protected]

    This leaet was produced in association with The Expedition Company Ltd.

    D02518 0505 (MR1E)