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1. REPRESENTATION OF THE EARTH: MAPS AND GLOBES

Today we know what the Earth really looks like because we can take photos of it from planes and satellites. We use world maps and globes to represent the Earth. They show continents, oceans but also rivers, seas, lakes, deserts, mountains, islands and countries.

GLOBES

Globes show the Earth as a sphere. Globes also show how the Earth is tilted on its axis. The Earth’s axis goes through the North Pole and the South Pole. A globe can also spin around in the same way that the Earth rotates on its axis.

WORLD MAPS

World maps show the Earth as flat but we know it isn´t . A world map is flat. On this map you can see all the continents and oceans. Look at the world map bellow. It has lots of lineson it which help us locate different places on the Earth´s surface.

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2. TYPES OF MAPS. PARTS OF A MAP

A map represents the Earth or a part of it on a flat surface. It is almost impossible to show a sphere as a flat shape so maps are always distorted. There are many types of maps. We are going to study:

2.1 PHYSICAL MAPS: they show the location of important natural features such as mountains, rivers and lakes. Different colours are used to show the elevation of different areas of land.

2.2 POLITICAL MAPS: they show different areas of land divided by political borders. Political maps show land divided into different areas and countries. They also show the capital cities of countries and other important cities.

2.3 STREET MAPS: A street map is a map of a smaller area, such as a town or a city. They show natural features, like forests and rivers, and man-made features, such as hospitals, roads and parks. We use these maps to find directions to places we want to go to.

PARTS OF A MAP

Maps are important tools that show us different places on Earth. Each part of a map provides important information. To read a map, you need to understand the different parts.