Concept of a geographical map. What types of geographic maps are there?

1. What is a geographic map? Compare the concepts of “geographic map” and “terrain plan” according to the following signs: a) the size of the depicted territory; b) scale used; c) the degree of detail of the image; d) the image methods used.

A geographic map is a drawing of an area made in a system of geographic coordinates using a scale and symbols.

A) on a geographical map, the size of the depicted territory is larger. B) on the plan the scale is written in meters, and on the map in kilometers. C) the plan has a more detailed image than the map, since the scale of the plan is smaller. D) There are various types images earth's surface: drawing, aerial photograph, area plan, geographical map, globe.

Question 2. What is scale? What types of scale are there?

Scale is generally the ratio of two linear dimensions. Scale is the ratio of the image size to the size of the depicted object.

Highlight the following types scale: Numerical scale, Named scale, Linear scale.

Question 3. On what scale map is the territory reduced by more times: 1:1000 or 1:20,000? Justify your point of view using the definition of “scale”.

On a map at a scale of 1:20000, the territory is reduced by a greater number of times. Since the scale of this map is 1:20000, the distance on the map is reduced by 20,000 times, and on the 1:1000 map the distance is reduced by 1000 times.

Question 4. Convert numerical scales to named ones: a) 1: 50,000; b) 1: 10,000,000.

a) 1 cm 0.5 km; b) 1 cm is 100 km.

Question 5. Convert the named scales to numerical ones: a) 1 cm - 100 m; b) 1 cm - 0.5 km.

a) 1: 10,000; b) 1: 50,000.

Question 7. How does the detail of an image of a territory depend on the scale of the map?

The larger the scale (the more m\\km in one centimeter), the lower the detail of the map.

Question 8. What is the difference between the concepts of “absolute” and “relative” height of a point? Which one is indicated on geographical maps Oh?

Relative height is the elevation of one point on the earth's surface above another. Absolute height is the elevation of a point on the earth's surface above sea level. Geographic maps indicate absolute height.

Question 10. What is the significance of a plan and a map in the practical activities of a person?

None literary description, even the most detailed one, will not be able to create for the reader a visual picture of the location of the diverse phenomena occurring on the earth’s surface, similar to that given by an ordinary geographical map.

In practical human activities, the map is no less important. Any branch of the economy associated with the use of the earth's surface needs a reliable, well-drawn map. Search for mineral resources and exploitation of subsoil, design and construction of railways and dirt roads, construction of canals and dams, drainage and irrigation of lands, etc.

Geographical map- this is a reduced image of the earth’s surface on a plane with accepted conventional signs. The map is greatest invention humanity. Geographic maps depict entire states, and sometimes several states, and even the whole globe.

Man has always needed plans and maps. They appeared much earlier than the first letters, the first hieroglyphs. They have come a long way from drawings to accurate, mathematically verified models of areas of the earth's surface. Maps are constantly updated, because the appearance of the Earth is constantly changing: the flow of the river changes, glaciers advance and retreat, geographical objects created by man appear. In the 20th century, people saw the Earth from airplanes and spaceships. Knowledge about the Earth has increased, and the possibilities for creating maps have expanded.

The first geographical maps

The first geographical maps appeared in the Stone Age. In ancient times, the Earth seemed huge to people. They gradually got to know her during their travels. A journey is a hike or voyage during which people, leaving their native places, visit new lands.

The motorist takes with him road map. Tourists need it when traveling area map, along which they have to go. Maps are needed by geologists, builders, ship captains, and the military. A map of treasure island, accidentally discovered in a pirate's chest, became the beginning of an adventure novel...

A brief physical and geographical description can be given using only two maps: physical card hemispheres and natural areas globe. These maps are not very detailed. They do not have the names of many mountains, plateaus, lowlands, seas, bays, straits, rivers, lakes, etc. But with more detailed maps, the characteristics of any part of the world or a separate part of the continent can be given much more fully.

There are special cards. Among them - climatic, on which the symbols show the average temperatures of July and January, the directions of the prevailing winter and summer winds, the average annual precipitation, the highest and most low temperatures, thickness of snow cover in different parts of the globe. There are cards minerals, soil, cards vegetation. On economic-geographical maps it shows where various minerals are mined and processed, what industry is developed in cities, what crops are grown in this or that region of the globe. On political maps different colors countries are shown and their capitals are labeled.

Physical card

Historical map

Historical map is an image of the Earth or a large part of the earth's surface in different times history of mankind. A historical map can indicate battle sites, ancient fortresses, front lines, trade routes, cities, and cultural monuments that date back to a certain time.

The same territory shown on maps in different times, looks different. A historical map helps you see what changes have occurred in a particular area.

The title of a historical map always includes an indication of the time to which it relates. For example, “Ancient Egypt”, “Europe of the 15th century”, “Formation of the Old Russian state (IX-X centuries)”.

A historical map allows you to answer the question of where the event took place. There are rules that you need to remember when starting to work with a historical map.

Historical plan

Contour maps for history

Contour maps of history show only the outlines of territories at one time or another. On them you can see lines indicating rivers, seas, and the location of cities marked with dots. This is the basis. On contour map names of objects are applied during the study process historical events.

Geographical atlas

Different cards collected together in the form of an album are called geographical atlas.

Globe

Image on the map

Methods of cartographic representation

Scale

The scale of the maps is small. After all, the Earth is large, and in order to show its entire surface or one continent on a map, the image on the map has to be reduced millions of times. For example, a map scale of 1: 10,000,000 (“1 cm is 100 km”) means that all distances on the map are reduced by ten million times. 2 cm on the map corresponds to two hundred kilometers on the ground, and so on. The scale of maps of the entire Earth or individual continents is very small: for example, 1: 50,000,000, i.e. 1 cm is 500 km. It is clear that such maps can only show the main geographical features- mountains and plains, large rivers, islands.

The smaller the territory shown on the map, the larger and more detailed it can be shown. The territory of any one country, one region is often said to be a region, for example, a region Mediterranean Sea, can be shown in more detail. For this purpose, maps are made at larger scales, for example 1: 5,000,000, i.e. in 1 cm 50 km, 1: 1,000,000, i.e. 1 cm is 10 km. On such maps you can show not only the main rivers, but also their tributaries, not only seas, but also bays. IN different cases It is convenient to use maps of different scales, which show the whole world, a separate continent or region.

Legend

Map makers must reduce the image of the Earth and its large parts many times to fit on a sheet of paper. Many objects on the map are indicated by conventional symbols (figures, arrows, lines). Their explanations are given in the section “Conventions”. The map is painted in different colors and contains inscriptions. The list (set) of symbols and explanations used on the map is called map legend.

Conditional lines

The maps depict conventional lines: poles, equator lines and degree grids (meridians and parallels).

Equator

On equal distance from the poles a line encircles the globe on globes and maps equator. The length of the equator is 40,000 km.

Degree grid

Since the Earth is a sphere, all distances on its surface can be measured in degrees of circumference. Lines of meridians and parallels divided into degrees are called degree grid. Using the degree grid you can determine geographical location any point on the surface of the Earth.

Meridians- these are lines that cross the globe from pole to pole.
Parallels- these are lines that go around the globe parallel to the equator.

Date line

Isohypses (horizontals)

On the maps, territories with close absolute altitudes are painted the same color. Individual relief forms are not depicted on them. It is impossible to show them on a small scale. Only individual mountain peaks and deep depressions are marked with dots, near which their height or depth is indicated.

On some large-scale maps, relief is shown, just like on a plan, using contour lines. On other maps you can see the relief image using a “shading”. In this case, the picture of mountains and valleys becomes very clear, but determining their height is difficult.

Map projection

“Exploring an unfamiliar land always begins with a map... You can wander on a map in the same way as on land, but then, when you get to this real land, knowledge of the map immediately affects you - you no longer wander blindly and don’t waste time on trifles.” , - these are the words of the writer Konstantin Paustovsky.

They read the map in the same way as a book, they think about it. She answers many questions, poses new ones and helps answer them. Why do rivers flow exactly this way, where is it better to build a seaport, lay railway? These and other problems can be solved only by carefully studying the map. Knowing how to read a map, you can learn about what peoples inhabit the Earth, in what natural conditions they live, how the economy is developed in different countries, and much more. Everyone should learn to read and understand a map, because without knowledge of a map there is no

Everyone came across geographic maps at school. However, not all of us have any idea about their purpose or know how to use them. Modern youth believe that they do not need this knowledge, since navigators are now widespread.

What is a geographical map of the world?

A map is a reduced image of the Earth's surface, which is constructed according to certain laws. Visibility and clarity are its most important properties.

The main components of any card are:

cartographic projection - a mathematical law for constructing an image;
the image itself;
auxiliary elements - legend, background information;
additional elements - insets, terrain profiling, graphs, diagrams, photographs, tabular data, etc.

Types of geographical maps

Geographical maps of our time are a compilation of knowledge about the planet, which was the result of research by ancient scientists and passed on over many centuries. Without knowledge of the simplest laws, cartographers could not reflect information on maps so accurately. The modern geographical map of the world can be classified according to two criteria:

scale - large-, medium- and small-scale;
subject or content of the map - general geographical, political, navigational, economic, scientific reference, etc.

The theme of the card can be of absolutely any type. For example, a geographical map of the countries of the world contains information about all states and shows their location. Topographic maps intended for engineering and technical research.

Applications

The geographical map of the world has found application in all areas of knowledge. Thanks to maps, people can get acquainted with the area without direct contact with it. Therefore, they have found application in tourist guides and are used in astronautics, ship navigation, and geological exploration. natural resources, agriculture, construction, education, military affairs and many other areas.

The geographical map of the world is one of the most important inventions of mankind. Maps are used in almost all areas of knowledge. People in certain professions usually know what type of geographic maps they need for their work. Modern means navigation is gradually replacing maps. However, no one is immune from equipment failure, so the ability to understand maps is necessary.

Geographic map- this is a reduced, generalized image of the earth's surface using conventional signs.

Degree reduction images of the territory is determined scale. Scale- this is a fractional number showing how many times the territory is reduced when depicting it on a map or plan. For example, 1: 500 000 – linear dimensions are reduced in 500 000 once. Generality cartographic image is due to the fact that maps depict not all geographical objects located in a given territory, but only the main ones. The degree of generalization is also determined by scale: The larger the scale of the map, the more detailed the image of the territory can be. Unlike a globe, a model of the Earth, A geographic map is a flat image of the earth's surface. As a result, when the spherical surface of the Earth is transferred to a plane, distortions occur.

A geographical map differs from a drawing and an aerial photograph in the presence conventional signs; So, rivers are depicted with blue lines, settlements– circles of various sizes, average monthly temperatures air - isotherms, etc.

On the plans, the image of the area is also characterized by reduction, generalization and the presence of conventional signs. However, the plans, as a rule, depict small areas of the earth's surface. This makes it possible to use a larger scale (for example, 1: 500) and receive a more detailed image of the territory compared to maps. The qualitative difference between a plan and a map is due to the fact that when constructing the latter, the curvature of the earth’s surface is taken into account and the cartographic image is constructed according to certain mathematical laws. A manifestation of this is the presence on maps of a degree grid, with the help of which directions are determined. On the plans degree grid is absent, and directions are determined by the north-south arrow.

Depending on the scale, all maps are usually classified into large-, medium- And small-scale. TO large scale include maps with a larger scale 1: 200 000 (1: 100,000, 1: 50,000, etc.). TO small-scale– with a smaller scale 1: 1 000 000 (1: 5,000,000, 1: 25,000,000, etc.). If the map scale is smaller 1: 200 000 and larger 1: 1 000 000 , then this medium scale map. Most of the cards we come across on school lessons– small-scale.

The creation of any map begins with construction degree grid. Its main elements are poles, equator, parallels And meridians.

Northern and south pole – these are the places where the supposed earth’s axis exits the earth’s surface. If you build a plane perpendicular to the earth’s axis and place it at an equal distance from the poles, then when this plane intersects the spherical surface of the earth, a circle is formed - equator. It divides the earth's surface into Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The length of the equator is approximately 40,000 km. Circles that are parallel to the equator are called parallels. Their length decreases in the direction from the equator to the poles. On any map, parallels have a west-east direction.

Meridians– these are circles formed when planes intersect the earth’s surface, in which the earth’s axis lies. At the pole points, all meridians intersect with each other. The lengths of all meridians are the same and approximately equal to the length of the equator. Meridian lines characterized by a north-south direction.

The type of degree grid on the map is determined by its map projection(that is, the method of transferring it from the spherical surface of the globe to the plane). Lines of parallels and meridians can be straight lines, arcs, circles, and intersect at different angles in different areas of the map. Map projection The nature of the distortions that the map has is also determined. There are four types of distortions: lengths, angles, shapes and areas.

With the help degree network can be determined by map geographical coordinates, directions And distances

The presence of a degree network makes it possible to distinguish geographic maps from other types of terrain images: plans, drawings, aerial photographs, images of the Earth from space.

Cards have great value V economic activity person. Using maps, they study the territory for various purposes - educational, recreational, construction, military. The weather is predicted using special synoptic maps. Geographers use maps to obtain quality and quantitative characteristics objects and phenomena. This research method is called cartographic.

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A person is always driven by curiosity. Thousands of years ago, discoverers, going further and further into unknown lands, created the first semblances of geographical maps, trying to put the relief they saw on sheets of papyrus or clay tablets.

Probably the oldest map found is from the Egyptian Museum in Turin, made on papyrus by order of Pharaoh Ramses IV in 1160 BC. e. This map was used by an expedition that, on the orders of the pharaoh, was looking for stone for construction. The map familiar to our eyes appeared in ancient Greece half a thousand years BC. Anaximander of Miletus is considered the first cartographer to create a map of the world known at that time.

The originals of his maps have not survived, but 50 years later they were restored and improved by another scientist from Miletus, Hecataeus. Scientists have recreated this map based on the descriptions of Hecataeus. It is easy to recognize the Mediterranean and Black Sea and nearby lands. But is it possible to determine distances from it? This requires a scale that was not yet available on ancient maps. For a unit of measurement of length, Hecataeus used “days of sailing” on the sea and “days of marching” on dry land, which, of course, did not add accuracy to the maps.

Ancient geographical maps also had other significant shortcomings. They distorted the image, because a spherical surface cannot be turned onto a plane without distortion. Try to carefully remove the orange peel and press it to the table surface: you won’t be able to do this without tearing. In addition, they did not have a degree grid of parallels and meridians, without which it is impossible to accurately determine the location of the object. Meridians first appeared on the map of Eratosthenes in the 3rd century BC. e., however, they were carried out through different distances. It was not for nothing that Eratosthenes was called the “Father of Geography” as a mathematician among geographers. The scientist not only measured the size of the Earth, but also used a cylindrical projection to depict it on the map. In this projection there is less distortion because the image is transferred from the ball to the cylinder. Modern maps created in different projections - cylindrical, conical, azimuthal and others.

The most perfect maps of the ancient era are considered to be the geographical maps of Ptolemy, who lived in the 2nd century AD. e. in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Claudius Ptolemy entered the history of science thanks to two big jobs: “Manual of Astronomy” in 13 books and “Manual of Geography”, which consisted of 8 books. 27 maps were added to the Geography Manual, among them a detailed map of the world. No one created a better one either before Ptolemy or 12 centuries after him! This map already had a degree grid. To create it, Ptolemy determined geographical coordinates(latitude and longitude) of almost four hundred objects. The scientist determined latitude (distance from the equator in degrees) by the height of the Sun at noon using a gnomon, longitude (degree distance from the prime meridian) by the difference in observation time lunar eclipse from different points.

IN medieval Europe have forgotten the works of ancient scientists, but they have been preserved in Arab world. There, Ptolemy's maps were published in the 15th century and reprinted almost 50 more times! Perhaps it was these maps that helped Columbus on his famous voyage. Ptolemy's authority grew so much that even collections of maps were called "Ptolemies" for a long time. It was only in the 16th century, after the publication of Gerardus Mercator’s Atlas of the World, on the cover of which Atlas was depicted holding the Earth, that collections of maps were called “atlases.”

IN Ancient China They also created geographical maps. Interestingly, the first written mention of a geographical map is not related to geography. In the 3rd century BC. e. The Chinese throne was occupied by the Qin dynasty. Rival in the struggle for power crown prince Dan sent an assassin to the ruler of the dynasty with a map of his lands drawn on silk fabric. The mercenary hid a dagger in a bundle of silk. History tells that the assassination attempt failed.

In the era of the Great Geographical discoveries images of America and Australia, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Errors on maps often resulted in tragedy for sailors. Having explored the shores of Alaska, the large Kamchatka expedition of Vitus Bering in the 18th century did not have time to return to Kamchatka by the beginning of the autumn storms. The dreamer Bering spent three weeks of precious time searching for the mapped but non-existent Land of Gama. His sailing ship "St. Peter", broken, with sailors dying of scurvy, landed on a deserted island, where the famous Commander rested forever. “My blood boils every time,” wrote one of Bering’s assistants, “when I remember the shameless deception caused by an error on the map.”

Today, cartography is completely transferred to digital format. To create detailed maps They use not only ground-based geodetic instruments - theodolite, level, but also airborne laser scanning, satellite navigation, and digital aerial photography.