We live in a society. The area around our house is called our neighbourhood. We can see many buildings, markets, banks, schools, places of worship, hospitals, etc. in our neighbourhood.
Landmark
A landmark is a popular building or a place in a neighbourhood which can be easily recognised by the people. It helps to locate places. It could be a bank, market, petrol pump, etc.
Directions on a Map
When you see a map, the top portion of the map is north and the bottom is south. Your right side is east and your left is west. The direction between north and east is called northeast and the direction between north and west is called northwest.
Similarly, the direction between south and east is called southeast and the direction between south and west is called southwest.
Maps
A map is a drawing of an area, city, country or the world. It is drawn on a flat surface like paper. It helps us to locate places. It shows places, buildings, features, railway, road, water and air routes, rivers and lakes of a place.
A colony map helps to locate any house in that colony. The agriculture map shows the different crops grown in different regions of a country. There are many more kinds of maps.
People who make maps are called cartographers. The art of making maps is called cartography. A book of maps is called an atlas.
Making a Map
We must know the directions and landmarks of the place of which map is to be made. We must mark signs and symbols to locate the places. Map should be made according to a scale.
Scale of a Map
A map is much smaller than the actual size of that particular place.
A scale is the ratio of the distance between two places on the map and the actual distance between them on the ground. The distance in kilometres can be given in centimetres or inches proportionately.
For example, if the scale of a map is 1 cm=100 km and the distance between two towns on the is 4 cms, we can easily say that distance map between the towns is actually 4×100 = 400 kms. The scale is given in a corner of the map.
Signs and Symbols
We cannot draw all the features of a place on a map. Hence signs and symbols are used to denote rivers, bridges, roads, cities, etc. Some signs and symbols used in maps are given alongside.
A small box which shows a list of symbols and the things they represent is called a legend.
Colours on a Map
Colours play a very important role in making a map. Different colours are used to show different features. The colour scheme accepted internationally is given alongside.
