04 Week 1 Slides Geography and Maps.pptx

Geography of Canada

1. What is Geography? Geography is the science that tries to understand how the Earth works and how humans change it. -Geography examines the Earth’s surface and the process that shape it. What processes do you think might shape the surface of Earth?? -Geography looks at the relationship between people and the Earth’s physical environment. -To understand our relationship with the Earth, geographers ask questions and search for answers to problems. By exploring these problems, we can make better, wiser decisions. Geographers try to answer three questions: -Where are things located on Earth? -What are the connections between people and the Earth? -How can we illustrate this information to understand it better? Geography has two main focuses: -The Earth’s physical geography (natural things) -The Earth’s human geography (people and people-made things like cities)

2. What is a Map? A map is a representation of the Earth’s features drawn on a flat surface. Maps use symbols and colours to represent features of an area, simplifying the real world. All maps should share these features: -Title -Legend -Scale -Direction -Border -Date of Publication -Projection

3. Features of a Map Feature Description and Expectation Title -Identifies the area shown, topic, purpose of the map. -Should be at the top of the map. -Should not block any of the map’s information. Legend -Explains the meaning of symbols and colours. -Place a border around the legend information. -Should not block any of the map’s information. Scale -Represents the relationship between distance on the map and distance in the real world. -Use a ruler. Direction -Represented with an arrow or a symbol or by the use of latitude and longitude. -All maps must have a direction arrow with North indicated. -Use a ruler. Border -Sets the map apart from other information. -Should be around the entire map. Date of Publication -Indicates how recent the map is. -Also indicate who produced the map (Your name).

4. How to label a Map Labels should be as neat as possible. Must be spelled accurately. Printed parallel to the base of the map. River names should curve to follow the course of the river. A dot should be used when labeling cities, placing the name of the city as close as possible to the dot. The size of the labels depends on the amount of information needed on the map. Larger features usually have larger labels. Labels for similar features (like capital cities) should be the same size. Labels should not block other information on the map if possible. Do NOT underline labels.

5. How to colour and shade a Map Maps should be properly colour coded using different colours to show the different areas on the map. Shade consistently avoiding light and dark patches. Use solid colours only. White or black are not to be used as colours on a map. Grey should only be used for areas not important to the map. Blue is only to be used for water (lakes, rivers, oceans, seas, bays, etc.). When shading large bodies of water, “feathering” around the edge is acceptable. Ensure the colours used on the map match the colours used in the legend.