Exercise 3 : Geography Review

Throughout the course you will read about many different places on the Earth and it is imperative that you know where they are. Print a copy of this World Map. If you set your printer to print in the "landscape" mode (turned on its side) it will fit on a sheet of paper. You should know where the major plates are located and the mountains and other features shown on this map. In addition, locate the following using the reference numbers and submit on the date due listed on the readling list.
1. Gulf of Mexico
2. North America
3. South America
4. New Zealand
5. Australia
6. the Applachian Mountains
7. Himalayan Mountains
8. Alps
9. the Andes Mountains
10. the Caledonian Mountains
11. the Peru-Chile Trench
12. Greenland
13. Iceland
14. the Arctic Ocean
15. the Antarctic Ocean
16. the Ural Mountains
17. Mediterranean Sea
18. Black Sea
19. Caspian Sea
20. Hawaiian Islands

Try this quiz

The Earth is a three-dimensional object. To locate a particular place on Earth we can specify three pieces of information:

• latitude - degrees North or South of the Equator (taken as zero degrees)

• longitude - degrees East or West of the prime meridian (taken as zero degrees)

• elevation - distance above or below sea level (taken as zero)

Instead of using elevation, we could give some other attribute; for example, the depth of a body of water at that point, the temperature at that point, or the depth to a geologic unit that contains some economically valuable resource.

A map is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object. Distortions occur in going from three-dimensions to two-dimensions and different map projections have been devised. Spend a few minutes at the The Great Globe Gallery. Look at some of the projections and other views that seem interesting.

A map needs a scale that allows the user to determine the distance between two (or more) places on the map. Sometimes the scale is verbal - "1 inch = 20 miles". Sometimes it is a bar scale. You measure the distance between two points on the map and see how far apart they are by using the scale. Many of the detailed maps have a Representative Fraction - RF. For example, 1 : 12,500. One unit on the map is equal to 12,500 of the same units on the ground. There are 5,280 feet per mile and there are 12 inches per foot. Therefore, there are 63,360 inches per mile. If the RF is 1:63,360 then there are 63,360 inches on the ground for every one inch on the map.

Question You find a map with an RF of 1:126,720. Interpret in words. Compare this RF with the one above. Which RF is capable of showing the greatest detail?

In addition, the orientation of the map needs to be indicated by showing the direction to the North Pole. A compass points to the North Magnetic Pole (which is not located at the North Geographic Pole) The deviation between these two poles (the magnetic declination) should be shown on the map. Try Finding Your Way with Map and Compass .

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

| jbutler@uh.edu |E-mail the ClassListserv|Read the ClassListserv|
|Textbook Home Page |Glossary of Geologic Terms|Search These Pages|
|Other Courses|Resources|Grade Book|

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Return to the Physical Geology Home Page

Copyright by John C. Butler, July 29, 1995