7.1 Ordnance Survey Maps A map is a scaled-down drawing or plan of all or part of the earth’s surface.
What skills do you think you would need to become a cartographer?
What Is Scale?
Scale is the relationship between a distance on a map and its corresponding distance on the ground. For example, if the scale on a map is 1 cm = 0.5 km (1 cm:0.5 km), on the map, 10 cm would equal a distance of 5 km (10 × 0.5 = 5 km).
On an Ordnance Survey (OS) map , the same scale can be shown in three different ways (see figure 1).
Scale is given as a ratio. The ratio 1:50 000 means that any one unit of measurement on the map corresponds to 50 000 similar units on the ground.
Linear scale is a ruled line divided into kilometres and parts of a kilometre (or into miles and parts of a mile). It allows us to measure distance directly from the map.
*This scale will be included in your exam papers. 1. Scale* Maps can be divided into two distinct types:
1. Small-scale maps show large areas in little detail. 2. Large-scale maps show small areas in greater detail.
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Statement of scale simply states what the scale is (in this case, it is 2 cm to 1 km).
FUN FACT! Cartography is the study of
maps and map-making. Someone who makes maps is called a cartographer.