The Discovery Map Series of Ireland is divided into 89 Ordnance Survey maps which provide a large amount of detail for both urban and rural areas. In this chapter, you will learn how to read, sketch and interpret Ordnance Survey maps. Your knowledge of physical landforms and surface processes will help you to interpret maps.
KEY WORDS
l Scale l Grid referencing l Subzone l Easting l Northing l Cardinal points l Straight-line distance l Curved-line distance
l Contour lines l Colour height l Spot heights l Triangulation stations/pillars l Even slope l Concave slope l Convex slope l Compound/uneven slope
LEARNING OUTCOMES What you MUST know
l How to measure scale on a map l How to read and record four- and six-figure grid references
l How to tell direction on a map l How to read and construct cross-sections (Higher Level only)
l How to sketch maps and use a legend to explain your sketch
Introduction
Map work requires being able to recognise and read information shown on Ordnance Survey (OS) maps. There are a number of skills you must learn, or further develop, from your Junior Cycle Geography course. These skills are:
• Measuring scale • Reading and recording grid references • Reading map direction • Measuring distance and height You will also learn some new skills.
256 EARTH
• Reading and constructing cross- sections
• Calculating area • Sketching maps
l Cross-section l Vertical exaggeration l Average gradient l Area of regular and irregular shapes
l Sketching
l How to calculate area on a map l How to interpret symbols, patterns and other map information
l How to recognise physical, human and economic landscapes
What you SHOULD know l Rural settlement patterns l Urban functions l Economic landscape
Note! These skills are
developed further in the Electives on Patterns and Processes in Economic Activities and Patterns and Processes in the Human Environment.
