Basic Components of a

World Map

Compass Rose• Compass rose tells direction on a map. 1. Cardinal Directions

N north S southE east W west

2. Intermediate Directions NW northwest NE northeast SW southwest SE southeast

Look for a compass rose, or a north arrow. Usually North is at the top of the map.

Map KeyMap Legend

Map Key explains symbols, lines, colors on a map.

Scale

• A map’s scale compares the distance on a map to the distance in the real world.

• Scale helps find the distance between two places.

• There are large-scale maps and small-scale maps.

Hemispheres

• Hemi- means "half" and sphere means "globe."

• The earth is not really broken into halves, but there are imaginary lines used by people to divide the earth into different sections, called hemispheres. Just like with compass directions, these sections help to describe where you are on the earth.

Imaginary Lines

Latitude-imaginary lines that run east and west

around the earth. Equator- the beginning latitude line with a

measurement of 0.Lines below the Equator are measured in degrees

and said to be south of the Equator. Lines above the Equator are measured

in degrees and said to be north of the Equator. The North Pole and the

South Pole are the last latitude measurement. 90 degrees

• Longitude- imaginary lines that run north and south around the earth.

• Prime Meridian- the beginning longitude line with a measurement of 0.

• Lines to the left of the Prime Meridian is measured in degrees and said to be west of the Prime Meridian.

• Lines to the right of the Prime Meridian is measured in degrees and said to be east of the Prime Meridian.

• The International Dateline is the last longitude line with a measurement of 180 degrees.l

• Latitude and longitude lines are used to help locate specific places on the earth.

Oceans

Arctic Pacific Atlantic Indian Southern

Continents

North America South America Europe Asia Africa

Australia Antarctica