This document provides guidance on important map reading skills for a geography exam, including how to locate places using grid references, calculate bearings, gradients, distances, and interpret cross-sections, drainage patterns, landforms, and the relationship between landforms and human activities. Key topics covered are grid references, scales, bearings, gradients, cross-sections, describing drainage, landforms, and how landforms influence settlement, agriculture, and transport networks. Students are advised to practice these skills in preparation for the compulsory map reading question.

1. MAP READING CXC GEOGRAPHY WORKSHOP 2009 MS. K. BROWN

2. IMPORTANCE OF MAP READING IN THE EXAM MAP READING IS COMPULSORY IN THE EXAM IT IS THE ONLY COMPULSORY QUESTION. IT CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXAM GRADES 1 OR 2. IT CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PASS AND FAIL 28% OF THE MARKS IN THE EXAM IS OBTAINED FROM MAP READING

3. TOPICS LOCATING PLACES USING GRID REFERENCE FINDING THE BEARING OF PLACES CALCULATING GRADIENT OF SLOPES MEASURING DISTANCES WITH SCALES DRAWING AND INTERPRETING CROSS SECTIONS

4. TOPICS CONT’D DRAWING OF SKETCH MAPS DESCRIBING LANDFORMS FROM MAPS DESCRIBING DRAINAGE NETWORKS DESCRIBING LANDUSE DESCRIBING THE INFLUENCE OF LANDFORM ON MAN’S ACTIVITIES (SETTLEMENT, AGRICULTURE, TRANSPORT NETWORK

5. GRID REFERENCE TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS ARE DIVIDED INTO GRIDS. THESE GRIDS HELP US TO LOCATE PLACES EASIER GRID LINES ARE NUMBERED LINES ON A MAP THE VERTICAL GRID LINES ARE CALLED EASTINGS HORIZONTAL GRID LINES ARE CALLED NORTHINGS

6. 22 23 24 25 11 12 13 EASTING N O R T H I N G 2211 2212 READ THE GRID REFERENCE IN THE FORM OF LETTER ‘L’

7. GRID REFERENCE THERE IS THE FOUR FIGURE GRID REFERENCE EG. 2211, 2212 EASTINGS ARE ALWAYS WRITTEN BEFORE NORTHINGS THE FIRST TWO NUMBERS ARE THE EASTING AND THE LAST TWO NORTHING

8. GRID REFERENCE THERE IS ALSO SIX FIGURE GRID REFERENCE THE SIX FIGURE GRID REFERENCE IS USED TO GIVE MORE PRECISE LOCATIONS TO GIVE THE SIX FIGURE GRID REFERNCE DIVIDE EACH GRID BOX INTO TEN EQUAL PARTS ON EACH SIDE NUMBER EACH LINE 1-9

9. 22 23 24 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 987654321 22 1 11 6 22 4 11 3 25 5 5 241119 247111

10. GRID REFERENCE WHAT IS THE FOUR FIGURE GRID REFERENCE OF: SPRING VILLAGE BUSHY PARK MC COOKS PEN

12. GRID REFERENCE FOUR FIGURE GRID REFERENCE 5237 5238 5338

13. GRID REFERENCE WHAT IS THE SIX FIGURE GRID REFERENCE OF: (a) THE TRIGONOMETRY STATION AT BUSHY PARK (b) SCHOOL IN SPRING VILLAGE (C) POSTAL AGENCY NEAR CHURCH PEN (d) THE BRIDGE THAT CROSSES THE SPRING GARDEN RIVER

14. GRID REFERENCE SIX FIGURE GRID REFERENCE 527371 519378 524385 535384

15. SCALES THREE TYPES OF SCALES ARE REPRESENTED ON TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS LINEAR SCALE REPRESENTATIVE FRACTION DIRECT STATEMENTS

16. SCALES LINEAR SCALE-A BAR DIVIDED INTO SECTIONS THIS SCALE CAN BE REPRESENTED IN ANY UNIT (MILES, KILOMETRES, METRES,YARDS, FEET

17. SCALES REPRESENTATIVE FRACTION-WRITTEN AS A RATIO. FOR EG. 1:50,000 THIS MEAN 1UNIT ON THE MAP REPRESENTS 50,000 UNITS ON THE GROUND OR 1:25,000 THIS MEANS 1 UNIT ON THE MAP REPRESENTS 25,000 UNITS ON THE GROUND

18. SCALES DIRECT STATEMENTS - WRITTEN IN WORDS. FOR EG. 1CM REPRESENT 50,000CM OR 1CM REPRESENT 1KM

19. SCALES FUNCTIONS: USED TO MEASURE DISTANCES OF ROADS, RIVERS, RAILWAYS, LANDFORMS. THESE FEATURES CAN BE MEASURED AS STRIGHT LINE DISTANCES (LINE DRAWN BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS AND THEN MEASURED. ACTUAL DISTANCES (THE ENTIRE DISTANCE ALONG THE FEATURE IS MEASURED USING A STRING OR PAPER.

20. SCALES USING THE LINEAR SCALE: PLACE A STRIP OF PAPER ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE FEATURE (ROAD, RIVER) USE A PENCIL TO MARK OFF EACH STRAIGHT PORTION OF THE FEATURE PIVOT THE PAPER USING THE PENCIL UNTIL YOU ARE AT THE END OF THE FEATURE

22. SCALES WHEN FINISHED PLACE THE STRIP OF PAPER ALONG THE LINEAR SCALE. YOUR STARTING POINT MUST BE AT 0 RECORD THE VALUE OF THE DISTANCE OF THE FEATURE DO NOT FORGET TO WRITE DOWN THE UNIT OF THE DISTANCE THAT YOU MEASURED IN. FOR EG. KM, MILES, METRES.

23. 1000 750 500 250 0 Metre 1 2 3 X start here Kilometre PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE UNIT OF THE SCALE

24. SCALES USING THE REPRESENTATIVE FRACTION 1:50,000 USE A RULER TO MEASURE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS THE VALUE OBTAINED (EG.5CM) MUST BE MULTIPLED BY THE NUMBER TO THE RIGHT OF THE COLON. (5X50,000)

25. SCALES 5X50,000=250,000CM IF THE ANSWER IS TO BE IN KM DIVIDE YOUR ANSWER BY 100,000 (100,000CM=1KM) 250,000 DIVIDED BY 100,000= 2.5KM

26. SCALES HOW TO SPEED IT UP? USE A THUMB TACK (THE COLOURED ONE) AND STICK IT IN THE STRIP OF PAPER THAT IS USED TO MEASURE THE DISTANCE TURN THE PAPER AS YOU MEASURE AND MOVE THE THUMB TACK ALONG THE PAPER

27. SCALES CONVERSIONS IMPERIAL UNITS 3 FEET = 1YARD 5,280 FEET = 1 MILE 1760 YARDS= 1 MILE

28. BEARINGS THIS IS THE ANGULAR DISTANCE OF ONE PLACE X FROM ANOTHER Y BEARINGS ARE CALCULATED BY THE USE OF A PROTRACTOR.

29. BEARINGS HOW TO CALCULATE BEARINGS DRAW A LINE BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS X Y

30. BEARINGS 2 . DRAW A VERTICAL LINE THROUGH THE POINT FROM WHICH YOU ARE TAKING THE BEARING. FOR EG. WHAT IS THE BEARING OF X FROM Y DRAW THE VERTICAL LINE THROUGH POINT Y

31. BEARINGS 3. PLACE THE PROTRACTOR ON THE VERTICAL LINE 4. STARTING FROM 0º IN A CLOCKWISE DIRECTION, MEASURE THE ANGLE BETWEEN THE VERTICAL LINE AND THE LINE DRAWN BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS

32. X Y AS EASY AS 1,2,3

33. BEARINGS EXERCISE WHAT IS THE BEARING OF THE NEGRIL LIGHTHOUSE FROM THE YATCH CLUB GIVE THE BEARING OF THE YOUTH CENTRE FROM THE CHURCH NEAR SILVER SPRING

35. BEARINGS HOW TO SPEED IT UP? USE THE PROTRACTOR THAT IS COMPLETE AS A CIRCLE DRAW LONG VERTICAL AND CONNECTING LINES. USE SHARP PENCILS!!! DULL PENCILS CAN GIVE ERROR UP TO 3º

36. GRADIENT THE RATE OF CHANGE OF A SLOPE THE DEGREE OF SLOPE DEGREE OF SLOPE

37. GRADIENT THE MATHEMATICIAN VS GEOGRAPHER GRADIENT AS FRACTION AS RATIO 1/20 1:20 RISE/RUN RISE:RUN THESE ARE INTERPRETED THE SAME WAY THE GEOGRAPHER IS SAYING RUN IS 20 TIMES LONGER THAN RISE.

38. GRADIENT 1CM 20CM RUN SLOPE RISE

42. GRADIENT GRADIENT IN THE FIRST PHOTO IS VERY HIGH ALMOST VERTICAL. 1:0 GRADIENT IN THE SECOND PHOTO IS MODERATE 1:75 GRADIENT IN THE THIRD PHOTO IS VERY LOW, GENTLE, ALMOST FLAT 1:270

43. 270m 1m

44. GRADIENT THE NUMBER TO THE LEFT OF THE COLON INDICATE THE VALUE OF THE VERTICAL HEIGHT (THAT IS THE RUN) THE NUMBER TO THE RIGHT OF THE COLON INDICATE THE VALUE OF THE HORIZONTAL DISTANCE ON THE GROUND (THAT IS THE RISE) THE SMALLER THE NUMBER TO THE RIGHT OF THE COLON, THE STEEPER THE GRADIENT

45. GRADIENT FOR EG. 1:75 IS STEEPER THAN 1:270 LOOK BACK AT THE GRADIENTS IN THE PHOTOS

46. GRADIENT HOW TO CALCULATE GRADIENT? PRE-REQUISITE: YOU MUST BE ABLE TO CALCULATE DISTANCE YOU MUST UNDERSTAND CONTOUR INTERVALS

47. GRADIENT TO CALCULATE GRADIENT: YOU NEED THE DIFFERENCE IN HEIGHT BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS (A-B) AND THE HORIZONTAL DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS

48. GRADIENT THE SCHOOL AT MAIDEN STONE IS 320METRES , THE HEIGHT OF THE COAST NEAR RIO GRANDE IS SEA LEVEL, THE STRAIGHT LINE DISTANCE IS 5KM CALCULATE THE AVERAGE GRADIENT

49. A B HORIZONTAL DISTANCE

50. GRADIENT DIFFERENCE IN VERTICAL HEIGHT HORIZONTAL DISTANCE THE VERTICAL DISTANCE IS OBTAINED BY SUBTRACTING THE SMALLER CONTOUR OR SPOT HEIGHT VALUE FROM THE HIGHER HORIZONTAL DISTANCE IS MEASURED AGAINST THE SCALE

51. GRADIENT AFTER OBTAINING THE TWO VALUES CONVERT BOTH TO THE SAME UNITS THAT IS THE VERTICAL DIFFERENCE MUST BE IN THE SAME UNIT AS THE HORIZONTAL DISTANCE. FOR EG. 400M-200M=200M (VERTICAL DIFFERENCE) HORIZONTAL DISTANCE =600M

52. GRADIENT 200:600 THIS IS SAYING THAT THE LAND RISE BY 200M OVER A DISTANCE OF 600M THE NEXT STEP IS TO DIVIDE THE NUMBER TO THE LEFT OF THE COLON INTO ITSELF THEN INTO THE NUMBER TO THE RIGHT OF THE COLON

53. GRADIENT 200/200 : 600/200 1 : 3 ANSWER !!! INTERPRETATION FOR EVERY 3M HORIZONTALLY ALONG THE GROUND THE LAND RISES BY 1 M THIS IS A GENTLE SLOPE

54. GRADIENT THE HEIGHT OF THE SCHOOL AT MAIDEN STONE (0167)IS 320METRES THE HEIGHTOF THE COAST NEAR THE RIO GRANDE BRIDGE IS APPROX. 0 METRES THE DISTANCE IN A STRAIGHT LINE BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS IS 5KM CALCULATE THE AVERAGE GRADIENT

55. CROSS SECTION THIS IS A VERTICAL CUT THROUGH A LANDFORM TO SHOW A PROFILE THE CROSS SECTION IS DRAWN BY A LINE GRAPH SHOWING HEIGHT AGAINST HORIZONTAL DISTANCE THE HEIGHT IS OBTAINED FROM THE CONTOUR LINES

56. CROSS SECTION HOW TO DRAW A CROSS SECTION IDENTIFY YOUR STARTING AND ENDING POINTS DRAW A STRAIGHT LINE TO CONNECT THESE TWO POINTS USING A STRIP OF BLANK PAPER MARK OFF WHERE ALL THE CONTOURS CROSS THE LINE OF SECTION

57. CROSS SECTION 4. NUMBER THE CONTOURS ON YOUR STRIP OF PAPER 5. IN YOUR BOOK, DRAW A LINE THE SAME LENGTH AS THE SECTION 6. PLACE YOUR STRIP OF PAPER ALONG THIS LINE AND MARK OFF THE CONTOURS AND RECORD THE VALUE

58. CROSS SECTION 7. DEVELOP A VERTICAL SCALE TO RECORD THE HEIGHT 8. USING SMALL X’S MARK THE POINT ON THE VERTICAL THAT CORRESPOND TO THE HORIZONTAL 9. DRAW A LINE CONNECTING THE X’S TO COMPLETE THE CROSS SECTION

59. x y

60. 200 250 300 345000 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 X X X X X X X X X X X X CROSS SECTION X Y

61. CROSS SECTION HOW TO SPEED IT UP? IDENTIFY YOUR LINE OF SECTION DRAW A LINE EQUAL TO ITS LENGTH ON YOUR PAPER DEVELOP A VERTICAL SCALE FOLD THE MAP ALONG THE LINE OF SECTION

62. CROSS SECTION PUT THE FOLDED SECTION ALONG THE LINE YOU DREW NOTE THE VALUE OF EACH CONTOUR AND PUT IN THE POINTS (THAT IS THE X’S) CONNECT THEM TO COMPLETE THE SECTION

63. CROSS SECTION YOU MAY ALSO GET A DRAWN CROSS SECTION IN THE EXAM THIS IS WHERE YOU HAVE TO LABEL THE CROSS SECTION WITH THE CORRESPONDING FEATURES ON THE MAP

64. DESCRIBING THE DRINAGE WE ARE DESCRIBING THE GEOMETRY FORMED BY THE DRAINAGE LINES THE GEOMETRY OF THE DRAINAGE CAN TAKE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PATTERN DENDRITIC RADIAL TRELLIS

65. DRAINAGE WHEN THE DRINAGE IS DENDRITIC, THE TRIBUTARIES JOIN THE MAIN STRAM AT ACUTE ANGLES DEVELOP IN REGIONS WITH A UNIFORM ROCK STRUCTURE (ROCKS ARE OF THE SAME TYPE)

66. DRAINAGE

67. DRAINAGE THE TRELLIS DRAINAGE PATTERN HAS TRIBUTARIES JOINING THE MAIN STREAM AT RIGHT ANGLES DEVELOP IN REGIONS THAT HAVE ALTERNATING BANDS OF HARD AND SOFT ROCKS

68. DRAINAGE

69. DRAINAGE THE RADIAL DRAINAGE PATTERN HAS TRIBUTARIES FLOWING IN AN OUTWARD DIRECTION FROM A CENTRAL AREA. (LIKE THE SPOKES OF A WHEEL) STREAMS RADIATE FROM A HILL OR VOLCANIC DOME

70. DRAINAGE

71. DRAINAGE HOW TO DESCRIBE THE DRAINAGE OF AN AREA? FIRST IDENTIFY THE DOMINANT DRAINAGE PATTERN ON THE AREA. FOR EG. RADIAL NEXT LOOK FOR ANY SMALLER DRAINAGE PATTERN OF INDIVIDUAL STREAM. MAKE SURE TO GIVE THE GRID REFERENCE FOR THEIR LOCATION

73. DRAINAGE 4 . DESCRIBE THE DIRECTION OF FLOW OF THE MAIN STREAM. THE FLOW IS FROM HIGH CONTOUR VALUES TO LOW VALUES 5. DESCRIBE THE NATURE OF THE STREAM THIS IS WHETHER THE RIVERS ARE SEASONAL OR PERMANENT THIS IS SHOWN IN THE KEY

74. DRAINAGE 6. DESCRIBE THE NATURE OF THE VALLEY-THIS MEANS SAYING WHETHER THE VALLEY IS NARROW OR WIDE, GENTLE OR STEEP SIDED THIS IS OBTAINED FROM THE SHAPE OF THE CONTOUR LINES

76. DRAINAGE 7 . DESCRIBE WHETHER THE MAIN RIVER COURSE IS STRAIGHT OR MEANDERING 8. DESCRIBE CHANNEL FEATURES SUCH AS WATERFALLS, RAPIDS (SHOWN IN THE KEY) OR RAPIDS

78. DRAINAGE 9 . DESCRIBE THE DRAINAGE DENSITY THIS IS THE NUMBER OF STREAMS WITHIN THE AREA. IF THERE ARE MANY STREAMS THE DRAINAGE DENSITY IS HIGH IF THERE ARE FEW STREAMS THE DRAINAGE DENSITY IS LOW

79. DESCRIBING LANDFORMS THIS IS DESCRIBING FEATURES SUCH AS MOUNTAINS, HILLS, VALLEYS AND PLAINS ON THE MAP WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU USE? CONTOUR VALUES CONTOUR SHAPES CONTOUR SPACING CONTOUR ORIENTATION SCALE ON THE MAP

80. LANDFORMS WHAT ARE YOU DESCRIBING ABOUT THE LANDFORM? HEIGHT OR DIFFERENCES IN HEIGHT THIS IS BASED ON THE CONTOUR VALUES SHAPE OF THE LANDFORM THIS IS BASED ON THE SHAPE OF THE CONTOURS SIZE OF THE LANDFORM BASED ON THE SCALE

81. LANDFORMS LIST OF LANDFORMS MOUNTAIN VALLEY HILL PLAIN PLATEAU ESCARPMENT GAP/PASS

86. LANDFORMS COASTAL LANDFORM STEEP CLIFFED AREA TO THE EAST GENTLE SLOPING COASTAL AREA IN THE WEST

87. LANDFORM AND SETTLEMENT FLAT AREAS HAVE HIGH POPULATION DENSITY STEEP SLOPES AND THE HILLY REGIONS ARE SPARSELY POPULATED FLAT AREAS USUALLY HAVE A NUCLEAR AND LINEAR SETTLEMENT HILLY AREAS HAVE A DISPERSED OR ISOLATED SETTLEMENT

88. LANDFORM AND AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES ARE CONCENTRATED ON AREAS OF LOW RELIEF. (SUGAR CANE FOR EXAMPLE ARE PLANTED ON FLAT AREAS COCONUTS ARE GROWN IN AREAS WITH HIGHER RELIEFS

89. RELIEF AND TRANSPORT NETWORK MAIN ROADS (‘A’ CLASS ROADS) ARE LOCATED IN FLAT AREAS THESE ROADS ARE STRAIGHTER IN APPEARANCE TRACKS FOOTPATHS AND MINOR ROADS ARE LOCATED IN HILLY AREAS THESE ROADS ARE MORE WINDING

90. YOU MAY ALSO BE ASKED TO DESCRIBE THE SETTLEMENT OF AN AREA DESCRIBE THE TRANSPORT NETWORK DESCRIBE THE VEGETATION DESCRIBE THE CULTIVATION

91. YOU MUST REMEMBER TO GIVE THE GRID REFERENCE OF THE AREA THAT YOU ARE DESCRIBING. FOR EXAMPLE, LINEAR SETTLEMENT IS LOCATED IN GRID BOX 3325 YOU MUST ALSO STATE THE NAME OF THE PLACE FOR EXAMPLE, SAVANNA-LA MAR IS DENSELY POPULATED

92. SKETCH MAPS A GRID IS USUALLY GIVEN TO DRAW THE SKETCH MAP OF A GIVEN AREA YOU MAY BE REQUIRED TO DRAW THE MAP ON A LARGER OR SMALLER SCALE.

94. SKETCH MAPS YOU MUST LABEL THE GRID LINES DRAW THE FEATURES THAT ARE ASKED TO BE DRAWN HAVE A KEY TITLE NORTH ARROW

95. SKETCH MAPS YOU SHOULD FIRST LABEL THE GRID LINES PROVIDED. CAREFULLY LOCATE THE FEATURES THAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO INSERT. DRAW EACH FEATURE ACCURATELY. INSERT A KEY TO REPRESENT THE FEATURES.

96. DESCRIBING VEGETATION DESCRIBE THE TYPE OF VEGETATION USE GRID REFERENCE, COMPASS DIRECTIONS AND NAMES OF TOWNS TO GIVE THE LOCATION OF EACH TYPE OF VEGETATION YOU DESCRIBE. DESCRIBE THE EXTENT OF THE VEGETATION (LARGE AREA,PATCH, POCKET ETC.)

97. DESCRIBING VEGETATION CONTD DESCRIBE THE ELEVATION FOR EACH VEGETATION TYPE REMEMBER THAT THE VEGETATION IS NATURAL DO NOT CONFUSE IT WITH CULTIVATION. TYPES INCLUDE FOREST, TREES AND SCRUBS. MANGROVES, WOODLAND.