NCERT Class 6 Geography Chapter 4 Notes
Maps and their importance
A map is drawing of the Earth’s surface or part of the Earth on a flat surface. A map can be drawn for a village, city, state, country or the full earth. An atlas is a collection of various types of maps.
➤ A map is more informative than a globe.
➤ It is easy to carry.
➤ A map is more useful when we want to study part of the Earth.
Types of Map
| Physical Maps | Maps showing natural features of the earth such as mountains, plateaus, plains, rivers, oceans etc. are called physical or relief maps. |
| Political Maps | Maps showing cities, towns and villages, and different countries and states of the world with their boundaries are called political maps. |
| Thematic Maps | Maps containing specific information on various themes are called thematic maps. For example, road maps, rainfall maps, maps of forests, industries, etc. |
Elements of a map
Elements are used to make a map more informative and meaningful. Map scale, directions, symbols, colors, legend, title, etc. are some important elements.
| Map Scale | Map scale are used to provide the information on the reduction of size. |
| Directions | Generally, North direction is shown pointing towards the top of the map. |
| Symbols | Actual shape and size of different features such as buildings, roads, bridges, trees, railway lines, etc. are shown by symbols. These symbols make maps more informative and meaningful. |
| Colors | Various colors are used to explain map features. |
| Legend | Legend of map is a short description of the symbols used on the map. |
| Title | Title describes the theme or subject of a map. |
NCERT Class 6 Geography Chapter 4 Notes
Types of Map Scales
Small scale map is used when map is drawn for larger areas. A large actual distance is represented by a distance on the map.
Example: 2 cm = 500 km
Large scale map is used when map is drawn for smaller areas. A smaller actual distance is represented by a distance on the map.
Example: 2 cm = 500 m
There are various ways of representing map scale, such as Linear Scale, Ratio Scale, Verbal Scale.
Ratio Scale = Distance on map : Actual distance on ground
or
Ratio Scale = Distance on map/Actual distance on ground
Cardinal Directions and Intermediate Directions
There are two types of directions:
(1) Cardinal Directions (North, East, South, West)
(2) Ordinal or Intermediate Directions (NW, NE, SE, SW, etc.)
NCERT Class 6 Geography Chapter 4 Notes
Color Notations used on maps
Various colors are used to make the maps more informative. Below are some commonly followed notation.
| Deep Water Bodies | Dark Blue |
| Shallow Water Bodies | Light Blue |
| High Mountains | Dark Brown |
| Hills | Light Brown |
| Plateaus | Yellow |
| Plains | Green |
Conventional Symbols
To make a map readable by everyone, there is an international agreement to use some common symbols. The symbols that have same meaning throughout the world are called conventional symbols.
Map vs Sketch vs Plan
| Map | Systematic drawing of the Earth or its parts with a proper scale. |
| Sketch | Sketch is rough drawing without a scale. Sketch is memory based drawing just to indicate various places. |
| Plan | A Plan is detailed drawing of a small area with large scale. Detailed information like lengths, widths, etc. are shown in plans. |
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NCERT Class 6 Geography Chapter 4 Question Answers