Symbols on the map of technical people. Topographical (cartographic) symbols
Cartography as a science dates back to the Bronze Age. Archaeological excavations have demonstrated that the oldest examples were created in Egypt, ancient Babylon, Asia Minor (modern Turkey), the Marshall Islands and Italy. Without a schematic drawing of the area, accurate movement and implementation is impossible military tactics. Despite completely different ideas about the shape of the planet, the inhabitants Ancient world, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the New Century and modern times, they tried to record all the features of the landscape as reliably as possible. Ancient people allowed many geographical inaccuracies in cartography, and the creation of diagrams could be equated to art - they were performed by real masters and supplemented with many artistic elements. For example, cities were drawn in the form of castle towers with family coats of arms, forests were represented by several types of trees, trading ports were indicated by the type of ships popular in the region (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Maps used until the last century
Samples more similar to modern ones appeared only after the 18th century, when humanity gained a complete understanding of the geography of the planet, the location of all rivers, seas, and oceans.
However, the most accurate plans became available by the mid-twentieth century.
In everyday life, knowing what symbols mean geographical maps, will help you quickly get to any destination. In wilderness and survival situations, if you get lost in the forest but have a map with you, you can save your life and get out easily. Despite the popularity of GPS navigators, electronic equipment can always fail, incorrectly determine coordinates or run out of power. Paper analogues are at hand and come to the rescue in any situation. They are easy to use not only to find out your location in a wild or populated area, but also to plot a shorter driving route. Without the use of diagrams, it is difficult to imagine the work of military personnel, foresters, fishermen, geological engineers and builders. What types of symbols exist on maps and how to determine their exact meaning, we will consider further.
Symbols of geographical maps
Conventional signs are presented on the map in the form of simplified graphic symbols indicating landscape objects, for example, mountain ranges, lakes, forest plantations, paths, highways, public and residential buildings, boundaries between settlements. The icons vary depending on the type of application. For example, for urban plans they will be the same, but for suburban plans they will be completely different.
Figure 2. Main groups of signs The following groups of signs are distinguished (Figure 2):
- Scientific or reference. Includes soil types, landscape and soil details, local fossils, types of water bodies and trees, common animals, birds and fish, buildings, municipal and socio-cultural monuments, transport links and much more. The purpose of such diagrams is a detailed display of all important features of the landscape for accurate orientation. Also used for informational purposes;
- Educational. Developed for teaching preschool and school age. Often interactive and intuitive;
- Tourist. It is impossible to imagine any traveler’s luggage without them. Contains accurate landscape details. However, more attention is paid to paths in forests and mountains, crossings over rough or swampy terrain. This group also includes urban options that clearly explain the new city. With their help, it is easy to visit all excursion places without getting lost in the interweaving of residential areas and numerous streets.
The newer the diagram, the more closely it corresponds to the actual location of all objects. Often presented in color for easier orientation.
Figure 3. Example of a legend different cards The structure of all geographical maps - both outdated and modern - is divided into two main parts:
- Schematically depicted landscape. The colors evoke the correct associations with the real components of the relief: forest plantations are green, ponds are blue or blue, hills are brown, highways are red or orange, and railway tracks are black. Sometimes details are specified, such as the material of the bridge or the type of scaffolding. However, on each plane there are many more signs displayed, many of them may seem incomprehensible at first glance;
- Legend (Figure 3). A legend is an explanation for each individual diagram. There is no general standardization in cartography, but decoding of symbols and content must be present, otherwise it is considered invalid. You can find the legend in the free fields. Sometimes a separate place is allocated for it. Even if you have forgotten what the pictograms on the plan mean, turning to the legend, you can intuitively figure it out.
Contrary to prevailing stereotypes, reading a geographic map does not require specialized skills, and even a schoolchild can cope with this task. When faced with a new scheme, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the legend and start getting your bearings.
Types of symbols on maps
Symbols of geographical maps are necessary to display schematic objects, their features and characteristics on the terrain plan. They are divided into three types, which are determined by scale: linear, area and point. Each of them includes objects with similar features: industrial buildings and administrative facilities (bridges, railway crossings, borders between regions and countries) or details of the natural landscape. Each group is indicated by a simple and easy to remember icon. For example, coniferous forests are represented by the schematic symbol of a pine tree (Figure 4). It reliably displays the type of object and is universal for most terrain plans, which will provide convenient and instant orientation in any conditions.
Figure 4. Types of signs on maps Basic requirements for icons that can be used to select a suitable geographic map:
- Readability and recognition;
- No overload of elements;
- Ease of remembering;
- Compact and reliable.
What do symbols include? topographic maps, we will consider further.
Linear signs
Linear symbols on the map depict objects that have a certain extent (Figure 5).
Among them:
- Roads (motorways, highways, highways, paths). They are divided into dirt and asphalt. Modern and roadworthy are highlighted in orange. Gray or black represent unpaved sections of the road or trail;
- Railway and tram tracks. They are divided by the number of tracks (one or several pairs of rails), width (narrow or standard), and general condition (working, closed, and under construction). They are indicated by a horizontal line on which perpendicular lines are applied in the order: one track - one line. A rectangle is drawn on the line, which indicates the station building or platform;
- Bridges. They vary depending on the material (reinforced concrete, wood, stone and others), the number of tiers, dynamics (solid, sliding or lifting). Pontoon (floating) vessels are indicated by separate symbols;
- Gas or oil pipelines;
- Power lines;
- Cellular or radio towers;
- Rivers of any length or streams, canals;
- Any fences or walls,
- Borders between settlements and countries.
Figure 5. Example of linear signs Represented by colored thin, bold and bold lines (straight, curved). It is worth noting that only their length in millimeters with translation to scale is accurate.
On geographical maps there is no correct indication of the width of linear symbols.
Exaggerated width makes reading easier. This group also includes isolines (isohypses), necessary for three-dimensional designation of the shapes and features of the territory.
Area signs
Area (also known as scale) symbols on a local map are needed to correctly convey the shape and outline, relief, size and location of large geographical objects (Figure 6). Also called “contour”. These include both individual areas and entire cities. They have a reliable length and width in a two-dimensional plane, presented on a reduced scale (for example, 1:10000) and forms as close as possible to reality. Their structure is divided into an outline and a colored background, shading or a grid of identical symbols indicating the properties of the object.
Declassified topographic maps of the General Staff of the USSR are freely circulating on the Internet. We all love to download them, look at them, and often print them on sheets of paper for further use for their intended purpose - i.e. go hiking with them.
Topographic maps of the General Staff are the most accurate and best. Any other purchased cards printed in modern times, will not carry as much accuracy and specificity. The symbols and symbols on the topographic maps of the General Staff are much more complex than any other symbols on maps purchased in the store. We all remember them from geography lessons at school.
As an experienced user of such maps, I would like to describe at the beginning of this article the most important, in my opinion, designations. If the rest are more or less understandable, since they are almost all identical to other types of cards (not the General Staff), then these are something new and still incomprehensible. Actually, I will start with the symbols of rivers, fords, forests and roads.
Rivers and water resources
| Speed and direction of river flow (0.6 m/s) | |
|
Characteristics of rivers and canals: 30 - Width (m), 0,8 - Depth (m), TO- Soil type ( TO - rocky, P - sand, T - solid, IN - viscous) |
 |
| Water line mark, shore height above sea level (393m) |  |
| Brody: 0,3 - depth, 10 - length, TO- rocky soil, 1,0 - speed (m/sec) |  |
| The swamp is passable |  |
| The swamp is impassable |  |
| Characteristics of bridges: D- construction material ( D - wood, TO - stone, reinforced concrete - reinforced concrete), 43 - length of the bridge, 4 - width of the roadway (m), 10 - load capacity in tons |  |
| Forest clearing and width in meters (2m) |  |
| Field and forest roads |  |
| Winter road, a functioning road only in the winter season, during the cold period. Can go through swamps. |  |
| Dirt road, 6 - width of the roadway in meters |  |
| Gat - a road with a wooden surface, a flooring made of logs, 3 - width of the roadway |  |
| Go away |  |
| Railway track |  |
| Gas pipeline |  |
| Power lines (PTL) |  |
| Disassembled Railway |  |
| Single track railway, narrow gauge. Also railway bridge |  |
| Highway: 6 —width of the covered part, 8 — the width of the entire road from ditch to ditch in meters; SCH- coating material ( B - cobblestone, G - gravel, TO - crushed stone, Shl - slag, SCH - crushed stone) |  |
Relief
| Steep river banks, rocky outcrops, Parma |  |
| Relief contours with relative height designation (260 m) |  |
| Mountainous area without vegetation cover, covered with kurum stones and rock outcrops |  |
| Mountainous area with vegetation cover and sparse trees, the forest border is visible |  |
| Outlier rocks with a height in meters |  |
| Glaciers |  |
| Rocks and rocky cliffs |  |
| Elevation mark (479.2 m) |  |
| Steppe region. Near the edge of the forest |  |
| Sands, deserts |  |
Photos of some geographical objects
The main winter road laid through the taiga forest. In summer there are thickets here (Yakutia)
Forest dirt road (Ivdel district, Northern Urals)
Gat - road with wooden covering (Lobnensky forest park, Moscow region)
Rock outcrop, Parma (Stone "Giant", Middle Urals)
Remnant rocks (Old Stone rock, Middle Urals)
It should be understood that all available topographic maps of the USSR General Staff have long been outdated. The information contained on them can date back to the 70-80s of the last century. If you are interested in the details of walking along certain trails, roads, the presence of settlements and geographical objects, then you should check in advance the reliability of the information from other sources. There may no longer be any paths or roads at all. Small settlements can be abandoned and look like wastelands, often already overgrown with young growth.
But, in any case, the maps of the General Staff still provide more accurate information, and using them you can more productively calculate your route and distance. In this article, I did not bother your heads with unnecessary symbols and symbols of topographic maps. I have posted only the most important and significant for the mountain-taiga and steppe region. Those interested in details can take a look.
Maps of the USSR General Staff were made using the Soviet system of layout and nomenclature of topographic maps. This system is still used in Russian Federation and in some former Soviet republics. There are newer maps, the state of the terrain on which is approximately 60-80s of the last century, and older maps, the so-called General Staff of the Red Army, made by geodetic reconnaissance of the pre-war period. “The maps are compiled in a conformal transverse cylindrical Gauss-Kruger projection, calculated using the parameters of the Krasovsky ellipsoid for a six-degree zone,” - and if you don’t understand, it doesn’t matter! The main thing is to remember (or write down, save this article) the points that I cited above. Knowing them, you can skillfully use maps and plan your route without using GPS.
"Plan of the area. Conventional signs"
6th grade
Today we are starting to study a new topic “Terrain plan. Conventional signs." Knowledge of this topic will be useful to you in the future. There are several types of terrain images: drawing, photograph, aerial photograph, photograph from space satellite, map, area plan (topographic plan).
To create topographic plans, modern technology is used (helicopters, planes, satellites) (Fig. 1).
Fig.1. The M-101T "Falcon" aircraft is designed for terrain surveys
(http://www.gisa.ru)
Photographs obtained as a result of aerial photography earth's surface, are called aerial photographs.
Let's consider an aerial photograph (Fig. 2) and a topographic plan (Fig. 3) of the same area (the bed of the Moscow River in the Vorobyovy Gory area). Which image gives us more complete information about geographical objects? What type of image is more convenient to use to take a walk around Moscow?
A comparison will allow us to conclude that it is from the terrain plan that we can find out detailed information about geographical objects (for example, the name of a river, the name of streets, metro stations, parks).
  Rice. 2. Aerial photograph (http://maps.google.ru) |
 Rice. 3. Site plan (http://maps.google.ru) Scale 1:50,000 U
River word symbols |
Imagine that you are going on a hike far from the city. You need to prepare for the conditions of an unknown area that you have never been to, you need to think about what equipment, what clothes to take, perhaps prepare to cross a river, ravine, etc. You can get information about the hiking area by reading the map correctly.
Here are two different images of the earth's surface: satellite image(Fig. 1) and topographic map (terrain plan) (Fig. 4-5).
Let's find out comparing satellite image And site plan. Let's find similarities and differences.
Using Figures 4 and 5, let’s fill out the table “Features of the terrain image.”
|
Image Features |
Site plan |
Aerial photo |
|
1. Top view |
+ |
+ |
|
2. You can find out the name of a settlement, river, lake, etc. |
+ |
_ |
|
3. You can determine the type of vegetation, the names of tree species |
+ |
_ |
|
4. All visible objects are shown from above |
_ |
+ |
|
5. Only important objects are depicted |
+ |
_ |
|
6. You can find out the sides of the horizon |
+ |
_ |
|
7. Objects are represented by symbols |
+ |
_ |
Let's summarize - what is a topographic map or area plan?
Let’s write down the definition of the concept “terrain plan” in a notebook.
Site plan or topographic plan (from the Latin “planum” - plane) - an image on a plane of a small section of the earth’s surface in a reduced form using conventional signs.
In order to work with a topographic plan, you need to be able to read it. "ABC" topographic plan are symbols. The symbols used to construct site plans are the same for all countries of the world, which makes them easier to use even if you do not know the language.
Conventional signs– designations used on maps or plans to depict various objects and their quantitative and qualitative characteristics. In other words, conventional signs indicate objects on the plan and are similar to these objects.
What can you find out using this site plan (Fig. 6)?
Rice. 6. Terrain plan (T. P. Gerasimova, N. P. Neklyukova, 2009)
And much more!
Topographical symbols are usually divided into: large-scale (or areal ), off-scale , linear And explanatory .
Z 
Draw the following diagram in your notebook:
Large-scale
, or areal
conventional signs serve to depict such topographical objects that occupy a significant area and whose dimensions in plan can be expressed in
scale given map or plan. An area conventional sign consists of a sign of the boundary of an object and its filling symbols or conventional coloring. The outline of an object is shown with a dotted line (the outline of a forest, meadow, swamp), a solid line (the outline of a reservoir, a populated area) or a symbol of the corresponding boundary (ditch, fence). Fill characters are located inside the outline in a certain order (randomly, in a checkerboard pattern, in horizontal and vertical rows). Area symbols allow you not only to find the location of an object, but also to estimate its linear dimensions, area and outline ( http://www.spbtgik.ru).
Z Let's draw examples of symbols and add to our diagram!
|
Village |
Orchard
Bush
Meadow
Vyr
ubka
L
eu deciduous
R
edible forest
ABOUT
zero
Garden
Arable land
Swamp
Windmill
Well
School
Forester's house
Monument
Power station
Wooden bridge
Metal bridge
free standing tree
Spring
Factory
Building
Railroad station
|
Village |
|
Linear conventional signs are intended to depict extended objects on the ground, for example iron and car roads, clearings, power lines, streams, borders and others. They occupy an intermediate position between large-scale and non-scale symbols. The length of such objects is expressed on the map scale, and the width on the map is not to scale. Usually it turns out to be larger than the width of the depicted terrain object, and its position corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the symbol. Horizontal lines are also depicted using linear topographical symbols.
Let's sketch examples of symbols and add to our diagram!
|
Village
|
Windmill Well School Forester's house Monument Power station Wooden bridge Metal bridge free standing tree Spring Factory Building
|
Highway Clearing Trail Line power transmission
River
Ravine
|
Explanatory
Conventional signs are used for the purpose of additional characterization of local objects shown on the map. For example, the length, width and load-carrying capacity of the bridge, the width and nature of the road surface, the average thickness and height of trees in the forest, the depth and nature of the soil of the ford, etc. Various inscriptions and proper names of objects on maps are also explanatory in nature; each of them is executed in a set font and letters of a certain size.
Let's sketch examples of symbols and add to our diagram!
|
Village
|
Windmill Well School Forester's house Monument Power station Wooden bridge Metal bridge free standing tree Spring Factory Building
|
Highway Clearing Trail Line power transmission
River
Ravine
|
|
Let's take a closer look at this type of symbol.
If you want to get acquainted with other symbols, you can download the following document (Word file)
http://irsl.narod.ru/books/UZTKweb/UZTK.html
Now let's put theoretical knowledge into practice.
You must complete the following five tasks.
Exercise 1.
The site plan is used for:
A) studying a vast territory, for example, Russia;
B) construction, agricultural work in a small area;
C) travel to various countries of the world;
D) to plot a route if you want to go hiking.
Task 2.
The “alphabet of the plan” are symbols. But what corresponds to them on the ground? Select the number under which the symbol is depicted, corresponding to the letter indicating its meaning (Fig. 7).
For example: 1-A; 2-V.
A) break; B) swamp; B) path; D) bush; D) meadow
Rice. 7. Conventional signs of the area plan
(Baranchikov, Kozarenko, 2007)
Task 3.
Roads are indicated on the plan:
A) black solid or dotted lines;
B) brown lines;
B) blue lines;
D) green lines.
Task 4.
The following objects are indicated by scale or area symbols on site plans:
A) swamp, orchard, forest, arable land;
B) well, school, spring, isolated tree;
B) path, clearing, river, ravine;
D) railway, vegetable garden, factory, lake.
Task 5.
Carefully study the photograph (Fig. 8) and the adjacent plan (Fig. 9).
Answer the questions.
Question 1. Do schoolchildren-tourists ford the river near the place where the stream flows into it?
A) YES; B) NO.
Question 2. Is it possible to determine from the plan in which direction the Sona River flows?
A) YES; B) NO.
Question 3. Is it possible to determine from a photograph what the likely immediate goal of schoolchildren-tourists is?
A) YES; B) NO.
Question 4. Is it possible to determine from the area plan that tourists are heading towards the village of Sonino, where they can rest and replenish their food supplies?
A) YES; B) NO.
Question 5. Which lands occupy most of the territory shown on the plan.
A) swamps;
B) mixed forest;
B) bush;
List of literature used by the teacher when developing the lesson
Geography of the Earth: 6th grade: tasks and exercises: a manual for students / E.V. Baranchikov, A. E. Kozarenko, O. A. Petrusyuk, M. S. Smirnova. – M.: Education, 2007. – P. 7-11.
Basic geography course: textbook for 6th grade. educational institutions/T. P. Gerasimova, N. P. Neklyukova. – M.: Bustard, 2010. – 174 p.
Work programs in geography. 6-9 grades / N.V. Bolotnikova. – 2nd ed., revised, additional. – M.: Publishing House “Globus”, 2009. – P. 5-13.
This material was prepared for you by the geography teacher of Central Education Center No. 109
Daria Nikolaevna Chekushkina.
E-mail address:chekushkina.
daria@
gmail.
com
The whole world can fit on one piece of map, with all the oceans, continents, mountains and plains, countries, cities, minerals, animals and birds. You just need to be able to read the map correctly. In this lesson we will learn what maps were in ancient times, and what types of maps exist now, what are the advantages of a map over a globe, what is the scale, and the map legend. Let's learn how to use the scale of depths and heights and determine the coordinates of earthly objects.
Topic: The planet we live on
People started drawing maps before they even thought about whether the Earth was round or flat. Scientists have discovered a drawing on a bone in Kamchatka depicting a path to a place rich in prey. This is probably one of the oldest maps. Maps were drawn on pieces of bark and cut out on wooden planks, which were convenient to take on the road. Some peoples scratched maps with a sharp object on wet clay tiles, which, after drying, became durable, with a clear image.
This world map, in the center of which the city of Babylon is located, more than 3 thousand years.
Rice. 1. World map of Ancient Babylon ()
Rock paintings of areas in caves where people lived thousands of years ago were also found.
Rice. 2. Rock painting of the area ()
With the invention of paper, maps began to be drawn on it. All the information obtained by scientists and travelers during their travels through different lands was recorded on the maps.
Rice. 3. Ancient map world on paper ()
Making the map was a long process, because all the details were drawn by hand, so the maps were very expensive.
For a long period of time, only four were present on the maps: Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America. Many years passed before sailors discovered Australia and Antarctica.
When you look for a country on the globe, you only see one hemisphere. And to see something else, you need to turn the globe.
It is impossible to indicate a large number of geographical objects on a globe without increasing its size. A large globe is inconvenient for travel.
Scale- this is the ratio of the length of lines on a map or drawing to the actual length. The scale of the physical map of Russia tells us that every centimeter of the map corresponds to 200 km on the ground.
Rice. 7. Physical map of Russia ()
The map can show two halves of the Earth at once. If you divide Earth along the equator, it will work map of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres,
Rice. 5. Northern and Southern Hemispheres
and if along the line of the prime meridian - Western and Eastern Hemispheres.
Rice. 6. Western and Eastern Hemispheres
On mineral map special icons mark places of mineral deposits.
Rice. 9. Map of mineral resources ()
On animal habitat maps The habitats of various species of birds and animals are indicated.
Rice. 10. Map of birds and animals ()
On contour maps there are no color codes and all kinds of geographical objects are depicted, but not labeled. They are convenient for planning routes.
Rice. 11. Outline map
On political map the world depicts countries and their borders.
Rice. 12. Political map Eurasia ()
On synoptic maps Symbols indicate weather observations.
Rice. 13. Synoptic map ()
Different cards are combined into atlases.
Rice. 14. Geographical atlas ()
Maps depict different territories. There are maps of districts, cities, regions, states, continents, oceans, hemisphere maps and world maps.
Legend on the map are the same as on the globe. They're called legend and are usually placed at the bottom of the card.
We'll find it on physical map Russia West Siberian Plain.
Rice. 16. West Siberian Plain ()
Small horizontal lines covering a large part of its territory mean swamps.
Here are some of the most big world swamps - Vasyugansky. Lines represent rivers, borders and roads, and circles represent cities.
Rice. 17. Vasyugan swamps
The seas and mountains have real outlines and are painted in different colors. Blue and cyan are water bodies, yellow are highlands, green are lowlands, brown are mountains.
At the bottom of the map there is a scale of depths and heights, with which you can see what height or depth a particular shade of color on the map means.
The deeper the ocean, the darker the color. On the map of the Arctic Ocean, the darkest shade of blue is in the Greenland Sea, where the depth reaches 5 thousand 527 meters; the lightest shade of pale blue, where the sea depth is 200 meters.
Rice. 18. Physical map of the Arctic Ocean
The higher the mountains, the darker the color they are marked with. Thus, the Ural Mountains, which are considered relatively low (the highest peaks are from 1000 to 2000 m above sea level), are colored light brown on the map.
Rice. 19. Ural Mountains
The Himalayas - the highest mountains in the world (10 peaks with a height of more than 8 km) are indicated in dark brown.
Rice. 20. Himalayan mountains
Chomolungma (Everest), the highest peak in the world (8848 m), is located in the Himalayas.
Using the altitude scale, it is easy to determine the height of the Caucasus Mountains.
Rice. 23. Caucasus Mountains
Their brown color indicates that the height of the mountains is more than 5 thousand meters. The most famous peaks - Mount Elbrus (5642 m) and Mount Kazbek (5033 m) are covered with eternal snow and glaciers.
Using a map, you can determine the exact location of an object. To do this you need to know it coordinates: latitude and longitude, which are determined by a degree grid formed by parallels and meridians.
Rice. 26. Degree grid
The equator serves as the origin of reference - at it the latitude is 0⁰. Latitude is measured from 0⁰ to 90⁰ on both sides of the equator and is called north or south. For example, the coordinate 60⁰ north means that this point lies in the Northern Hemisphere and is at an angle of 60⁰ to the equator.
Rice. 27. Geographical latitude
Longitude is measured from 0⁰ to 180⁰ on both sides of the Greenwich meridian and is called western or eastern.
Rice. 28. Geographical longitude
Coordinates of St. Petersburg - 60⁰ N, 30⁰ E.
Moscow coordinates - 55⁰N, 37⁰E.
Rice. 29. Political map of Russia ()
- Vakhrushev A.A., Danilov D.D. The world around us 3. M.: Ballas.
- Dmitrieva N.Ya., Kazakov A.N. The world around us 3. M.: Fedorov Publishing House.
- Pleshakov A.A. The world around us 3. M.: Education.
- Academician ().
- Survival().
- Locate the Pacific Ocean on a physical map of the world. Determine its deepest place, indicate its name and depth. Describe how you identified this location.
- Compose short test(4 questions with three answer options) on the topic “Geographical maps”.
- Prepare a memo with the rules for working with cards.
