Introduction

Maps provide important information. They help us understand where 'here' is from 'there', how to get 'there from here', and what 'here' and 'there' look like! With maps, we can understand things such as what land features a country has, how big a city is, where farms are located, how high mountains are, and where lakes or rivers are. Some maps even provide information about population, natural resources, and industries. Maps can tell you many things about our world. You don't even have to open a geography book to find the information out! This Filamentality exercise takes you on an Internet map quest. You will discover many interesting things about maps and cartography. Answer the ten posted questions by using the websites. Each question has a corresponding website that will be in the same sequence as the question. While the answer to the questions are your main focus, feel free to have fun exploring the websites as well! Good luck! Maybe you will discover that one day you would like to be a cartographer!

Questions

1. What are some of the skills a cartographer must have? What are some subjects you would need to take if you wanted to be a cartographer?
   
   
   
   
2. How does a cartographer define a map? What are the three purposes for a map and what kind of information does the cartographer select in making a map?
   
   
   
3. What are the latitude and longitude readings for Columbus, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Anchorage, Alaska; and Key West, Florida? (Hint: Use the latitude/longitude link on this website to find the answer.)
   
   
   
4. Using the scale on the UN map of Afghanistan, what is the distance between Kabul and Kandabar? Using the legend, what is the capital city of Afghanistan? Are there any railroads running through the country? What is the name of one country which borders it?
   
   
   
5. What are five different kinds of maps? (Hint: Use the links on the sidebar of this website to discover the answer.)
   
   
   
6. Using a National Geographic ecoregion map, what is one of the ecoregions of the world? How does the map tell you that?
   
   
   
   
7. Using a thematic map, locate the state with the highest number of people who are living in poverty in the United States. What state is it? How do you know that your answer is correct? What is the theme of this map? (Hint: Click on maps, then on the country by states. Proceed from there to the poverty level links.)
   
   
   
8. After exploring this earthquake map, what is the possibility of an earthquake occurring in Pali Alto, California? How did you decide your answer?
   
   
   
   
9. Where would you like to take a road trip to? From this link, type the name of the place in to generate a map. Figure out how many miles it is and how long it would take to get there traveling at 60 miles per hour.
   
   
   
   
10. Compare a relief map and a political map of any country listed on this website. Write a short paragraph (3-4 sentences) about how the maps look different and the different information that each one provides. You may choose any country you want to talk about.
    
    

The Internet Resources

• Cartography
• What are Maps?
• World Atlas
• United Nations Cartographic Information
• Geography Basics
• National Geographic Wild World
• U.S. Census Bureau Fact Finder
• Earthquake Hazard
• Mapquest
• Altapedia-Relief and Political Maps

The Big Question

How do maps help people and what skills do they need in order to use the maps?