Types Of Maps
What are the different types of maps? Maps are graphic representations of an area. It highlights the different things and aspects of an area such as roads, mountains, regions, and the like. This is why it is very important that we have maps around us, especially when we are traveling to unfamiliar roads as the maps will guide us to where we can pass by to get to where we want to go the easiest possible way. There are many different types of maps that we can use them for different purposes. This is why it is important that you know each of them to know which you can use in different situations.
Political Maps. The political map is among the types of maps that doesn’t indicate any topographic features. This type of map shows and focuses on the boundaries of the state and nation. There are some political maps that are detailed in the sense that they show the city locations but that’s just about it.
Topographic Maps. The topographic map shows the physical features of a said location. From the base word topography which is the study of the features of the Earth, these types of maps showcase specifically the changes in landscape features such as land and water bodies.
Physical Maps. A physical map is a map that shows, well, the physical landscapes of a certain location. You can see here the mountains and the elevated land bodies as well as rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. These land and water bodies are usually color coded – green or brown for land and blue for water. Among the many types of maps, this one is the one mostly used by hikers and mountaineers, as they are specific when it comes to physical landscapes.
Resource Maps. Resource maps are maps that focus on natural resources of a certain location. These maps use symbols and color coding to indicate the certain resources that you can find in that place. For instance, green is usually used to indicate agricultural products and letters are used to indicate certain deposits (Example: Fe for Iron, D for diamonds, and C for Coal).
Road Maps. The most common of all the types of maps are the road maps. They are the maps that show you all the roads and highways that you can choose to pass. These maps also show you major locations, landmarks, and points of interest.
Thematic Maps. As the name implies, thematic maps are maps that showcase certain themes or topics. This is the most unusually used of all the types of maps as they do not show roads or other physical landscapes of a certain location. They do, however, give you background information about a location that you can use as reference points in your journey. A good example of thematic maps would be population change maps from a specific time span.
You see, there are many different types of maps that you can choose to use, no matter where you are going or no matter what information you need. However, it is important that you understand which maps to use when to be able to choose the right one to use at all times.
