how to use a map scale

If Louberg is at the zero miles mark (red arrow), then you can see that Luluville is about 10 miles away (other red arrow!)" You may be able to find out how difficult the trail is, the distance you'll be traveling and other sites of interest along the trail. The scale of a map is1:300000 what is the actual distance between two towns if they are 3.5cm apart on the map . You can add and remove map scales by manually typing them or by clicking Add Current to add the current map scale to the list. All map scale indicators can be used 1) to determine the extent to which a geographic region has been reduced from its actual size and 2) to help the map reader determine distance on the map. Always consult the key to interpret different symbols. If you need to drive to the airport, you can plot your route and write it out, turn by turn, and keep it on the steering wheel for quick access. Map Scale A scale is a statement of the relationship between distances on a map and distances in real life. Even if you have a GPS, it's still much easier to use a compass to quickly and effective gauge where you are in relation to the direction you're traveling. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Graphic Scale . Each viewport can be scaled differently, using its own scale bar. Without a blueprint, it would be really hard to construct a building. There are lots of ways to use Google Maps on your computer, phone, or tablet. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 65,682 times. A map scale can be printed in a variety of ways. The scale on a map is a set of numbers that can be used to compare distances and can be written, for example, as 1:25,000. Only use as many intermediate divisions are required. To create this article, 13 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. For , a scale bar should be used if distance determination can enhance the readers understanding of the theme shown. Maps are now available in many forms, including on the Internet. Add this to your previous number to get the total distance. Use this distance to scale the image in your drawing, so it's true scale inmodelspace. The font used to label the scale bar should be some of the smallest type of the page. This is an advantage to using the bar scale. You can also save your scale settings and share them with other users or load a scale settings file for use on your maps. If you don't have a scale ruler, a typical 8 in × 10.5 in (20 cm × 27 cm) sheet of graph paper with a grid of .25 in (0.64 cm) squares will work just fine. We’ll focus on topographic maps, as this is normally where the scale is important. For example, on many trail maps, a dotted line means a trail is unpaved, while a dotted line on other types of maps might indicate a country border, or some other kind of marker. Line up the engineer’s scale with the map’s scale. Orient yourself to the map by looking at the direction each trail heads out from your position and choosing your route according to where you want to go. To use the map scale, start by using a ruler to see how long the line is. Use of Scale in Maps: Each map is incomplete without scale. The map scale is usually located in the legend box of a map, which explains the symbols and provides other important information about the map. Each map will use different symbols in different ways, so it's important to always defer to a key. Scale can also be represented verbally or in text format. The optimal length of the scale bar is related to: 1) the amount of space on the page devoted to the map, and 2) the distances on the map that you expect the reader to measure. Your object will change size according to that number. An example: on a map with the scale 1:20000, 3 centimeters accord to 0.6 kilometers in reality. The larger the map scale, the more detail that will be shown on the page, and the smaller the scale, the less detail will be shown. Our quick guide to understanding map scales will help! Since most map readers have some experience using a ruler, these are often easy for the reader to understand and use. All maps will have an indicator of the scale of the map. This article has been viewed 65,682 times. Road maps or atlases are detailed maps used to display highways, state roads, and other roads in a given area. A scale map takes one item and tells how many of the same item would be needed in the real world to make the actual distance. This simple concept is complicated by the curvature of the Earth 's surface, which forces scale to vary across a map. Voila! Educational Standards This is a disadvantage to using the number scale. Google Maps and Bing Maps are frequently changing their UI, removing or adding features, and currently, there is no easy method to do the conversion to KML or KMZ from either of these web apps. Using method 1 (scaling by a factor), you can now type a number (a scale factor) and press spacebar/enter. The numerator in fractions scale is stable as 1. Use a ruler to measure the distance between the two places. Indicate political information with maps. Compare map areas determined in this activity to areas from a previous activity. Use a map scale to determine distances between cities on a map and the size of areas on a map. Using more ticks than you need, thick lines, a wide scale bar and larger text unnecessarily complicates this map element and forces it to a higher level than it belongs in the visual hierarchy on the page. Scale drawings make it easy to see large things, like buildings and roads, on paper. In this case it is 1 inch, so 1 inch equals 400 miles. GEOGRAPHY SKILLS: SCALE 2. For tips on how to use a compass with a typographical map, read on! Check out this tutorial to learn all about scale drawings. You can also design your scale bar to include an extension scale (below) which can be used for smaller distance determinations. The Scale Bar Selector dialog is used to select and change the properties of the scale bar you want to insert on your map. It’s a smaller scale than a 1:24,000 scale map, but shows a large amount of territory with less detail. % of people told us that this article helped them. In orienteering, the most common scale … Make another mark on your paper where the extension scale ends on the left, and note this distance. Second, if the map is enlarged or reduced using some method of photocopying or screen display, the scale bar changes size in direct proportion to the physical size of the map. If you're lost, look for landmarks on the map that you can see physically to help you figure out the general area you're in. If we resize a map that has a bar scale on it, the size of the bar scale will be resized with the map, and it will therefore remain accurate. An extension scale which shows finer subdivisions of the scale bar allows for smaller distance measurements. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/ad\/Use-a-Map-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Use-a-Map-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/ad\/Use-a-Map-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid1334204-v4-728px-Use-a-Map-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"