Geography Review

intermediate directions

A direction halfway between two cardinal directions; northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest.

compass rose

A drawing that indicates directions on a map, especially cardinal and intermediate directions.

scale

A guide that explains the relationship between real distances on Earth and distances on a map.

map key

A guide to telling you what each symbol on a map stands for.

parallel

A line of latitude.

physical map

A map that highlights Earth's natural features.

road map

A map that indicates cities, highways, and points of interest and shows you how to get from one place to another.

historical map

A map that shows information about the past or where past events took place.

political map

A map that shows the boundaries of states and countries.

elevation map

A physical map that uses colors to show the elevation, or height, of land above sea level.

relief map

A physical map that uses shading to show the difference in height between areas of land.

locator

A small map inset in the corner of a larger map that helps you understand where the subject area of the larger map is located on Earth.

equator

An imaginary line circling the Earth, half way between the North and South Pole, designated as 0 degrees latitude.

longitude

An imaginary line, or meridian, measuring distance east or west of the prime meridian.

latitude

An imaginary line, or parallel, measuring distance north or south of the equator.

meridian

Any line of longitude east or west of Earth's prime meridian.

hemisphere

One half a sphere or globe. Earth can be divided into four hemispheres. The equator divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The prime meridian divides it into Eastern and Western hemispheres.

ocean

One of Earth's FIVE bodies of water. They are the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern.

continent

One of Earth's seven large bodies of land, including Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

cardinal directions

One of the four main points of the compass; north, south, east, and west.

symbol

Something that stands for something else.

prime meridian

The line of longitude labeled 0 degrees longitude. Any place east of the prime meridian is labeled E(ast), and any place west of it is labeled W(est).