HUGAP: Scales of Analysis

Bar/Graphic Scale

A bar or graphic scale is a visual image of a bar that can be used like a ruler to give a rough estimate of a distance. The picture shows different examples of bar scales.

Representitive fraction / Ratio

A map scale is usually given in this way. It is the distance on a map compared to the distance on the ground. Example: 3 : 50000 or 3/50000

Small scale

A map scale ratio in which the ratio of units on the map to units on Earth is quite small. This type of scale map usually depicts large areas. This map does not show specific details as a large-scale map would.

Verbal map scale

A verbal scale is a description of a scale using words. It is used to tell people what scale the map uses. Example: 1 inches = 10 miles

What is a scale in HUGAP?

Scales refer to the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied compared to the Earth as a whole.

Global scale

The McDonald's and Starbucks chains are an example of things on a global scale because they involved the whole world. The picture is an example of global scale, because it shows the whole globe.

Local scale

The image shows a local scale because it depicts a small city or a community. It describes the space where an individual might live and work.

What does the map depict? What type of scales are used? Explain how a map presented at this scale is an incomplete representation of the geography of religion in the US.

The map shows major religions in the US and where they are most clustered. It uses a small scale because it is zoomed out and there isn't a lot of detail. It is a regional scale because the map shows perceptual regions of where which religion is most followed. This map is an incomplete representation of religion in the United States because it is very general. Just because someone lives in the South doesn't mean they are baptists. There will always be outliers, and these types of maps are general representations of whatever they are about. Additionally, this map uses a bar scale for comparing distances.

Regional scale

The map shows the perceptual regions of North America. It describes the well-known regions, like the South, Midwest, and Pacific Coast, which is why it is an example of a regional scale.

What information does this map give? Why is the production very clustered in one area and why do you think so much crop is grown there? What types of scales are used?

This map gives information about what percent an acre of harvested corn is out of all the acres that corn was harvested from. The reason that corn production is so high in the North/Midwest, is because the soil is extremely fertile, it is humid, has warm nights and hot days, and has well-distributed rainfall. All of these factors help make the Midwest the perfect place to grow corn in vast amounts for consumers within the US and outside of the US. A national scale is used because it gives information within the US. It also uses a small scale, because the map does not show where a person lives and works, rather it shows a very zoomed-out map of the US. This map has a bar/graph scale. I know this because on the bottom, left-hand corner, I can see a bar with numbers that tell me the scale/ratio.

National scale

This type of map is often used in weather forecasts. It involves the whole nation and describes what happens in a country. The image shows the United States which is a country, so it is an example of a national scale.

Large scale

This type of scale map usually has a higher resolution and covers much smaller regions than small-scale maps. Ex: Mount Rainier, which has an elevation of 4,392 meters above sea level.