Different Types of Maps Lesson: A Beginner's Guide

Lesson Overview

• Political Maps
• Physical Maps
• Topographic Maps
• Relief Maps
• Climate Maps
• Road Maps
• Thematic Maps: Population and Resource Maps

Maps are drawings or pictures that show parts of the Earth on a flat surface. They help us understand where things are located. Different maps give us different kinds of information. For example, one map might show countries and cities, while another shows mountains and rivers. 

Because one single map cannot show everything clearly, geographers have made different types of maps, each with a special purpose. Let's explore several types of maps, including political, physical, topographic, relief, climate, road, and other thematic maps like population and resource maps.

Political Maps

A world political map showing countries in different colors.

A political map shows how humans have divided the world into countries, states, or regions. These maps focus on government boundaries and locations of cities:

• Country and State Borders: Political maps draw lines to show borders between countries and between states or provinces within a country. Each country or state is often shaded in a different color to make them easy to tell apart.
  
• Cities and Capitals: They mark major cities with dots or symbols. A star symbol is often used to mark a capital city. This helps us locate important cities and understand which city is the capital of a country or state.
  
• Names of Places: Political maps label the names of countries, states, cities, and sometimes oceans or big rivers for reference. For example, on a world political map you can see labels like "India" or "Brazil" and their capital cities.
  
• Uses: Political maps are useful when learning geography, history, or current events. If you want to see where a country is or what countries border it, a political map is what you would use. Travelers and students often use political maps to understand how the world is organized by borders.

Physical Maps

A physical map of the world highlighting landforms like mountains (brown areas) and lowlands (green areas), and water bodies in blue.

A physical map shows what the land itself looks like – its natural features. These maps focus on geography of landscapes and nature:

• Landforms: Physical maps show mountains, hills, plains, valleys, and deserts. Higher land, like mountains, is often shown in brown or tan colors, while lower land, like valleys or plains, might be green. This coloring helps readers see where the land is high or low at a glance.
  
• Water Bodies: Rivers, lakes, and oceans are usually shown in blue. Larger or deeper water bodies might be a darker blue, and shallow areas a lighter blue. You can easily spot major rivers and lakes on a physical map.
  
• Elevation and Relief: Many physical maps use shading or color gradients to indicate elevation (height of the land). For example, green might indicate low elevations (like coastal areas or low plains), yellow or orange for higher elevations (like hills), and brown for the highest elevations (mountain ranges). In some maps, very high snowy peaks might even be white. This technique gives a sense of relief, meaning how flat or rugged the terrain is.
  
• No Political Borders: Unlike political maps, physical maps usually do not show country or state borders (or they show them faintly). The focus is on natural features rather than human-made boundaries.
  
• Uses: Physical maps are great for understanding the environment and terrain of a region. Hikers, travelers, and students use them to see where mountain ranges, deserts, or forests are. For example, if you're curious where the Himalaya Mountains or the Sahara Desert are, a physical map will show you clearly. It helps in studies of Earth science and geography to know the physical landscape.

Topographic Maps

A topographic map (example of Ukraine) using contour lines and color shading to show elevation changes – notice the wavy lines in mountain areas.

A topographic map is a special kind of physical map that shows elevation in detail using contour lines. It gives a very detailed picture of the terrain (land shape):

• Contour Lines: These are squiggly lines drawn on the map. Each contour line represents a specific height above sea level (elevation). If you follow a contour line, every point on that line is at the same height. When contour lines are close together, it means the land is steep (elevations change quickly, like a cliff or mountain slope). When they are far apart, the land is gentle or flat (elevations change slowly, like a plain).
  
• Elevation Numbers: Topographic maps often label some contour lines with numbers (for example, 500m, 1000m) to tell you the exact height. This helps map readers know how high a hill or mountain is.
  
• Symbols and Colors: In addition to contour lines, topographic maps might use colors similar to a physical map (green for low areas, brown for high areas) and include symbols for features like rivers, trails, or buildings. However, the key feature is still the pattern of lines showing the shape of the land.
  
• Understanding the Terrain: By looking at the contour lines, you can "see" in your mind whether an area has gentle hills, steep mountains, or flat valleys. For example, a bullseye pattern of concentric contour loops indicates a hill or mountain (with the smallest loop being the peak), while V-shaped contour patterns often indicate valleys (the point of the V shows the direction water flows downhill).
  
• Uses: Topographic maps are used by hikers, campers, engineers, and planners – anyone who needs to know the exact shape of the land. Hikers use them to navigate trails and avoid steep climbs, and engineers might use them when deciding where to build roads or structures. For instance, if you were planning a hiking trip in a national park, a topographic map would help you see where the mountains and valleys are along the trail.

Relief Maps

A relief map shows terrain in a very visual way by using shading and shadows to highlight changes in elevation. You can think of a relief map as a map that almost looks three-dimensional:

• 3D Appearance: Relief maps use shading techniques (light and shadow) to make mountains and hills look raised and valleys look sunken. Sometimes they are actual 3D models or molded maps that you can touch and feel bumps (in the case of plastic or molded relief maps found in classrooms). On paper or screen, relief maps paint shadows on the sides of mountains to give an illusion of depth.
  
• Color and Shading: Similar to physical maps, relief maps use color to show height (green, brown, white, etc.), but they add shadow effects. For example, one side of a mountain might be shaded darker (as if the sun is shining from one side), and the other side lighter. This contrast makes it easier to see the shape of the land.
  
• Detailed Terrain Features: With a relief map, you can quickly recognize features like ridges, valleys, and peaks because of how the shadows fall. It's very intuitive – even if someone doesn't know how to read contour lines, they can often understand a relief map's hills and valleys by the shading.
  
• Uses: Relief maps are great for visual learners who want a realistic view of the landscape. They are often used in physical geography classrooms or by planners to get a quick sense of an area's terrain. For example, a pilot or a rescue team might look at a relief-style map to understand the lay of the land in a region. Architects and builders might also use relief maps when considering where to construct buildings or roads on uneven ground, as it shows the terrain obstacles clearly.
  
• Example: If you've ever seen a raised globe or a plastic map where you can feel the mountains, that's a form of relief map. On paper, many atlas physical maps with shadowy effects on mountains are relief maps.

Take This Quiz:

Different Types Of Map Quiz

Climate Maps

An example of a climate map – this map shows rainfall in Africa, with dark blue areas getting the most rain and white/light areas the least. The legend (left) shows colors for precipitation levels.

A climate map shows information about the climate (weather patterns) of different areas. It is one form of a thematic map focused on weather and climate data. Climate maps can display things like temperature ranges, rainfall amounts, or snow zones:

• Rainfall and Precipitation: Many climate maps use colors to show how much rain different regions get. For example, on a rainfall map, a region with very high rainfall might be colored dark blue, whereas a desert area with very little rain might be colored yellow or light gray. In the map above of Africa, central parts (dark blue) receive a lot of rain, whereas the Sahara in the north (very light color) receives very little.
  
• Temperature: Some climate maps might show average temperatures. For instance, colder areas could be shown in cool colors (purple or blue) and hotter areas in warm colors (red or orange). A climate map of the world might show polar regions in purple (very cold) and equatorial regions in red (very hot).
  
• Climate Zones: Another type of climate map uses patterns or colors to mark different climate zones (like tropical, temperate, arid, etc.). For example, a map might label areas as "Tropical Rainforest," "Desert," or "Tundra" based on the Köppen climate classification. Each zone would have a color or pattern.
  
• Uses: Climate maps are used by meteorologists, geographers, farmers, and city planners. If you are a farmer, you'd want to know which areas get enough rain for certain crops – a climate map can tell you that. If you're planning a trip, a climate map can give you an idea of what weather to expect. They are also important for studying climate change and weather patterns across regions.
  
• Examples: A climate map could help answer questions like, "Which parts of India get the most rain during the monsoon?" or "Where in the world is it generally hot and dry?" By looking at a climate map, you could see that the northeast of India has very heavy rainfall (rainy climate) while places like the Thar Desert in Rajasthan have a dry climate.

Road Maps

A road map example (Trans-African Highways). The colored lines show major highways connecting cities across Africa, with a legend and labels for cities. On city road maps, you'd see many interconnecting streets.

A road map shows transportation routes like roads and highways. This is the type of map you use when you need directions to go from one place to another:

• Highways and Streets: Road maps display major highways (often with thicker or colored lines) and smaller roads (thinner lines). Each road is drawn in to show how they connect towns and cities. Major roads might be numbered or named (like "NH 48" or "Interstate 95").
  
• Cities and Towns: They include city locations, often marked with dots or small circles, and the road connections between them. Big cities are usually shown more prominently. On a detailed road map (like a city map), even neighborhood streets, intersections, and alleys might be shown.
  
• Symbols: Road maps use special symbols for important locations. For example, a fork and knife symbol might show a restaurant, a bed symbol for a hotel, an H or a cross for a hospital, or a fuel pump icon for a gas (petrol) station. They often also mark airports, train stations, parks, and rest stops.
  
• Distances and Directions: Some road maps indicate distances between places (either by numbers on the road lines or a scale bar to measure distance). They also usually include a compass rose to show direction (north, south, etc.) so you can orient the map with the real world.
• Uses: Road maps are extremely useful for navigation. Drivers, travelers, and delivery companies use road maps (and their modern digital versions, like GPS maps) to find the best route to their destination. If your family is going on a road trip, you might look at a road map or Google Maps to see which highway to take.
  
• Scope: There are road maps for different scales. Some show an entire country's main roads, while others focus on a single city or region with a lot more detail. For example, a road map of the United States will show interstate highways connecting states, whereas a road map of New Delhi city will show all the major roads and smaller streets in the city.
  
• Example: In the map above, the colored lines (numbered 1 through 9) are major highway routes across Africa (like Cairo to Cape Town route). A typical road map you might use day-to-day could be simpler, but the idea is the same – it shows you how to go from point A to point B using roads.

Thematic Maps: Population and Resource Maps

Thematic maps focus on a single topic, such as population or resources. They use colors, symbols, or shading to show how something is spread out across an area.

Population Density Maps: These maps show how crowded a place is by coloring regions based on how many people live in each area. Areas with high population density (like cities) are shown in warm colors, while areas with low density (like deserts) are shown in cooler colors. For example, regions like India and eastern China have high population density, while the Sahara Desert has very low density.

Uses: Population maps help city planners and governments decide where to build new services like schools and hospitals. They also highlight social and economic patterns, showing where people are concentrated.

Resource or Economic Maps: These maps show where natural resources (like oil, coal, or crops) or economic activities (such as farming, mining, or industry) are located. A resource map might use icons for resources (like oil wells or wheat) and different colors to represent areas based on the dominant resource.

Uses: Economic maps help governments and businesses decide where to build factories or invest in resources. They are useful for understanding what is produced or extracted in different areas, such as oil in the Middle East or wheat in the Midwest USA.