Map Skills Vocabulary

the study of the Earth and its physical features

• geography

• political map

• geometry

• oceans

largest areas of water on Earth

• continents

• parallels

• oceans

• meridians

the horizontal line on a globe that separates the Earth into the Northern hemisphere and Southern hemisphere

• Prime Meridian

• continent

• equator

• oceans

Large area of land separated from other areas by water, mountains, or other natural features

• oceans

• continent

• geography

• compass rose

shows direction

• map scale

• map title

• map key

• compass rose

lines that run east to west on a map or globe that tell how far from the equator a place is.

• latitude

• longitude

• compass rose

• map key

shows what the symbols on a map mean (also known as a map key)

• title

• map scale

• compass rose

• legend

lines that run from north to south on a map or globe that tell how far from the Prime Meridian a place is

• latitude

• longitude

• hemisphere

• political map

shows how distance on a map compares to distance in real life

• map key

• map scale

• map title

• compass rose

0° longitude. Splits the Earth into Eastern and Western hemispheres.

• equator

• parallels

• Prime Meridian

• hemisphere