Map Reading and Interpretation
Senior 3 · Geography
Map Reading and Interpretation
Lesson 4 of 5
25 min
Let's begin
Look at the photograph before you read on. Where have people built their houses? Which way do the terraces run? Where have trees been left? Each answer links something people made to the shape of the land. Map interpretation asks the same questions of a map. Examiners call them relationships, and a relationship answer is one of the most common, and most often weakly answered, questions on a map extract.
Definition
Relationship (in map interpretation): the way a human feature is influenced by a physical feature, or the way people have changed a physical feature. Example: "The tarmac road follows the gentle lower slopes north of R. Kamiro, avoiding the swamp and the steep hills."
Build every point from four parts: the human feature, the physical feature, the reason that links them, and the evidence with a grid reference.
| Weak answer | Strong answer |
|---|---|
| "There is a road near the river." | "The tarmac road runs east–west on the gentle lower slopes north of R. Kamiro, between about 1475 m and 1550 m, because the land there is easy to build on and lies above the swampy valley floor (squares 2041 to 2541)." |
| "The forest is on the hill." | "The forest reserve covers the steep upper slopes of Kibonde Hill above 1800 m (squares 2043 and 2143), because such slopes are too steep to farm safely and the trees hold the soil against erosion." |
Map A. Gasave: an illustrative topographic extract (invented area). Drawn by Ganzaa.
| Physical feature | Human feature | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | Roads | The tarmac road keeps to the gentle lower slopes between about 1475 m and 1550 m. The murram road climbs the valley of R. Mpenge and crosses the high ground at the saddle (GR 234437), the lowest gap between Kibonde and Nyarutovu. |
| Relief | Settlement | Buildings stand on the gentle lower slopes and on the spur (squares 2241, 2242). There are none on the steep upper slopes of Kibonde. |
| Drainage | Settlement | Gasave lies beside R. Mpenge, with a water point at GR 235417. No one lives in the swamp (squares 2440, 2540), which floods and breeds mosquitoes. |
| Drainage | Transport | A road bridge carries the tarmac road over R. Mpenge (square 2341) and a footbridge crosses R. Kamiro (square 2240). The roads keep out of the swamp. |
| Relief | Vegetation and land use | Forest reserve on the steepest, highest slopes; the tea estate on the southern slopes of Nyarutovu between about 1570 m and 1720 m, where the contours are wider apart than on upper Kibonde. |
| Relief | Communication | The mast (GR 212434) stands at about 1930 m, near the highest point, so its signal reaches far across the area. |
| Relief, drainage and land use | Industry | The tea factory (GR 243415) is near the tea estate (raw material), beside the tarmac road (transport) and close to R. Mpenge (water). The quarry (GR 206423) is on the hillside, where rock lies near the surface. |
Worked example
Worked example 1: why the murram road goes through the saddle. Compare the average gradient of the murram road from Gasave to the saddle with the gradient of a straight route from Gasave to the trig point.
Conclusion: by following the valley and crossing at the saddle, the road is more than three times gentler. Lorries and bicycles can use it, and rain does less damage to its surface.
Worked example
Worked example 2: a full relationship answer. "Describe the relationship between drainage and settlement on Map A." (4 marks)
Model answer: (1) Gasave, the largest settlement, grew beside R. Mpenge (square 2341), which supplies water, shown by the water point at GR 235417. (2) Huts line the tarmac road on the slopes north of R. Kamiro, close to water but above its flood plain. (3) There is no settlement in the swamp along R. Kamiro (squares 2440, 2540) because it floods in the rainy seasons and breeds mosquitoes. (4) Settlement south of R. Kamiro is linked to Gasave by a footpath and a footbridge (square 2240), so the river is crossed where it is narrow.
A relationship works both ways. On Map A people have changed the physical environment:
The tea factory is also a relationship between land use and industry. Freshly picked tea leaves begin to wilt and oxidise soon after picking, so they must be processed quickly: that is why the factory sits close to the estate and next to the tarmac road.
Warning
Describe, then explain, then prove. "The road is near the river" describes, but explains nothing. "Settlement avoids the swamp because it floods" explains but gives no evidence. Every point needs all four parts, and the grid reference is the part candidates forget most.
Tip
Use the four-part chain: human feature, physical feature, because, grid reference. Circle the word "because" in your answer: if it is missing, you have only described.
Practice
Use Map A.
Sources and credits
Map A, the worked examples and the practice exercises are written by Ganzaa. Map A shows an invented area.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
