What is a map legend? Types of conventional cartographic symbols

The legend is not only a fictional story about an event or a person. There is another meaning for this word. In this article we will talk about what is the legend of the map by geography. What is it and what is it for?

What is a map legend ?

The map is the alphabet of geography. Without it, it is very difficult to imagine this science in principle. The map is one of the main instruments of geographical research. At the same time, it often acts as a visual result of the activity of geography scientists.

A geographic map, like any book, needs to be able to correctly read. And if books are written with the help of letters, words and sentences, then the cards also have their own specific "language". What does he look like? To answer this question, you just need to figure out what the map legend is.

The legend (english: map legend) is a list of all the conventions used to compile a particular map, with textual explanations of their meaning. It can be a table or a simple list.

The legend of the card is placed on the free space of the sheet, most often in the lower part or in the corners. In complex geographical atlases, it can be found on separate pages of the publication (at the beginning or at the end). As a rule, in the legend all the conventional signs are grouped. That is, the designations of hydrological objects (rivers, marshes, ponds), populated areas, vegetation, roads, etc., are separately indicated.

Now it is clear what the legend of the map is. Perhaps, it is not superfluous to get acquainted with the main types of conventional cartographic signs.

Types of conventional cartographic symbols

The notation used in the compilation of geographical maps is very large. However, they all fall into four main groups:

• Scale (contour or area) - those that can be expressed on a map scale (eg forest, field, residential area of the city).
• Non-scale (dot) - designations of objects that can not be expressed on a map scale (eg mine, plant, temple).
• Linear - the signs by means of which maps indicate extended objects (roads, state borders, power lines, etc.).
• Explanatory signs are all kinds of signatures, fonts, which give an additional characterization of the depicted terrain objects.

So, now you know what a map legend is. With its help, you can "read" any geographical map and extract from it a lot of useful and interesting information about this or that area. But for this, of course, it is necessary to learn all the symbols used in modern topography.