160Humanities Alive 1

Using grid referencesF IT WEREN’T FOR grid references, finding places in detailed books of maps such as street directories and atlases would be very time consuming. Grid references allow the

user to quickly locate the information they want among the hundreds of other features shown on a map.

I

It is easy to find and describe the location of a place on a map or vertical aerial photograph if you use grid references. Straight or curved lines divide maps into smaller parts. Letters and numbers placed along the sides of the grid help you give the alphanumeric grid reference for a place or feature. On the vertical aerial photograph opposite, the leader of the herd of elephants is foundat A2. Place your right pointer finger on the letter ‘A’ and your left pointer finger on the number 2. Move your right finger down and your left finger across until they meet. This is grid reference A2.

REMEMBER1 What is an alphanumeric grid

reference?2 Why are the grid lines on the map

of North America curved and how must grid references be read?

THINK3 Look at the aerial photograph

above of elephants in Botswana.A veterinarian has been dropped at point ‘X’ on the photograph.(a) At what grid reference is the

veterinarian located?(b) The veterinarian needs to treat

the elephant located at C3. Why can’t she see it from her location?

(c) Imagine you are in a helicopter above the elephants. Give instructions to the veterinarian about how far and in which direction she needs to travel.

COMMUNICATE4 Turn to the map of Melbourne on

page 153.(a) Name the buildings located at

the following grid references:Q6, O5, K7, Q3

(b) Give grid references for the following features:(i) Flagstaff Gardens(ii) Melbourne Exhibition

Centre(iii) Telstra Dome(iv) Queen Victoria Markets.

5 Look carefully at the map of North America opposite.

(a) In which countries are the following cities found?(i) Mexico City (J2)(ii) Chicago (K5)(iii) Yellowknife (H7)(iv) St John’s (N5)(v) Anchorage (E7)

(b) Give grid references for the following capital cities.(i) Washington DC(ii) Panama City(iii) Guatamala City(iv) Ottawa(v) Reykjavik

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I CAN:use an alphanumeric grid reference systemread grid references on a curved latitude/longitude gridfind grid references for features on a map or aerial photograph.

N

x

0 5 10 15 m

A EB C D

1

2

3

4

161Geospatial skills

MIAMI

HOUSTON

SAN DIEGO

DALLAS

LOS ANGELES

SAN FRANCISCOWASHINGTON D.C.

KANSAS CITYCINCINNATI

INDIANAPOLIS

PHILADELPHIANEW YORKCHICAGO

BUFFALOMILWAUKEE

MINNEAPOLIS

MONTREAL

SEATTLE

VANCOUVER

CARACAS

GUADALAJARA

HAVANA

TAMPA

SAN ANTONIO

PHOENIX ATLANTA

SACRAMENTO

ST LOUIS

BALTIMOREDENVER

CLEVELAND

PROVIDENCEBOSTON

DETROIT

TORONTO

PORTLAND

MEDELLIN

MEXICO CITY

MONTERREY

NEWORLEANS

SAN JUAN

SALT LAKE CITY

Port-au-Prince

Ottawa

Tegucigalpa

Managua

MARACAIBOBarranquilla

Leon

ORLANDO

Austin JacksonvilleCiudad Juarez

El Paso

Tucson Birmingham

GreenvilleMEMPHIS

FresnoNORFOLK

Omaha

Quebec

Calgary

Edmonton

VALENCIA

Winnipeg

Kingston

SANTODOMINGO

Puebla

GUATEMALA CITY

Oklahoma City GREENSBORO

Anchorage

Reykjavik

San Salvador

SAN JOSE

Cartagena

Oaxaca de Juarez

Santiago de CubaGuantanamo

QueretaroMerida

Camaguey

Culiacan

TorreonBrownsville

Fort LauderdaleCiudad Obregon

Corpus Christi

HermosilloPensacola

SavannahJackson Columbus

Mexicali

Fort Worth

Wichita Falls

Wilmington

Little Rock

AlbuquerqueAmarillo

Bakersfield

Stockton

Pueblo

Portland

Halifax

Salem St JohnSudbury

Duluth

Fargo

Spokane

Victoria

Thunder Bay

Regina

Saskatoon

Anchorage

St John’s

Tijuana

Valera

Acapulco

Nassau

Panama City

LasVegas

Sault Ste Marie

Prince George

Butte

Sydney

Bismarck

Sept IlesPrince Albert

Kitimat

Prince Rupert

Dawson Creek

Juneau

Whitehorse

Fairbanks

Belmopan

Goose Bay-

Happy Valley

Kemano Schefferville

Hopedale

Nain

Sitka

Churchill

Fort Nelson

Skagway

SewardValdez

Fort Simpson

Frederikshab

Yellowknife

Dawson

Nome

Fort Yukon

Kugluktuk

Aklavik

Inuvik

Godhavn

Barrow

Pond Inlet

Qaanaaq

Iqaluit

Mingan

Moosonee

Fort George

Fort Severn

York Factory

Port Radium

Deering

A T L A N T I C

O C E A N

C A R I B B E A N S E A

P A C I F I C

O C E A N

Cape San Lucas

Cape Sable

Cape Mendocino

Cape Sable

Cape Bauld

Cape Chidley

Point Hope

Point Eugenia

Cape Hatteras

VENEZUELA

PANAMACOSTA RICA

HAITI

CUBA

JAMAICABELIZE

BAHAMAS

GUATEMALA

EL SALVADOR

HONDURAS

NICARAGUA

COLOMBIA

C A N A D A

U N I T E D S T A T E S O F A M E R I C A

M E X I C O

ICELAND

DOMINICANREPUBLIC

RUSSIA

UngavaPeninsula

LowerCalifornia

BoothiaPeninsula

MelvillePeninsula

SverdrupIslands

BathurstIsland

MelvilleIsland Devon

Island

SomersetIsland

BanksIsland

Prince ofWales Island

VictoriaIsland

BaffinIsland

Prince CharlesIsland

SouthamptonIsland

CoatsIsland

ManselIsland

KodiakIsland

AlexanderArchipelago

Belcher Islands

Queen CharlotteIslands

VancouverIsland

Newfoundland

Prince EdwardIsland

Queen Eliza

beth

Islan

ds

Guadalupe

EllesmereIsland

West Indies

Alaska(U.S.A.)

Greenland(Denmark)

Puerto Rico (U.S.A.)

Bermuda (U.K.)

St Pierre andMiquelon (France)

0 450 900 1350 1800 km

110˚W120˚W 100˚W

140˚W

120˚W100˚W

90˚W 80˚W 70˚W

10˚N

10˚N

20˚N

30˚N

40˚N

50˚N

60˚N70˚N80˚N70˚N60˚N

50˚N

40˚N

30˚N

20˚N

80˚W60˚W

40˚W

80˚N

D

E

F

G

I J KL

M

N

O

P

H

H I J K L M

11

2

2

3

4

5

6

78987

6

5

4

3

Azimuthal Equal Area Projection

BaffinBay

Hudson Strait

Davis Strait

FoxeBasin

Great BearLake

Great SlaveLake

McClure

Strait

ReindeerLake

LakeWinnipegosis

Lake Manitoba

Lake Winnipeg

JamesBay

LakeMistassini

Gulf ofSt Lawrence

St L

awre

nce

Rive

r

Missouri

River

River

LakeHuron

LakeOntario

Ohio

River

LakeMichigan

River

Rive

rM

issi

ssip

pi

River

River

Red

Arkansas

Grande

Florid

a Stra

it

Yucatan Channel Bayof

Campeche

Lake Maracaibo

Gulf of C

alifornia

Rio

Col

orad

o

River

GreatSaltLake

Peac

e

Mackenzie

River

Yukon

Bering S

trait

Lake Superior

Lake Erie

ARCTIC OCEAN

HudsonBay

Gulf of Mexico

BEAUFORTSEA

Arctic C

ircle

Tropic of Cancer

Nuuk

Lake Athabasca

N

N

Country capital underlined

Country name

Country border

M E X I C OOttawa

DependencyBermuda (U.K.)

More than 1 000 000 people

500 000 to 1 000 000 people

100 000 to 500 000 people

Less than 100 000 people

HAVANA

Austin

Spokane

Yellowknife

Grid references on atlas mapsMaps showing large areas of the Earth will often used curved lines of latitude (which run across the map parallel to the equator) and longitude (which run up and down a map from pole to pole) as grid lines. When reading atlas references using curved

grid lines, be sure to stay inside the grid lines at all times. For example, on the map below, the grid reference for Anchorage in Alaska is E7. If you didn’t stay within the grid lines you may have read the grid reference incorrectly.

Grid skills

worksheet 1.39

North America — political

on th

e CD-ROMAlphanumeric

grids

153Geospatial skills

Freeway

Major road

Other road

Mall

Railway

River

Parkland

Place of interest

KEY

Nic

hols

on

St

Str

eet

Rath

dow

ne

GertrudeStreet

Bru

nsw

ick

St

VictoriaParade

Street

Albert

Landsdow

ne

Str

eet

Stre

et

Sprin

g

Stre

etStre

et

Stre

et

Stre

et

Stre

et

Stre

et

Stre

et

Exhib

ition

Russell

Eliz

abeth

Queen

Willia

m

Kin

g

Spencer

Flinders

Street

Street

Street

Street

Collins

Bourke

Lonsdale

Latrobe

Adderley S

tKing

Dudley

Flinders

Street

Monta

gue

Nor

man

by

Rd

WEST GATE

FREEWAY

Grant S

t

Stre

et

Stu

rt

Str

eet

City

Road

AlexandraSouthbank

Boulevard

St K

ilda R

oad

Victoria Street

Str

eet

Lygon

Napie

r S

t

Fitzro

y S

t

Walsh St

Stanle

y

Chetw

ynd

Str

eet

Peel

Str

eet

Capel

Street

Street

Street

Batman

A’BeckettStreet

Franklin

Street

Little

Lonsdale

Street

Little

Bourke

Street

Sw

ansto

n

Walk

Stre

et

St

Street

Cla

rendon

Little

Collins

Flinders

Lane

Kin

gs

Way

Way

Kings

Wells

S

treet

Dodds S

treet

Miles St

StSt

Brady

Munro

Street

Street

Ferra

rs St

Whi

tem

an S

t

Hai

g

Stre

etCla

rkeS

t

MarketSt

Kav

anag

h

Stre

et

Street

LorimerLorimer

Gore

S

t

Georg

e S

t

Cla

rendon S

treet

Wellington Parade

Jolim

ont R

d

BruntonAvenue

Jolimont St

Swan Street

Batm

an

Ave

nue

Avenue

Stre

et

Rod

en

StreetS

tree

t

Street

Moore

S

tBourke S

treet Mall

St

C. Grimes

Bridge

BatmanPark

Kings

Domain

MelbournePark

Fitzroy

Gardens

CarltonGardens

South

Flagstaff

Gardens

Treasury

Gardens

OrnamentalLake

Rosslyn

Haw

ke

Spencer

StreetA

dderley Street

Docklands

Highw

ay

Harbour

Esp

TelstraDome

Docklands

QueenVictoriaMarkets

State Housesof

Parliament

FederationSquare

NationalGallery ofVictoria

MCGRod Laver

Arena

Olympic Park

GovernmentHouse

Crown Entertainment

Complex

MelbourneExhibition

Centre

YarraPark

Footbridge

Footbridge

Footbridge

Footbridge

Tunnel

Tunnel

Flinders StStation

Spencer StStation

Parliament

MelbourneCentral

Flagstaff

VictoriaHarbour

Spencer St

Bridge

Kings

Bridge

Queens

Bridge

Princes

Bridge

Swan StBridge

YARRA

RIV

ER

MELBOURNE

MELBOURNE

SOUTHBANK

DOCKLANDS

JOLIMONT

EAST

MELBOURNE

WEST

MELBOURNE

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R

A

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R

0 400 m200 N

Using a map legendThe legend is a key that lists and explains the colours and symbols used on the map. Many maps use the same symbols to help the reader instantly recognise features; for example, blue lines to represent rivers. The key is usually found next to the map or it may be located in a special reference section.

REMEMBER1 Why are maps useful?2 What does BOLTSS stand for?

COMMUNICATE3 What is the large white rectangle

shown on the satellite image? How did you find out what it was?

4 List two features on the satellite image of Melbourne that are not shown on the map.

5 List two features on the satellite image that you needed the map to identify.

6 Observe the Westgate freewayon the satellite image and the map.(a) What appears to happen to the

freeway when it meets the Kings Domain park on the satellite image?

(b) What extra information on the map tells us what actually happens when it meets the Kings Domain park?

7 Sketch the symbols from the map legend that the cartographer has used to show rivers, railway lines and parks. Suggest why these symbols and colours were chosen.

8 Design your own symbols to show bridges, skyscrapers and football stadiums.

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I CAN:see that maps and photographs have different usesappreciate that symbols used on maps make features easier to locatedesign my own symbols to be used in a legend or key.

City of Melbourne

Source: Ikonos satellite, 12 November 2004.