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Suggested Social Studies texts
Maps
• Other than location maps are also used to show different categories of information
• Such as climate, physical features, economic activity, population or political boundaries
Types of Maps
• Physical maps illustrate the physical features of an area, such as the mountains, rivers and lakes. The water is usually shown in blue. Colors are used to show relief—differences in land elevations. Green is typically used at lower elevations, and orange or brown indicate higher elevations
• Climate maps give general information about the climate and precipitation (rain and snow) of a region. Cartographers, or mapmakers, use colors to show different climate or precipitation zones
• Economic or resource maps feature the type of natural resources or economic activity that dominates an area. Cartographers use symbols to show the locations of natural resources or economic activities. For example, oranges on a map of Florida tell you that oranges are grown there.
• Political maps do not show physical features. Instead, they indicate state and national boundaries and capital and major cities. A capital city is usually marked with a star within a circle.
• Road maps show major—some minor highways—and roads, airports, railroad tracks, cities and other points of interest in an area. People use road maps to plan trips and for driving directions.
• Topographic maps include contour lines to show the shape and elevation of an area. Lines that are close together indicate steep terrain, and lines that are far apart indicate flat terrain.
Use of Bahamian Topographical Maps
• Topographical maps show our three-dimensional landscape
• In order to do this two elements are involved Height and Relief
Height
• Height is shown on Bahamian maps as the following:
• Contours- cover the whole map and are used to estimate heights
• Spot heights- single recorded height shown as a number
• Triangulation station usually the highest point in the area, used during surveying.
• Contours are sometimes derived from the various spot heights
Relief
• The shape of a land is known as the relief. Common features of relief are:
• Steep slopes-contours close together
• Hills -closed contours with the highest one in the middle
• Ridges- elongated closed, or v-shaped, contours, highest in the middle
• Valleys – v-shaped contours
• Plains, flat land- shown by an absence of contours, or very few.
The Bahamas
• The Bahamas is an archipelago stretching 970km from Northwest to Southeast
Important Water Features
• Atlantics ocean- body of water that surrounds The Bahamas
• Great Bahama Bank- largest bank in the Bahamas
• Northwest Providence channel- channel between Bimini and Grand Bahama
• Northeast Providence channel- body of water between Abaco and Eleuthra
• Old Bahama channel- lies between Cuba and The Bahamas
• Tongue of the ocean- body of water between Andros and Exuma
• Florida strait-body of water between Florida and The Bahamas
• Lake Windsor- found on Inagua, known for the salt industry
• Exuma Sound- body water between Exumaand Cat Island
Settlements in The Bahamas
• Nicholls Town, Andros
• Marsh Harbour, Abaco
• Mather Town, Inagua
• Abrahama’s Bay, Mayaguana
• Clarence Town, Long Island]
• Cockburn, San Salvador
• Alice Town, Eleuthra
• Duncan Town, Ragged Island
• Port Nelson, Rum Cay
Important Land Features
• Mount Alverna- is the highest point at 63ft found on Cat Island
• Andros- largest Island
• Grand Bahama most northern island
• Inagua- most southern island
What to expect in the next lesson?
- The Solar System
Extra Work for BJC Students
For extra practice, download past papers from www.TheStudentShed.com
