Ordnance Survey maps

You will be asked to interpret maps to find out specific information. Being able to distinguish between different types of land use on an Ordnance Survey (OS) map will help you interpret maps during your exams. Here are some things you should brush up on:

• Make sure you can tell the difference between urban and rural land use. Start by looking at the key. Are the features in the key related to the countryside or to towns?
• Look out for features of the urban landscape that are represented in symbols on the OS map. Start by looking at modes of transport (eg junctions of main roads, railways, ports and airports).
• Look for rural features. Study the key carefully to see what different areas of shading on the map represent. For example, different types of farmland will be shaded differently.
• Study the relief of the land on your OS map by looking for the contour linescontour lines: lines on a map joining points of equal height above sea level - thus representing the slope of the land. Contours will show you where the hills (elevations) and valleys (depressions) are on the map. Contours will often show changes in height of 5 or 10 meters. The closer the contours are together the steeper the slope is. If the contours are far apart, you might be looking at a flat flood plain. On the map below the contours in square 1981 are quite close together - indicating a fairly steep gradientgradient: slope or slant of the terrain.

OS map