How to Analyze a Map
Below, you will find the basic key components of maps. While not all of the items below will
be present, when there, they provide essential clues to help you with your analysis!
Maps 101
Title – What the map is trying to show you
Key – Explains the symbols that are on the
map
Scale – Gives the relationship of distance
on a map to the actual distance on Earth.
Latitude Lines (Parallels) – Imaginary lines
which are located north or south of the
equator.
Lines of Latitude are measured from
O0 (Equator) to 900 North (North
Pole) and from the Equator to 900
South (South Pole)
Parts of the Earth which are located
north of the equator are part of the
Northern Hemisphere and those
south of the equator are part of the
Southern Hemisphere.
Longitude Lines (Meridians) – Imaginary
lines which are located east or west of the
Prime Meridian (00 Longitude) which runs
through Greenwich, England.
Longitude lines are numbered from 0
to 180 degrees both east and west
of the prime meridian.
Since the prime meridian is 0
degrees longitude, the line on the
opposite side of the globe is 180
degrees longitude.
The half of the Earth that is west of
the prime meridian is the Western
Hemisphere. The half that is east of
the prime meridian is the Eastern
Hemisphere.
Compass Rose – Shows the cardinal
directions on a map
®SAISD Social Studies Department
Types of Maps
Physical Map
Shows the land and water
features of a region.
Political Map
Shows the political divisions
within a specific area or
region.
Thematic Map
Focuses on specific
information within a region
such as political, economic, or
social activities.
Cartogram
Used to show information on
a nation based on data
instead of the size of the
country.
Flow-Line Map
Used to show movement of
people, goods, ideas, animals,
religions, etc.
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How to Analyze a Map
When dealing with map questions, you have to ask yourself:
“Where is this?”
“What is the map trying to tell me?”
“What concept/information can I remember to help me answer the question?”
31
19
Voyage of the USS Oregon
Departed
San Francisco,
California, in
March 1898
Seneca Falls
N
W
E
S
Arrived at
Jupiter Inlet,
Florida, in
May 1898
A tourist would most likely go to the location shown on the map to visit —
The map of New York is a simple example since there are no
A the Elizabeth
Cady Stanton
House in for
Women’s
Historical Park
details
to analyze
except
theRights
cityNational
of Seneca
Falls. The
Part A
question
is trickyinbecause
you
have
B Historic Jamestowne
Colonial National
Historical
Park to remember what
happened
there and what major concept is associated with
Short-Answer Questions
C Independence Hall in Independence National Historical Park
that one place.
D George Washington’s Headquarters in Valley Forge National Historical Park
Directions: Analyze the documents and answer the short-answer questions that follow each document in the
space provided.
N
Document 1
W
E
S
Which outcome was an important effect of the 1898 event illustrated by this map?
This map demonstrates how long it would take
to travel from the eastern coast of the U.S. to the
A Increased U.S.western
foreign aid
to theThe
developing
countries
in South
America
coast.
question
will probably
focus
on human-environment interaction such as the
B Increased U.S. public support for the construction of a canal through Central Amer
building of the Panama Canal
C
DGODecreased
U.S. naval presence in the Caribbean Sea
ON Base your answer to question 33 on the maps below and on your knowledge of social studies.
Page 24
1
Decreased U.S. economic influence in the Western Hemisphere
Based on the map, state two methods used by the United States government to acquire new territory. [2]
(1) ____________________________________________________________________________________
You are given the information of what the map is
about due to the title being given. However,
even without the title, there is enough
____________________________________________________________________________________
information on the map to realize that the
Score
question is going to be about the expansion of
the United States before the Civil War. You would
(2) ____________________________________________________________________________________
also have to know how these territories were
33 Which generalization about the Korean War is supported by information on the maps?
Change over time maps expect you to make a
acquired such as through treaty, annexation
(1) The war began when South Korea attacked North Korea.
generalization
a summation
(2)
General
MacArthur launched anor
invasion
from China early statement
in the war.
and conflict.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Score
34 During World War II, many Japanese Americans
living on the West Coast were relocated to
detention centers primarily because they
(1) were known spies for Japan
[OVER]
(2)
were seen as a security threat
(3) refused to serve in the United States military
Reproduction rights granted only if copyright
information remains intact.
(4) expressed their support for Italy and
Germany
TX-EOC-USH__Release-Book-May-2013__r3__052813.indd
15
Page 15
®SAISD
Social
U.S. Hist.
& Gov’t.–Aug.
’04
Studies Department
[11]
(3) Neither side experienced a major military victory during the war.
(4) At the end of the war, Korea remained a divided nation.
36 The primary goal of the United States foreign
policy of containment was to
(1) return to noninvolvement in world affairs
(2) stop communist influence from spreading
Page 2
(3) gain territories in Africa and Latin America
(4) overthrow existing dictatorships
37 The GI Bill affected American society after
World War II by
1
Ariz.
Utah
N
Minn.
Iowa
Wis.
Chicago
Mich.
Pa.
Homestead
Pullman Ohio
Ind.
N.Y.
Maine
N.H.
Lawrence
Mass.
R.I.
Conn.
N.J.
Del.
Md.
Vt.
1912 Textile Strike
Police, militia attack
strikers; women beaten,
arrested.
Ludlow
MEXICO
Colo.
200
400 Km
200
Albers Equal-Area Projection
0
0
1894 Pullman Strike Ill.
Kans. About 14,000 troops
attack striking railroad
workers, killing 30.
Ky.
400 Miles
1892 Homestead
Va.
Massacre
Steel workers strike
to protest a wage cut.
N.C.
Seven people are
N.
killed in a clash with
Okla.
Ark. Tenn. state militia.
Mex
1887 Sugar Cane Workers Strike
1902 Anthracite
S.C.
State militia breaks strike, killing 30
Coal Strike
Miss.
people, mostly African Americans.
About 140,000
Ala.
Ga.
miners strike to win
union recognition.
La.
Theodore Roosevelt
Texas
forces arbitration to
settle the strike.
Fla.
Nebr.
S. Dak.
1886 Haymarket Affair A bomb explodes at a
labor rally, killing seven police. Four labor leaders
are later executed despite lack of evidence.
N. Dak.
C A N A DA
What I Think Is the Main Idea of What I am Looking At
U.S. Hist. & Gov’t. – Jan. ’13
[5]
[OVER]
Visual
26 Which was the first labor strike to end with the president intervening on behalf of the
workers?
(1) 1886 Haymarket Affair
(3) 1902 Anthracite Coal Strike
(2) 1894 Pullman Strike
(4) 1912 Textile Strike
by information on the map?
(1) The federal government supported labor union activities.
(2) Strikes by labor unions were often suppressed by government actions.
(3) Labor union membership was limited to mine workers.
(4) State governments offered to arbitrate labor disputes.
Source: NY Regents
January
2013
25 WhichExam
generalization
about
labor unions in the United States is most clearly supported
Source: Gary B. Nash, American Odyssey: The United States in The Twentieth Century, Glencoe, 1994 (adapted)
Labor unrest
Calif.
Nev.
Wyo.
Mont.
1914 Ludlow Massacre
Eleven children found dead
after state militia burns a
striking miners’ tent village.
Idaho
1892 Silver Mines Unrest
Miners strike to protest wage
cut. To break the union, the
state jails over 1,000 workers.
Wash.
Labor’s Struggle for Justice, 1880 – 1920
Base your answers to questions 25 and 26 on the map below and on your knowledge of social studies.
How to Analyze a Map
Map Analysis
1.Read the title of the map to determine what the map is about.
2.Identify what type of map you are using.
3.If present, use lines of latitude and longitude to determine relative and
absolute locations or use your geographical knowledge to place the
location of the map.
4.Decide what the colors, patterns and symbols represent by using the
legend of the map.
5.Connect the map to events / people / eras of the past.
6.Write three conclusions that you can make based upon the information
that you can see on the map.
Map Analysis
What Type of Map Is It?
Where Is It?
2
3
What Do The Symbols / Colors / Patterns Represent?
4
Relationships / Connections to the Past or Present
5
Title of Visual / What It Should Be Titled
6
®SAISD Social Studies Department
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