Vocabularies

First of all, study vocabularies. You can find them in your study materials (Studijní materiály - Maps), or you can use the following link.   

What is map?

A map is a representation of the Earth, or part of it. All maps share some essential characteristics or a map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes.

They are concerned with location (Where places are?) and attributes (What is there?) and are reduction of reality (they are smaller than the part of the real world they represent).

Maps are used for business,pleasure, advertising and art.

Colors on maps

Think about:  What can colors on maps show?

Listen about the use of colors on maps: Geography Tutor - Map Skills and answer:

• How many colors do you need for a political map of the world?
• What are adjacent regions?

 

Map reading

Look at the following document. It can help you understand how maps works and how to use them effectivelly :-) .

Remote sensing

Remote sensing is the observation of part the Earth's surface from a distance. It began in 1857, when French photographer took picture of Paris from a balloon. Today, remote sensing plays an important part in the mapping of the Earth's surface and the management of its resources. Remote sensing is now carried out by satellites that help produce satellite images or Landsat images.

Landsat 1, launched in 1972, was the first satellite to be used to produce satellite images. Landsat 5, launched in 1984, carries two scanners - a thematic mapper and the multispectral scanner. It travels at an attitude of 705 kilometers and provides coverage of the entire globe every 16 days.

Other satellites in operation are the French - based SPOT IMAGE, launched in 1986, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the JERS (Japanese Earth Resources Satellite). 

Satellite imagery is now widely used for a variety of purposes, especially in the field of land management, as it is useful for shoving spatial change over time.

 

Norwegian fjords from LANDSAT

To find out some images of interesting places use the follow link. Click "Select image" to choose particular image.

Exercise

There are some exercises for you. Go through them! You can find them in Study Materials (Studijní materiály -> Odpovědníky) or you can use the following link.