Garrison School Environmental Education
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    • CREATING STEWARDS OF THE NATURAL WORLD
    • ESSENTIAL DEFINITIONS
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    • FOREST FRIDAYS
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    • EXPLORE NATURAL SCIENCE >
      • ANIMALS
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      • GEOGRAPHY & MAPPING
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    • HUDSON HIGHLANDS TOPICS >
      • HUDSON HIGHLANDS FOLKLORE
      • HUDSON RIVER
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      • REVOLUTIONARY WAR HISTORY
    • LESSON PLANS >
      • GRADES K-2
      • GRADES 3-5
      • GRADES 6-8
      • GRADES K-8
    • ORGANIZATIONS
  • SOURCES
  • JOIN US
  • CONTACT
  • NEWS
  • MAP
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • MISSION
    • COMMITTEE CHARGE
    • CREATING STEWARDS OF THE NATURAL WORLD
    • ESSENTIAL DEFINITIONS
    • NATURE'S BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN
  • PROGRAMS
    • FOREST FRIDAYS
    • HUDSON VALLEY SEED
    • NATIVE GARDEN
    • SCHOOL FOREST DAY
    • YOUTH CLIMATE SUMMIT
  • SCHOOL FOREST
    • HISTORY
    • VISITOR GUIDELINES
    • HHLT PROPOSAL
  • STUDENT RESOURCES
  • TEACHER RESOURCES
    • BOOKS & FIELD GUIDES
    • EXPLORE NATURAL SCIENCE >
      • ANIMALS
      • CITIZEN SCIENCE
      • CLIMATE CHANGE
      • GEOGRAPHY & MAPPING
      • GEOLOGY
      • INVASIVE SPECIES
      • MIGRATION
      • PLANTS
      • STREAMS, SWAMPS & VERNAL POOLS
      • TREES & FORESTS
      • WATER
      • WEATHER
    • GRANTS
    • HEALTH & SAFETY
    • HOW TO TEACH OUTDOORS
    • HUDSON HIGHLANDS TOPICS >
      • HUDSON HIGHLANDS FOLKLORE
      • HUDSON RIVER
      • LOCAL CONSERVATION HISTORY
      • REVOLUTIONARY WAR HISTORY
    • LESSON PLANS >
      • GRADES K-2
      • GRADES 3-5
      • GRADES 6-8
      • GRADES K-8
    • ORGANIZATIONS
  • SOURCES
  • JOIN US
  • CONTACT
  • NEWS
  • MAP
  Garrison School Environmental Education

GEOGRAPHY & MAPPING

geography & mapping

Like text, maps speak to us in a language of lines and symbols. They convey a sense of place at a certain time. And, they tell us stories about the past and the present. Maps are essential spatial tools that help us way-find or navigate the world. They also help us learn about and to analyze various places and situations affecting our world. Maps help us to convey information and to tell stories in a visual way.

​People have been making and sharing maps for thousands of years.  The earliest known map is a nearly 14,000-year-old stone tablet found in a cave in Abauntz in the Navarra region of northern Spain. Listen to the podcast below. Ari Shapiro of National Public Radio talks with John Hessler of the Library of Congress about cartography (map-making) and the history of maps.
Maps may be printed on paper, or presented digitally so that they can be accessed on computers and mobile devices. Maps can focus on a large space, or a small space. Physical maps show land masses, bodies of water, mountain ranges, and other features of the Earth. ​

the power of maps

Topographic maps are a type of physical map. They show natural and man-made features on Earth, and they feature contour lines to show the elevation levels of land and the depth of bodies of water. Relief maps show contours and elevations in three dimensions. They may be shaded to produce an illusion of three dimensionality, or they can actually be made three dimensional by an impression process. Such maps can be made from rubber, vinyl, or plastic. Political maps show human-created features, borders of countries, states, counties, and cities, along with place names and the shapes of land masses and bodies of water. Thematic maps tell stories about specific places. Some thematic maps show wildlife habitats, invasive species, climate zones, or forested land in an area. A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of the earth. The oldest known globe was made more than 2,100 years ago.

​Learn how to use maps and compasses, and how to make maps using a variety of digital tools. Explore geography resources and careers involving geography.

how to use maps

  • All About Maps, from National Geographic Education
  • Basic Map & GPS Skills, from National Geographic
  • How to Use a Map
  • How to Find Your Way With a Map and Compass
  • Introduction to GIS Technology
  • ​Navigation Basics from REI, includes excellent videos
  • Teaching About and Using Coordinate Systems
  • Topographic Map Symbols — how to read and interpret the symbols on topographic maps
  • Latitude and Longitude — learn how to find the address of any place on earth by using latitude and longitude
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mapping tools

These digital tools will help you to use maps and to create your own maps:
  • Avenza PDF Maps App — a free geospatial PDF, GeoPDF® and GeoTIFF reader for Apple iOS and Android smartphones and tablets
  • Elevations and Distances in the United States
  • Exploring Ecosystems Using GIS — a National Geographic exercise for grades 6-8 that examines how a nature preserve is affected by human and biological features within and surrounding it
  • FieldScope — a National Geographic online mapping program for citizen science investigations
  • GIS for Kids
  • ArcGIS Online
  • GIS Education Community Website
  • ​Google Maps Education
  • ​Google Earth Tutorials
  • ​MapMaker Interactive — a National Geographic tool for creating customized maps on tablets, incorporating text, photos, and videos
  • North American Environmental Atlas
  • Overlap Maps — instantly compare any two places on Earth
  • Social Explorer — easy-to-use web interface that lets users create maps and reports using U.S. Census data to illustrate, analyze, and understand demography and social change

GEOGRAPHY & Careers

It all started with maps for Dr. Kathleen Sullivan. A distinguished scientist and astronaut, Dr. Sullivan explains how drawing maps in second grade opened her eyes to the storytelling power of maps. Dr. Sullivan loved poring over maps as a child. Later, maps led her to study oceanography. She now works as the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans & Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator.

Maps are important tools created by and used by people who work in many different kinds of jobs. 
Learn about:
  • Nathaniel Kelso, a cartographer who works for The Washington Post newspaper
  • Rebecca Solnit, the author of Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas
  • Geography on the Job: How different people apply geography to their work
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map sources

  • Desmond-Fish Library Maps
  • Putnam County Historical Society Maps
  • New York Public Library Digital Collections
  • New York State Archives Digital Collections
  • New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Maps
  • Appalachian Trail Map
  • Lewis and Clark Expedition
  • Library of Congress Map Collections
  • Worlds Revealed: Geography & Maps at the Library of Congress Blog
  • The National Geologic Map Database
  • NOAA National Weather Maps
  • Global Maps — NASA Earth Observatory
  • Mapmaking with Children: Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years, David Sobel, 1998
Sources

Garrison Union Free School, 1100 Route 9D, Garrison, NY 10524
Phone: 845-424-3689  |  Fax: 845-424-4733