4 Hi My name is Mapolean but you can call me Map I’ll pop up from time to time to give you some tips on being map smart Be Map Smart Are you map smart Knowing about maps and how to read them is very important There will be many times in our lives when we will need to use a map Being map smart is a useful skill for life What Is a Map A map is a drawing of something that gives a person a view of it from above A map can show the shape and location of countries small areas of land natural features such as rivers and artificial features such as roads There are many types of maps for many different uses A map can guide people from one place to another It can show them where different places are and how far away one place is from another Maps can save people time and energy by helping them not get lost Maps are available in many different forms and people use them in different ways
5 Country Maps All of the land on Earth is made up of continents These are large sections of land that are usually surrounded by seas A continent may contain many countries or just one country Some countries are islands Country maps are drawings that show us how a country is laid out What Do Country Maps Show Country maps show us the features of a country Some of these features are natural Others are determined by humans These features may include elevation bodies of water state and country borders capitals When Do People Use Country Maps People can use country maps to find a city or other feature in a country They may also use a country map if they are traveling across a country the map acts as a guide and shows them exactly where they are A detailed country map may be used by a family setting out to see their own country The Smallest and Largest Countries The smallest country in the world is Vatican City and the largest country in the world is the Russian Federation If maps of Vatican City and the Russian Federation were of the same scale the map of Vatican City would fit into the map of the Russian Federation 38,807,727 times
