Ch.3 Terms For Earth Science

Front 1

cartography

Back 1

science of map making

Front 2

conic projection

Back 2

map projection in which the meridians converge at the poles;
the parallels appear as equally spaced, concentric curves

Front 3

contour interval

Back 3

difference in elevation between one contour line and the
next

Front 4

contour line

Back 4

line on a map connecting points with the same elevation

Front 5

depression contour

Back 5

contour line with short, straight lines drawn along the
inside of the loop pointing toward its center that indicates a depression

Front 6

elevation

Back 6

height above sea level

Front 7

geomagnetic pole

Back 7

point on the Earth’s surface above a pole of the Earth’s
imaginary internal magnet

Front 8

gnomonic projection

Back 8

map projection in which the parallels appear as unevenly
spaced, concentric circles, the meridians appear as straight lines radiating from a
central point, and all other great circles appear as straight lines

Front 9

great circle

Back 9

any circle that divides the globe in half

Front 10

index contour

Back 10

every fifth contour line on a topographic map that is printed
bolder for reference

Front 11

latitude

Back 11

angular distance north or south of the equator

Front 12

legend

Back 12

list of map symbols and their meanings

Front 13

longitude

Back 13

angular distance east or west of the prime meridian

Front 14

magnetic declination

Back 14

angle between the direction of the Earth’s geographic
pole and the direction in which a compass needle points

Front 15

map projection

Back 15

flat map that represents a three-dimensional curved
surface

Front 16

mean sea level

Back 16

point midway between the highest and lowest tide levels of the
ocean

Front 17

Mercator projection

Back 17

map projection in which the meridians appear as straight,
parallel, evenly spaced lines and form a grid with the parallels, which appear as
straight, parallel, and unevenly spaced lines

Front 18

meridian

Back 18

semicircle on the Earth that runs from pole to pole

Front 19

meridian

Back 19

any circle that runs east and west around the Earth parallel to the
equator

Front 20

polyconic projection

Back 20

map made by fitting together a series of conic projections
of adjoining areas

Front 21

prime meridian

Back 21

prime meridian

Front 22

relief

Back 22

difference in elevation between the highest and lowest points of an
area

Front 23

scale

Back 23

relationship between distance shown on a map and actual distance

Front 24

topographic map

Back 24

map that shows the surface features of the Earth

Front 25

topography

Back 25

surface features of the Earth

Front 26

true north

Back 26

direction of the geographic North Pole