Locating the Places on Earth | Class 6th | Easy Notes

The Earth is a huge place with many countries, cities and natural features. To find any place on it, we need a simple method, just like we need an address to find someone’s house. To understand our Earth better, we use different tools like maps and the globe. Maps help us show places on paper, and the globe helps us see the whole Earth as a big round model. In this chapter, we will learn what maps are, the parts of a map, and how special lines on the globe help us find the exact location of places.

A Map and Its Components:-

What is a Map?

A map is a drawing of an area seen from above.
It can show small places (village), big places (state), or the whole world.

What is an Atlas?

It is a book that has many maps.

Types of Maps

Physical maps – show mountains, rivers, oceans.
Political maps – show countries, states, cities and boundaries.
Thematic maps – show one kind of information (like rainfall or population).

Components of Maps

Distance:
- A scale tells how much real distance is shown by 1 cm on the map.
- Example: 1 cm = 500 m (It means 1 cm on the map equals 500 m on the ground.)
Directions:
- Cardinal directions: North, East, South, West (NESW).
- Maps show an arrow with N to show north.
- Intermediate directions: NE, SE, SW, NW.
Symbols:
- Maps use small signs (symbols) for buildings, roads, rivers, forests, etc.
- Symbols save space and make maps easy to read.
- India uses a fixed set of symbols decided by the Survey of India.

Why mapping the Earth is difficult ?

The Earth is round like a sphere, not flat.
A round surface cannot be shown perfectly on a flat paper.
For Example: Think of a football. If you cut it open and try to spread it flat, the pieces will not lie smoothly without gaps or cracks. This is just like trying to make a flat map from a round Earth.

Globe

What is a Globe?

A globe is a small spherical model of the Earth.
Because the globe and Earth have the same shape, it shows places more accurately than a flat map.

What are coordinates?

Coordinates are a pair of numbers that show how far a place is from the Equator (latitude) and the Prime Meridian (longitude).
Coordinates help us find exact places.
Note: Maps and globes use a similar coordinate system to locate any place on Earth exactly.
- Coordinates = Latitude + Longitude

Latitudes and Longitudes

What is a Latitude?

Latitude is the distance of a place from the Equator.

A. Parallels of Latitude : These are imaginary horizontal lines on the Earth. These lines run east-west and are drawn parallel to the Equator. Some important latitudes help us divide the Earth into different heat zones.

The Equator is a 0° Latitude from which we measure north and south latitudes.

If you move north or south from the Equator, your distance from it increases. Equator divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Note: The Equator is the largest latitude.

B. Degrees of Latitude:

The Equator is 0°.
The North Pole is 90°N and the South Pole is 90°S.

C. Latitude and Climate:

Torrid Zone/region: Hot climate (Near the equator)

This zone is from Equator to Tropic of Cancer and Tropic Capricorn.

Temperate Zone/region: Moderate climate (Middle latitudes)

This zone is from Tropic of Cancer to the Arctic circle and from Tropic of Capricorn to the Antarctic circle.

Frigid Zone/region: Very cold climate

This zone is from the Arctic circle to the North Pole and the Antarctic circle to the South Pole.

What is a Longitude?

Longitude tells how far a place is from the Prime Meridian.

A. Meridians of Longitude: These imaginary lines run vertically from North pole to South pole.

The Prime Meridian is the 0° longitude from which we measure east and west longitudes.

It is an imaginary vertical line that passes through Greenwich in England and divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Interesting Fact: The Greenwich Prime Meridian was not the first in history. Ancient India used a prime meridian called madhya rekha , passing through Ujjain.

B. Degrees of Longitude :

Longitude is measured east or west of the Prime Meridian.
Values increase from 0° to 180°E and 0° to 180°W.

C. Longitude and Time:

Since the Earth rotates, different longitudes have different times.
- Note: The Earth rotates west to east and completes one turn (360°) in 24 hours. So, 15° longitude = 1 hour (because 360° ÷ 24 = 15°).
When it is day in one place, it may be evening or night in another.
- For Example: When it is 12 noon in India, it is still night in the United States.

Thus, Latitude and Longitude together help us find the exact location of any place.

Remember: The network of latitude and longitude lines forms a grid on the globe.

Time Zones & International Date Line

Time Zone: It is a region where all places follow the same standard time.

The world is divided into time zones, each roughly 15° wide.

Greenwich mean time (GMT) : It is the standard time measured at the Prime Meridian (0° longitude), which passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, UK.

Remember: A plus (+) sign shows hours added to GMT; a minus (−) shows hours subtracted.

International Date Line: On the opposite side of the Prime Meridian lies a special line called the International Date Line, close to 180° longitude.

Note: The International Date Line is not straight as it avoids dividing countries into two different dates.

Interesting Fact: Crossing the International Date Line is like time-travel. Going east takes you to yesterday, and going west takes you to tomorrow!

Standard Time of Countries :

India: India follows Indian Standard Time (IST), which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

India has one time zone.

Canada: Canada has Six time zones.

United States of America: USA has Six time zones.

Russia: Russia has Eleven time zones.