Ways to show scale of a map - Basics
Going through one of the basic knowledge of scales in the map and came across some good articles on that.
Three Ways to Show Scale on a Map
There are three ways to show the scale of a map: graphic (or bar), verbal, and representative fraction.
Graphic Map Scale
Graphic scales, also known as bar scales, as indicated by the name, show the scale graphically.
Bar scale showing graphically the ratio of map units to ground units. The top scale shows the comparable ground measurement in kilometers (km) and the bottom bar scale shows the comparable length in miles.
Verbal Scale on a Map
A verbal scale is text based, with the scale shown as a number and type of unit measurement equal to a specified unit measurement on the ground. The left side of the verbal is the unit of measurement on the map and the right side of the ratio is the unit measurement on the ground.
For example, the verbal scale, 1″ = 100′ means that one inch measured the map represented 100 feet on the ground. This type of scale is sometimes confused with Representative Fraction scales.
Representative Fraction as a Scale on a Map
Like verbal scale, representative fraction (RF) scale is also a text based scale but no units are shown.
For RF, scale is a simple ratio of map to ground measurement with a colon between the two measurements.
For example, a RF scale of 1: 1,200 means that every one unit on the map is equal to 1,200 units on the ground. There is no notation of the actual unit type used on a RF scale.
Therefore, a RF scale of 1:1,200 is the same scale as a verbal scale of 1″ = 100′.
Thanks
Samriddhi
