We’re celebrating “Read a Road Map Day” with these helpful tips and tricks and a what’s-what of map iconography so you can be safe no matter where you’re going. In addition, learning how to read a map is a great asset to anyone who loves to go off-roading, camping, hiking, and more!
It’s easy to fall into the habit of fully relying on technology to get us where we’re going. But what happens when you take the road less traveled? How do you navigate when your vehicle’s GPS lags behind due to poor reception, or your smartphone doesn’t get service while you’re roadtripping? You’ll want to make sure you can navigate an offline roadmap just as easily as a paper map or almanac.
How to Read a Map
Drive confidently no matter what service you have or where the road takes you thanks to our handy dandy “How to Read a Map” guide!
Color: Cartographers will color code a map based on its many different purposes. Check the legend on your road map or atlas to figure out where you’re driving through, which roads are major highways, county roads, residential streets, etc. It will also help you understand the terrain, environment, and proximity to water or coastal regions. It can also be used to determine elevation, or even state and county lines or town and city districts.
Contour Lines: If your map includes topography, you’ll see different lines that indicate elevation such as mountains, hills, valleys, etc. There will be solid, dotted, straight, and wavy lines. This can also help you determine which vehicle to take on your road trip depending what type of terrain you’re driving on.
Compass Rose: A compass rose is a symbol used to display the orientation of “cardinal directions” (north, south, east, west) This helps navigators discern which direction is the Earth’s magnetic north when using a physical compass. Every paper map includes a compass rose to illustrate true North at the top of the map. You can use a compass to help you get a better sense of where you are.
Map Index: Maps often include an alphabetical list of locations in an index. City maps will include street names or major landmarks of the region. County maps will include major highways and major cities and towns. A State map will have significant cities and towns. Oftentimes these are coded with letter-number combos which match a point on the map.
Map Legend: All maps contain a legend or a key which explains what each symbol represents and what every line, mark, or colour means. This will help you decode the difference between major interstate highways and smaller back roads. It may also help identify hills and mountains or bodies of water.
Orientation: Make sure you have your map so that the compass rose shows “N” at the top of your page, this will help you align your current position on the map and navigate which direction you need to travel on the next leg of your route.
Scale Ruler: When plotting a course using a paper road map, you’ll need to use the map’s integrated “scale”: a line marked in inches which represents distances. Use that scale line to determine the “miles by inches” between your destinations to get a scale of the distance. For example, 1 inch of distance on the map may equal 10 miles of actual distance driving. Grab a
ruler and measure the distance between your road trip points and multiply. Without knowing the scale of your map, you may miscalculate distance between destinations or time it takes to travel to and from.
Topography/Terrain symbols: Some maps include lines, shading, and color to explain the terrain around you. Using a topographic map means you’ll be able to identify mountains, hills and valleys, desert versus field, etc. Many maps include basic topographical elements to explain basic geographic features of the region.
Helpful Car Gadgets to Navigate a Map and With Limited Data or Cell Service
When you’re not able to rely on your smartphone or infotainment system to help you navigate, having a car compass can be an invaluable tool! Be sure you’re heading in the right direction without having to use paper maps or atlases struggle to find bars of service. Some of them also included longitude and latitude to help you pinpoint your location. They can also be used in boats, motorcycles, ATVs, and while camping!
GARMIN eTrex Handheld GPS Navigator
This device has 8GB of space to store maps offline and a micro SD card slot. It conveniently uses 2AA Batteries for 25 hours of GPS mode usage, making it easy to replace and recharge as needed. When your regular GPS doesn’t work, the 2inch display will help you navigate beyond your smartphone’s capabilities for offline use.
