Why do we use maps?

Maps present information about the world in a simple, visual way. They teach about the world by showing sizes and shapes of countries, locations of features, and distances between places. Maps can show distributions of things over Earth, such as settlement patterns.

​

People use maps to help plan routes from one place to another. They might also use a map to find certain features like hills or rivers, or a landmark such as a castle. You can use different types of map depending on whether you are walking, driving or even flying somewhere.

​