Geography Term 1
Unit 2: Aerial Photographs
2.1 Aerial Photographic Images
● Includes aerial photographs, orthophoto maps, and satellite images.
● Captured by aircraft or satellites.
● GIS (Geographic Information System) uses these images for mapping.
Types of Aerial Photographs
● Oblique Aerial Photo (angled view, easier to identify features):
○ Low oblique: No horizon, camera at 30°.
○ High oblique: Horizon visible, camera at 60°.
● Vertical Aerial Photo (top-down, accurate spatial relations):
○ Camera at 90°, harder to identify features.
● Satellite Image (digital, includes visible and non-visible data).
2.2 Orthophoto Maps
● Made from vertical aerial photos, corrected for scale.
● 1:10 000 scale (larger than topographic maps).
● Looks more realistic than topographic maps.
● Can include contour lines for elevation.
✅ Advantages
● Features easily visible.
● Quick for updating maps.
● Covers most urban & growth areas.
❌ Disadvantages
● Not available everywhere.
● Hard to access full-color versions.
📌 Development: Digital mapping cameras (since 2008) improve accuracy.
2.3 Satellite Images
● Picture-like images from satellites.
● Uses visible & non-visible light to collect data.
✅ Advantages
● Covers the whole Earth, tracks changes over time.
● Can be used in GIS for analysis.
❌ Disadvantages
● High costs to launch & maintain satellites.
● Requires skilled professionals to analyze data.
📌 Development: Higher accuracy & detail over time.
2.4 Vertical Aerial Photographs
● Taken vertically with a special camera on an aircraft.
● Used for topographic maps.
✅ Advantages
● Used for mapping & historical records (since 1930).
● Covers entire country at various scales.
❌ Disadvantages
● Only center of photo has correct scale.
● Mostly black & white.
● Must be scanned & digitized for maps.
📌 Development: Automated cameras, better film quality.
Unit 3: Topographic Maps
3.1 What are Topographic Maps?
● Made using vertical aerial photos.
● 1:50 000 scale, shows natural & human-made features.
● Includes grid lines, title, scale, and key.
✅ Advantages
● Color-coded with a key.
● Shows height & distances.
● Covers all of South Africa.
❌ Disadvantages
● No 3D view (height must be interpreted).
● Small print requires practice to read.
● Needs regular updates.
📌 Development: Enhanced by GIS & remote sensing.
Unit 4: Using Atlases
● Atlases contain different maps (political, relief, thematic).
● Use symbols, scales, and grids for reading maps.
📍 Types of Maps
1. World Maps – Shows continents & oceans.
2. Regional Maps – Shows part of a country or province.
3. Local Maps – Covers cities/towns.
4. Political Maps – Shows boundaries & countries.
5. Relief Maps – Shows altitude, mountains, rivers.
6. Thematic Maps – Shows specific themes (climate, vegetation, population).
Unit 5: Map Skills
5.1 Directions & Compass
● Compass points to magnetic north.
● 8 cardinal points (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW).
● Use transparency of compass for direction.
5.2 Geographic Coordinates
● Latitude (N/S of Equator) & Longitude (E/W of Prime Meridian).
● Used to find locations accurately.
5.3 Map Projections
● Mercator Projection (good for navigation, but distorts distance).
● Robinson Projection (better shape representation, but distorts direction).
● Peters Projection (accurate size, but distorts shape).
5.4 Bearings
● Measured in degrees (°) using a 360° protractor.
● True North (constant) ≠ Magnetic North (moves slightly).
Key Takeaways for Studying
● Aerial photos help create topographic & orthophoto maps.
● Orthophoto maps are scale-corrected, detailed, and realistic.
● Satellite images provide continuous Earth monitoring.
● Topographic maps show both natural & man-made features.
● Atlases contain different types of maps (political, relief, thematic).
● Map skills involve reading directions, coordinates, projections & bearings.
GIS (Geographical Information System)
-GIS is a system for gathering, storing, analyzing, and displaying spatial & geographical data.
Components: Hardware, Software, Data and User
Software: Is the computer programs that will store, analyze and display geographic information
Hardware: The physical devices used to collect, store, and process geographical information
Data: Observations made from monitoring the real world
User: Any person who uses the GIS
Role People play: Collect data, Manipulate & process information, use information to develop
GIS programs.
Who uses GIS:
1. Urban & Town Planners: To design urban infrastructure, manage land use, analyse the
impact and plan sustainable cities
2. Environmental Scientists & Conservations: Monitor environmental changes, manage
natural resources, track wildlife and plan conservation efforts.
Advantages:
Faster, require less money and time, durable over paper maps, large amounts of data.
Definitions:
1) Remote sensing : capturing data on an object from a distance. The process of collecting
data about the Earth’s surface without direct contact. Aircraft.
2) Database: A structured collection of data that is stored and accessed electronically.
Used to store and manage spatial and attribute data, enabling efficient querying,
updating and analysis
3) Data: Information that is collected and used for analysis. Refers to both spatial data
(geographical) and attribute data (descriptive information about spatial information)
4) Spatial data: Represents the physical location and shape of geographic features and the
relationships between them.
5) Attribute data: Data that describes words, numbers and pictures
6) Vector Data: A type of spatial data that represents geographical features using points,
lines and polygons
7) Raster Data: A type of spatial data that represents geographical features using a grid of
cells or pixels. Each cell has value representing information. Useful for continuous data
as satellite imagery and elevation models.
8) Data Acquisition: Process of collecting or obtaining data for use in GIS. Field surveys,
GPS data collection.
9) Resolution: Refers to the degree of clarity of an image
10)Data Integration: Combining 2 different data into one map.
11)Buffering: A line used to demarcate an area around a spatial feature.
