Map Work
ICSE Class 9 · Geography · Chapter 21
What this chapter covers
- Working with an outline map of the World
- Major natural regions on the world map
- Oceans
- Seas
- Gulfs
- Straits
- Rivers
- Mountains
- Plateaus
Key definitions
Fold mountains are mountains formed when layers of rock are squeezed and folded by the movement of the earth's plates.
Key points
- On an outline map, learn each feature with its continent, its rough latitude and longitude, and one neighbouring feature that helps you place it.
- The equator, the two tropics, the Arctic Circle and the Prime Meridian are the signposts of a blank world map; the equator and the Prime Meridian meet in the Gulf of Guinea.
- Mark rivers as lines from source to mouth, seas and oceans with names inside the water, straits with arrows, mountains with chains of inverted V marks, plateaus with shading, and natural regions with patterns and a key.
- Natural regions follow latitude and the side of the continent: Equatorial at the equator, Savanna beyond it, hot deserts and Mediterranean lands on western margins, monsoon lands on southern and eastern sides, temperate grasslands in interiors, and Taiga and Tundra only in the north.
- The five oceans are the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic.
- The Caribbean, North, Black, Caspian, South China and Mediterranean Seas, and the Gulfs of Carpentaria, Mexico, Guinea, the Persian Gulf and Hudson Bay, must each be placed with their bordering lands.
- The Bering Strait joins the Arctic and Pacific, the Strait of Gibraltar joins the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and the Strait of Malacca joins the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
- Each river in the syllabus is fixed by its source and its mouth: for example, the Volga ends in the Caspian, the Danube in the Black Sea, the Rhine in the North Sea, the Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico and the Niger in the Gulf of Guinea.
- Young fold mountains (Himalayas, Alps, Rockies, Andes, Atlas) are high and rugged; old ones (Appalachians, Urals, Scandinavian Highlands) are worn down; the Drakensburg is the edge of a plateau.
- The Tibetan Plateau is the highest in the world; the Canadian Shield surrounds Hudson Bay; the Patagonian and Iranian Plateaus are dry because mountains block their rain.
Questions answered
Define an outline map and state two conventions for marking features on it.
An outline map shows only the boundaries of land and water, and sometimes the grid, with no names or symbols. Rivers are traced as a continuous line from source to mouth with the name written along the course, and straits are marked with an arrow pointing to the narrow channel.
Why are the Taiga and the Tundra shaded only in the Northern Hemisphere?
The southern continents narrow towards the poles, so there is almost no land in the southern latitudes where these regions would form; the Southern Ocean lies there instead.
On which side of the continents are the Tropical deserts and the Mediterranean regions found? Name one Mediterranean area in each hemisphere.
Both lie on the western margins of continents. Northern Hemisphere: central California or the lands round the Mediterranean Sea. Southern Hemisphere: central Chile, the south-western tip of South Africa or south-western Australia.
Name the five major oceans and state which is the largest and which is the smallest.
The Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic Oceans. The Pacific is the largest and the Arctic is the smallest.
Distinguish between a gulf and a strait, giving one example of each from the syllabus.
A gulf is a large part of the sea extending deep into the land and enclosed on most sides, such as the Persian Gulf. A strait is a narrow channel joining two larger water bodies and separating two land areas, such as the Strait of Gibraltar.
Which strait would you mark between (a) Asia and North America, (b) Europe and Africa, (c) the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra? Name the water bodies each one connects.
(a) The Bering Strait, joining the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea of the Pacific. (b) The Strait of Gibraltar, joining the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. (c) The Strait of Malacca, joining the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
Why is the Caspian Sea often described as the world's largest lake?
It is entirely surrounded by land and has no outlet to any ocean, even though its water is slightly salty.
Name the water body into which each of these rivers flows: the Amazon, the Zambezi, the Ob, the Murray, the Yangtse Kiang, the Irrawaddy.
The Amazon flows into the Atlantic Ocean; the Zambezi into the Indian Ocean through the Mozambique Channel; the Ob into the Gulf of Ob and the Arctic Ocean; the Murray into the Southern Ocean through Lake Alexandrina; the Yangtse Kiang into the East China Sea; the Irrawaddy into the Andaman Sea.
Past board exam questions
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
On the outline World map mark and label the following: The Rockies
Show answer
The Rocky Mountains marked as a range along the western side of North America, running north-south from Alaska/western Canada through the western USA to Mexico, labelled 'The Rockies'.
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
On the outline World map mark and label the following: The Brazilian Highland
Show answer
The Brazilian Highland marked in eastern Brazil, South America, south of the Amazon basin and inland of the east coast, labelled 'Brazilian Highland'.
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
On the outline World map mark and label the following: Gulf of Mexico
Show answer
The Gulf of Mexico marked as the water body south of the USA and east of Mexico, enclosed by the Florida and Yucatan peninsulas, labelled 'Gulf of Mexico'.
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
On the outline World map mark and label the following: Strait of Gibralter
Show answer
The Strait of Gibraltar marked between southern Spain (Europe) and Morocco (Africa), joining the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, labelled 'Strait of Gibraltar'.
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
On the outline World map mark and label the following: Sea of Japan
Show answer
The Sea of Japan marked between Japan and the Asian mainland (Korea and Russia), labelled 'Sea of Japan'.
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
On the outline World map mark and label the following: South China Sea
Show answer
The South China Sea marked south of China, between Vietnam, the Philippines and Borneo, labelled 'South China Sea'.
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
On the outline World map mark and label the following: The Canadian Shield
Show answer
The Canadian Shield shaded/marked around Hudson Bay in eastern and central Canada, labelled 'Canadian Shield'.
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
On the outline World map mark and label the following: River Amazon
Show answer
The River Amazon drawn across northern South America, rising in the Andes of Peru and flowing east through Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean near the equator, labelled 'R. Amazon'.