Embedded Files
Outdoor Education…Character development through the outdoors
The skills of navigation involve knowing where you are, where you want to go, and how to get there.
Indicators such as the sun, wind direction, cloud movement, and the time of day, can help you to navigate.
Ridges, rivers, lakes, peaks, and valleys are features, which make it easier to travel in the outdoors.
Point features are peaks, small knolls, vegetation patches and trigs
Catching features are large features such as a river beyond your target that tell you you have gone too far
Hand rail lines on the map are tracks, streams, bush edges, ridges, spurs, gullies, roads and fences
Various tools can also help with navigation. A map, compass, and watch are basic; an altimeter and a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver are useful extras. However, no tool is a substitute for map-reading skills.
Maps
Maps
Scale
Scale
A map is a plan of the Earth's surface showing features in the same relative positions as they are on the ground. To fit onto a map, these features are reduced to a fraction of their real size. The amount of this reduction is called the representative fraction (RF) and is usually stated as a ratio, for example, 1:50,000. This means that one unit on the map represents 50,000 units on the ground, so one centimetre on the map represents 50,000 centimetres or 500 metres on the ground.
The larger the scale, the smaller the ratio number, and the more detail the map will show.
Symbols
Symbols
Maps use symbols to represent features on the ground or to give information about the terrain or features. You can see some features on the ground like huts and streams, but you can't see others, like contour lines.
The explanation of what the symbols mean is on the map border. They are grouped together for ease of identification and given a specific colour. Generally vegetation is green, water is blue, relief is orange, and man-made features are black.
TASK: Identify the symbols drawn on the board.
Contours
Contours
Contour lines link all points which are the same height above sea level. Maps show slopes and heights by using contour lines and ‘spot’ heights.
The vertical interval is the vertical distance on the ground between contour lines. It may vary between different map series. You should know the vertical interval on the particular map that you are using, for example, 20 metres.
The spacing between the contour lines indicates the steepness of the terrain: the closer the contour lines on the map, the steeper the terrain.
Location finding - Grid Referencing
Location finding - Grid Referencing
Grid lines are numbered at intervals on the map and at the map edges.
They are called eastings and northings.
Eastings are the vertical grid lines that run north-south. They determine a position east of the start of the grid system.
Northings are the horizontal grid lines that run west-east. They determine a position north of the start of the grid system.
Four-figure grid reference
You can identify a grid square by referring to the easting line on its left edge and the northing line on its bottom edge.
In the below figure, the shaded square is 7035.
Six-figure grid reference
You can be more precise by using a 6-figure reference.
Calculate tenths along the sides of a square with the ruler on the side of your compass, or estimate by eye. Ensure you calculate the tenths eastward from the grid line for eastings and northward for the northings.
In the above figure, the point P marked in the square 7035 is estimated as being seven-tenths of the way from the 70 easting line to the 71 easting line, and four-tenths up from the 35 northing line to the 36 northing line.
Its 6-figure grid reference is 707354.
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