Map scale

Definition- The relationship between distances on a map and the corresponding distances on the earth's surface expressed as a fraction or a ratio.

One unit of measurement on the map -- 1 inch or 1 centimeter -- could represent 10,000 of the same units on the ground. This would be a 1:10,000 scaled map.

The map of the earthquake island is scaled so that 1 centimenter represents 30 kilometers. It is a 1 cm :30 km scaled map. Since all computer monitors will not display the map in the same way do not attempt to measure the map from the screen using a ruler.

To calculate the distance (in kilometers) between points on the map you must multiply the scaled distance by 30 km/cm.

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