Studying Geography

Hearing reports from explorers who had sailed the oceans, geographers realized the Earth was not flat. A new model for the Earth had to be found. A globe, a spherical scale model of the planet, became the most accurate way to show the Earth. A globe of the Earth best shows the sizes of continents and the shapes of landmasses and bodies of water. Globes also show true distance and direction.

Globes have their limitations. A globe is not as easy to carry as a map. Maps are flat drawings of all or part of the Earth's surface. Maps can show small areas in great detail. Maps can show many things—political borders, population densities, or even voting results. Plus, maps can be folded and carried in a pocket or placed in a car.

Maps, however, cannot show true size, shape, distance, and direction at the same time. The reason for this is they are flat drawings of a round object, the Earth.

Globes and maps have some features in common. Both are marked with imaginary lines that geographers use to locate places on Earth's surface. These lines divide the Earth into halves called hemispheres.