Map Scale

05/10/2018

Map Scales

It has been a little while since we blogged about map practicalities and thought it was time for a bit of a refresh, so here’s our potted guide to map scales: What does the map scale mean? One way of explaining the scale is say for a 1:25,000 map, one unit on the map, whether centimetres or inches, is 25,000 times bigger in real life on the ground. So of example if a road is 1cm on the map at 1:25,000 scale, in real life the road is 25,000 centimetres... Read More

Map Scale

What scale do I need?

We regularly get customers who are confused about the scale of maps and what it means. Basically, most maps have a scale given as a ratio, and the scale of a map is defined as the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground. Therefore a scale of 1:100 000 means that for every one unit on the map, it represents 100 000 units on the ground; the unit can be inches, centimetres, tiddlywinks or chocolate biscuits, as long as they are both the... Read More