Map symbols: reading an OS map without words
Geography · Key Stage 2 · The School
Why symbols, not words
A map has very little space. Writing "church" next to every church would fill the page. A small symbol takes up far less room. One symbol can mean the same thing on any map, in any language. That is why maps use symbols instead of words. A crowded map with words everywhere would be unreadable.
Reading the key
Every Ordnance Survey map has a KEY. The key lists every symbol used and what it means. A blue line means a river. A black cross with a circle often means a church. Green shading usually means woodland. Always check the key first. Never guess what a symbol means. A wrong guess can send a walker the wrong way entirely.
Same symbol, any map
The same symbols appear on every Ordnance Survey map. Learn them once and you can read any map in the country. A car park symbol in Cornwall looks the same as one in Yorkshire. That consistency is the whole point of a shared symbol system. It saves everyone from learning a new system each time.
A map shows a dotted green line leaving a car park. It crosses a blue line using a small bridge symbol. It passes through a patch of green shading. It reaches a black triangle marked with a height in metres. Read only the symbols and the key. A path leaves the car park. It crosses a river by a bridge. It goes through woodland. It ends at a hilltop. Not one word of writing was needed to know that. A walker from any country could read the very same route.