Water Resources of Idaho
Water Resources of Idaho |
Map scales can be confusing to many people because it is sometimes difficult to relate the distance on a map to a real distance on the surface of the earth.
A map's scale is a ratio that relates a unit of measure on a map to some number of the same units of measure on the earth's surface. For instance, a map scale of 1:25,000, tells us that 1 unit of measure represents 25,000 of the same units on the earth's surface. One inch on the map represents 25,000 inches on the earth's surface. If the map were large enough, then one meter or one yard or one kilometer or one mile would represent 25,000 meters or yards or kilometers or miles, respectively, on the earth's surface.
For commonly used map scales, the table below is intended to show the relationship between a distance of one centimeter on a map and meters on the the earth's surface. Also shown is the relationship between one inch on a map and feet or miles on the earth's surface.
One km on One mile on
One cm on the Earth is One inch the Earth is
the map represented on the map represented
Map Scale represents on the map by represents on the map by
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1:2,000 20 meters 50 centimeters 166.67 feet 31.68 inches
1:5,000 50 " 20 " 416.67 " 12.67 "
1:6,000 60 " 16.66 " 500 " 10.56 "
1:9,000 90 " 11.11 " 750 " 7.04 "
1:10,000 100 " 10 " 833.33 " 6.34 "
1:12,000 120 " 8.33 " 1,000 " 5.28 "
1:20,000 200 " 5 " 1,666.67 " 3.17 "
1:24,000 240 " 4.17 " 2,000 " 2.64 "
1:25,000 250 " 4 " 2,083.33 " 2.53 "
1:31,680 317 " 3.16 " 0.5 miles 2 "
1:50,000 500 " 2 " 0.789 " 1.27 "
1:62,500 625 " 1.60 " 0.986 " 1.014 "
1:63,360 634 " 1.58 " 1 " 1 "
1:80,000 800 " 1.25 " 1.26 " 0.792 "
1:100,000 1,000 " 1 " 1.58 " 0.634 "
1:125,000 1,250 " 0.80 " 1.97 " 0.507 "
1:126,720 1,267 " 0.79 " 2 " 0.5 "
1:250,000 2,500 " 0.40 " 3.95 " 0.253 "
1:500,000 5,000 " 0.20 " 7.89 " 0.127 "
1:1,000,000 10,000 " 0.10 " 15.78 " 0.063 "
1:5,000,000 50,000 " 0.02 " 78.91 " 0.013 "
1:10,000,000 100,000 " 0.01 " 157.82 " 0.006 "
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U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Page Contact: Idaho Webmaster Page Last Modified: 13:11:03 Wed 13 Apr 2005 Privacy Statement || Disclaimer || Accessibility URL: id.water.usgs.gov/reference/map_scales.html |
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