Map. A map is a representation, usually on a surface such as paper or a sheet of plastic, of a certain geographic area, showing various significant features of that area, depending on the purpose of the map. There are many different types of maps, including world, country, state, local, marine, topographical, road, trail, and underwater maps. Many maps show a combination of these elements. What elements does the map on the following page show?
Description. Description is a type of writing that portrays a character, object, or scene. Descriptions make use of sensory details—words that describe how things look, sound, smell, taste, or feel. Effective descriptions contain precise—or concrete—nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives.
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- History Connection. By the mid-1800s, the United States had purchased or annexed all of the western territory of what today are the 48 continental states. In 1845, Texas was annexed; in 1846, the United States gained the Oregon Territory in a treaty with Britain. The Mexican-American War of 1848 ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which awarded the United States with the territory that is now California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and parts of New Mexico and Colorado. California became a state in 1850.
- As these western lands were acquired, more and more people in the eastern and central United States ventured westward. These pioneers often traveled with minimal directions, maps, equipment, and food. They relied on wagon trains—large groups of families traveling by covered wagon—to provide limited protection against the unknown. The wagon trains followed worn trails through the rough wilderness, through snowy mountain passes, across vast prairies, and through brutal deserts. The trip took groups about six to eight months to complete. Travelers had to leave in the spring when the weather turned warm, and they had to cross the Rocky Mountains before snow in late fall closed the mountain passes. This left little time for resting or hunting and gathering food. Some pioneer travelers did not survive; others barely made it. Altogether, more than 11,000 emigrants traveled to Oregon between 1840 and 1848; almost 3,000 went to California. The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California by Lansford W. Hastings, part of which is shown on pages 843-847 of your textbook, was a commercial publication written to lure people to the Pacific region.
- In 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act, authorizing the construction of railroad tracks all the way to the Pacific Ocean. By the late 1800s, travelers could get from New York to the Pacific coast in a week’s time.
When is the last time you used a map to help you get where you were going?
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