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OS Maps: Symbols

OS map symbols turn real landscapes into simple pictures. Learn how to recognise roads, rivers, buildings, and relief features so you can read detailed maps with confidence.

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Fascinating Fact:

Different types of roads have different symbols and colours, for example motorways, A roads, B roads, and minor roads, which show their importance and size.

In GCSE Geography, OS map symbols are used to show both human and physical features. Learning these symbols helps you identify roads, buildings, land use, and relief quickly on detailed maps.

Key Terms

OS map symbol: A small picture or sign on an Ordnance Survey map that represents a feature on the ground.
Map key (legend): The box on a map that explains what each symbol and colour means.
Linear feature: A feature such as a road, river, or railway shown on the map as a line.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What are OS map symbols in GCSE Geography?

OS map symbols are standard pictures and colours used on Ordnance Survey maps to show features such as roads, churches, forests, rivers, and buildings in a clear, simple way.

How can I remember OS map symbols for my exam?

You can remember OS map symbols by using the map key, practising with past paper extracts, making flashcards, and testing yourself regularly until the symbols become familiar.

Why are OS map symbols important in Geography?

OS map symbols are important because they allow detailed information to be shown clearly on a small map, helping you analyse landscapes, plan routes, and answer exam questions accurately.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

This symbol was added to a map by a student carrying out some fieldwork. Which of the following structures had they seen?

TV transmission mast

Mobile phone network mast

TV signal booster mast

It could have been any of the above

The wavy line indicates some sort of electromagnetic radiation and the triangle represents the mast itself

2 .

What commercial activity would take place (or has taken place at some time in the past) at the location indicated by this map symbol?

Shopping

Balloon manufacture

Quarrying

Sailing

This symbol indicates a quarry from which rock is (or has been at some time in the past) extracted. There are separate symbols for gravel quarrying and sand quarrying

3 .

Which of the following is NOT true?

This diagram represents part of the railway network

This diagram shows a railway junction

This diagram shows a railway station

This diagram shows a light rapid transit system

The red rectangular symbol indicates a principal station

4 .

The sketch shows:

a railway line with an embankment and a cutting

a railway line with an embankment and a walled embankment

a canal going through a cutting and over an aqueduct

a series of locks on a canal

Water features in the landscape are represented in blue so that immediately rules out options three and four

5 .

Which of the sketched symbols represents an unfenced secondary road?

Even if you didn't know that the orange-brown colour meant a secondary road, you can tell that C was the answer as it is the only one that shows it is unfenced (dotted lines at the edges instead of unbroken lines)

6 .

What does this symbol indicate?

A place where you can hire a teepee for your holiday

A campsite

A hippy colony

A caravan site

This symbol indicates that the campsite is intended for tents only, if the site takes caravans as well, there will be a small blue caravan symbol with it

7 .

A group of students were drawing a sketch map of a village as part of their fieldwork. One of the buildings was used as a place of worship. Which of the symbols should they use to represent it?

More information is required

You need to know if the building has a tower, spire, minaret, dome or none of these features before you can decide on the correct answer

8 .

Which of the following is most likely to be interested in both of these two OS map symbols?

A backpacker

A motorist

A commuter

A cyclist

Just in case you are not sure what a backpacker is, it is someone who is travelling on foot or by public transport using a rucksack (backpack) to carry their belongings. The symbols represent a youth hostel and a bus or coach station. The other three types of person may be interested in one or the other of the two locations, but it is a backpacker who is most likely to be interested in both at the same time. One is their means of transport and the other is where they will find a bed for the night

9 .

What type of trees would you see if you visited this woodland?

Coniferous

Deciduous or broadleafed

Apple or pear

A mixture of coniferous and deciduous

Broadleaf woodland has little conventional tree drawings in it, orchards are a grid of green dots and mixed woodland has no little drawings of trees - it is just green

10 .

Where would you find the features depicted in this sketch map?

In a mountain range

In the CBD of an urban area

On a subsistence farm

At the coast

The junction between the blue and the pale brown indicates the low water mark of the sea, the black line is the high water mark. Also shown is a wave cut platform, cliff and beach

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Cartographic skills

Author: Kev Woodward (PGCE, Science & Chemistry Teacher, Quiz Writer)