Drawings which represent land and water are called maps. You may learn from maps where the countries, and mountains, and rivers, and cities are that you have seen. It also shows how far places are from one another.

Here is a map showing mountains and rivers. The many short lines facing each other represent mountains. To show the very high part of the mountains, the lines are drawn close to each other, making that part of the map look dark. The line winding about, like the stream itself, represents a river. The line, as you see, is made thicker and thicker toward its mouth. From this you may know that the river itself becomes broader and broader as it flows toward the sea.

But you must not think that the crooked line on the map is a river, or the lines which face each other are mountains. If you do, you will learn very little of geography. When you look at these lines, you must think of the real things which they stand for—the lofty mountains, with their covering of forests, and with long, narrow valleys between them; the winding, gently flowing river, bearing boats upon its waters.

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