Calculate the mileage traveled using the markers on the map. How to measure travel distance using Google Maps. Create a route. How to get from and to. Calculation of distances between cities by car, car. Get directions on the map from and to the city itself
Updated application " Google Maps y" for iOS has learned to measure the geographical distance between two or more points on the map. This follows from the description of the update, available for download in the Russian section of the App Store.
Because the updated Google makes its calculations without relying on road or railroad data, users are able to estimate the actual distance between given objects.
- To activate the new function, you need to select an object on the map that will be taken as a reference point;
- Now place a “pin” in that place with a long press;
- In the tab that appears on the left, select the “Measure distance” action, then draw the line that appears to the area of interest on the map.
If necessary, you can always measure the distance between several points or objects. To do this, simply click on the “Add point” button that appears in the lower right corner of the screen.
Name: Google Maps
Publisher/Developer: Google, Inc.
Price: For free
In-app purchases: No
Compatibility: Universal application
Link:
Measuring distances on a map. Study of a site. Reading a map along the route
Studying a site
Based on the relief and local objects depicted on the map, one can judge the suitability of a given area for organizing and conducting combat, for the use of military equipment in combat, for observation conditions, firing, orientation, camouflage, as well as cross-country ability.
Availability of a large number of settlements and individual tracts of forest, cliffs and gullies, lakes, rivers and streams indicate rough terrain and limited visibility, which will impede the movement of military and transport equipment off roads and create difficulties in organizing surveillance. At the same time, the rugged nature of the terrain creates good conditions for sheltering and protecting units from the effects of weapons mass destruction enemy, and forest areas can be used to camouflage unit personnel, military equipment, etc.
By the nature of the layout, size and font of the signatures of settlements, we can say that some settlements belong to cities, others to urban-type settlements, and still others to rural-type settlements. The orange coloring of the blocks indicates the predominance of fire-resistant buildings. Black rectangles located close to each other inside the blocks indicate the dense nature of the development, and yellow shading indicates the non-fire resistance of the buildings.
In a populated area there may be a weather station, a power station, a radio mast, a fuel warehouse, a factory with a pipe, railroad station, flour mill and other facilities. Some of these local items can serve as good guidelines.
The map can show a relatively developed network of roads of various classes. If there is a signature on a conventional highway sign, for example, 10 (14) B. This means that the paved part of the road has a width of 10 m, and from ditch to ditch - 14 m, the surface is cobblestone. A single-track (double-track) railway can pass through the area. Studying the route along railway, you can find on the map individual sections of roads that run along an embankment or in a excavation with a specified depth.
With a more detailed study of roads, it is possible to establish: the presence and characteristics of bridges, embankments, excavations and other structures; the presence of difficult areas, steep descents and ascents; possibility of leaving roads and driving near them.
Water surfaces are shown on maps in blue or blue, therefore they clearly stand out among the symbols of other local objects.
By the nature of the font of the river's signature one can judge its navigability. The arrow and number on the river indicate in which direction it flows and at what speed. The signature, for example: means that the width of the river in this place is 250 m, the depth is 4.8 m, and the bottom soil is sandy. If there is a bridge across the river, then next to the image of the bridge its characteristics are given.
If the river on the map is depicted with one line, then this indicates that the width of the river does not exceed 10 m. If the river is depicted in two lines, and its width is not indicated on the map, its width can be determined by the indicated characteristics of the bridges.
If the river is fordable, then the ford symbol indicates the depth of the ford and the soil of the bottom.
When studying the soil and vegetation cover, you can find forest areas of different sizes on the map. Explanatory symbols on the green fill of the forest area may indicate a mixed composition of tree species, deciduous or coniferous forest. The caption, for example: , says that the average height of the trees is 25 m, their thickness is 30 cm, the average distance between them is 5 m, which allows us to conclude that it is impossible for cars and tanks to move through the forest off roads.
Studying the terrain on a map begins with determining the general nature of the unevenness of the area on which it is to be carried out. combat mission. For example, if the map shows a hilly terrain with relative heights of 100-120 m, and the distance between horizontal lines (laying) is from 10 to 1 mm, this indicates a relatively small steepness of the slopes (from 1 to 10 °).
A detailed study of the terrain on a map is associated with solving problems of determining the heights and mutual elevation of points, the type, direction of steepness of slopes, characteristics (depth, width and length) of hollows, ravines, gullies and other relief details.
Measuring distances on a map
Measuring straight and curved lines using a map
To determine the distance between terrain points (objects, objects) on a map, using numerical scale, you need to measure on the map the distance between these points in centimeters and multiply the resulting number by the scale value.
Example, on a map of scale 1:25000 we measure with a ruler the distance between the bridge and windmill; it is equal to 7.3 cm, multiply 250 m by 7.3 and get the required distance; it is equal to 1825 meters (250x7.3=1825).
Determine the distance between terrain points on the map using a ruler
A small distance between two points in a straight line is easier to determine using a linear scale. To do this, it is enough to apply a measuring compass, the opening of which is equal to the distance between given points on the map, to a linear scale and take a reading in meters or kilometers. In the figure, the measured distance is 1070 m.
Large distances between points along straight lines are usually measured using a long ruler or measuring compass.
In the first case, a numerical scale is used to determine the distance on the map using a ruler.
In the second case, the “step” solution of the measuring compass is set so that it corresponds to an integer number of kilometers, and an integer number of “steps” is plotted on the segment measured on the map. The distance that does not fit into the whole number of “steps” of the measuring compass is determined using a linear scale and added to the resulting number of kilometers.
In the same way, distances are measured along winding lines. In this case, the “step” of the measuring compass should be taken 0.5 or 1 cm, depending on the length and degree of tortuosity of the line being measured.
To determine the length of a route on a map, a special device called a curvimeter is used, which is especially convenient for measuring winding and long lines.
The device has a wheel, which is connected by a gear system to an arrow.
When measuring distance with a curvimeter, you need to set its needle to division 99. Holding the curvimeter in a vertical position, move it along the line being measured, without lifting it from the map along the route so that the scale readings increase. Having reached the end point, count the measured distance and multiply it by the denominator of the numerical scale. (In this example, 34x25000=850000, or 8500 m)
Accuracy of measuring distances on the map. Distance corrections for slope and tortuosity of lines
The accuracy of determining distances on a map depends on the scale of the map, the nature of the measured lines (straight, winding), the chosen measurement method, the terrain and other factors.
The most accurate way to determine the distance on the map is in a straight line.
When measuring distances using a measuring compass or a ruler with millimeter divisions, the average measurement error in flat areas usually does not exceed 0.7-1 mm on the map scale, which is 17.5-25 m for a map at a scale of 1:25000, scale 1:50000 - 35-50 m, scale 1:100000 - 70-100 m.
In mountainous areas with steep slopes, errors will be greater. This is explained by the fact that when surveying a terrain, it is not the length of the lines on the Earth’s surface that is plotted on the map, but the length of the projections of these lines onto the plane.
For example, With a slope steepness of 20° and a distance on the ground of 2120 m, its projection onto the plane (distance on the map) is 2000 m, i.e. 120 m less.
It is calculated that with an inclination angle (steepness of the slope) of 20°, the resulting distance measurement result on the map should be increased by 6% (add 6 m per 100 m), with an inclination angle of 30° - by 15%, and with an angle of 40° - by 23 %.
When determining the length of a route on a map, it should be taken into account that road distances measured on the map using a compass or curvimeter are in most cases shorter than the actual distances.
This is explained not only by the presence of ups and downs on the roads, but also by some generalization of road convolutions on maps.
Therefore, the result of measuring the length of the route obtained from the map should, taking into account the nature of the terrain and the scale of the map, be multiplied by the coefficient indicated in the table.
The simplest ways to measure areas on a map
An approximate estimate of the size of the areas is made by eye using the squares of the kilometer grid available on the map. Each grid square of maps of scale 1:10000 - 1:50000 on the ground corresponds to 1 km2, the square of the grid of maps of scale 1:100000 - 4 km2, the square of the grid of maps of scale 1:200000 - 16 km2.
More accurately, areas are measured with a palette, which is a sheet of transparent plastic with a grid of squares with a side of 10 mm applied to it (depending on the scale of the map and the required measurement accuracy).
Having applied such a palette to the measured object on the map, they first count from it the number of squares that completely fit inside the contour of the object, and then the number of squares intersected by the contour of the object. We take each of the incomplete squares as half a square. As a result of multiplying the area of one square by the sum of squares, the area of the object is obtained.
Using squares of scales 1:25000 and 1:50000, it is convenient to measure the area of small areas with an officer’s ruler, which has special rectangular cutouts. The areas of these rectangles (in hectares) are indicated on the ruler for each gharta scale.
Reading a map along the route
Reading a map means correctly and fully perceiving the symbolism of its conventional signs, quickly and accurately recognizing from them not only the type and varieties of objects depicted, but also their characteristic properties.
Studying a terrain using a map (reading a map) includes determining its general nature, the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of individual elements (local objects and landforms), as well as determining the degree of influence of a given area on the organization and conduct of combat.
When studying the terrain on a map, you should remember that since its creation, changes may have occurred in the area that are not reflected on the map, i.e. the contents of the map will to some extent not correspond to the actual state of the terrain on this moment. Therefore, it is recommended to begin studying the area using a map by familiarizing yourself with the map itself.
Familiarization with the map. When familiarizing yourself with the map according to the information included in outside the frame design, determine the scale, height of the relief section and the time of creation of the map. Data on the scale and height of the relief section will allow you to establish the degree of detail of the image on a given map of local objects, shapes and relief details. Knowing the scale, you can quickly determine the size of local objects or their distance from each other.
Information about the time of creation of the map will make it possible to preliminarily determine the correspondence of the contents of the map to the actual state of the area.
Then they read and, if possible, remember the values of the magnetic needle declination and direction corrections. Knowing the direction correction from memory, you can quickly convert directional angles into magnetic azimuths or orient the map on the ground along the kilometer grid line.
General rules and sequence of studying the area on the map. The sequence and degree of detail in studying the terrain is determined by the specific conditions of the combat situation, the nature of the unit's combat mission, as well as seasonal conditions and tactical and technical data of the military equipment used in carrying out the assigned combat mission. When organizing defense in a city, it is important to determine the nature of its planning and development, identifying durable buildings with basements and underground structures. In the case where the unit’s route passes through the city, there is no need to study the features of the city in such detail. When organizing an offensive in the mountains, the main objects of study are passes, mountain passages, gorges and gorges with adjacent heights, the shape of the slopes and their influence on the organization of the fire system.
The study of terrain, as a rule, begins with determining its general nature, and then studies in detail individual local objects, shapes and details of the relief, their influence on the conditions of observation, camouflage, cross-country ability, protective properties, conditions of fire and orientation.
Determining the general nature of the area is aimed at identifying the most important features of the relief and local objects that have a significant impact on the accomplishment of the task. When determining the general nature of an area based on familiarization with the topography, settlements, roads, hydrographic network and vegetation cover, the variety of the area, the degree of its ruggedness and closedness are identified, which makes it possible to preliminarily determine its tactical and protective properties.
The general character of the area is determined by a quick overview of the entire study area on a map.
At first glance at the map, one can tell that there are settlements and individual tracts of forest, cliffs and gullies, lakes, rivers and streams indicating rough terrain and limited visibility, which inevitably complicates the movement of military and transport equipment off roads and creates difficulties in organizing surveillance . At the same time, the rugged nature of the terrain creates good conditions for sheltering and protecting units from the effects of enemy weapons of mass destruction, and forests can be used to camouflage unit personnel, military equipment, etc.
Thus, as a result of determining the general nature of the terrain, a conclusion is drawn about the accessibility of the area and its individual directions for the operations of units on vehicles, and they also outline boundaries and objects that should be studied in more detail, taking into account the nature of the combat mission to be performed in this area of the terrain.
A detailed study of the area aims to determine the qualitative characteristics of local objects, shapes and relief details within the boundaries of the unit’s operations or along the upcoming route of movement. Based on obtaining such data from a map and taking into account the relationship of topographic elements of the terrain (local objects and relief), an assessment is made of the conditions of cross-country ability, camouflage and surveillance, orientation, firing, and the protective properties of the terrain are determined.
Determination of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of local objects is carried out using a map with relatively high accuracy and great detail.
When studying settlements using a map, the number of settlements, their type and dispersion are determined, and the degree of habitability of a particular area (district) of the area is determined. The main indicators of the tactical and protective properties of settlements are their area and configuration, the nature of the layout and development, the presence of underground structures, and the nature of the terrain on the approaches to the settlement.
Reading the map conventional signs settlements establish the presence, type and location of them in a given area of the area, determine the nature of the outskirts and layout, building density and fire resistance of buildings, the location of streets, main thoroughfares, the presence of industrial facilities, prominent buildings and landmarks.
When studying the road network using a map, the degree of development of the road network and the quality of roads are clarified, the traffic conditions of a given area and the possibility of efficient use of vehicles are determined.
A more detailed study of roads establishes: the presence and characteristics of bridges, embankments, excavations and other structures; the presence of difficult areas, steep descents and ascents; possibility of leaving roads and driving near them.
When exploring dirt roads Special attention pay attention to identifying the carrying capacity of bridges and ferry crossings, since on such roads they are often not designed to accommodate heavy wheeled and tracked vehicles.
By studying hydrography, the presence of water bodies is determined from the map, and the degree of ruggedness of the area is specified. The presence of water bodies creates good conditions for water supply and transportation along waterways.
Water surfaces are depicted on maps in blue or light blue, so they clearly stand out among the symbols of other local objects. When studying rivers, canals, streams, lakes and other water barriers using a map, the width, depth, flow speed, nature of the bottom soil, banks and surrounding areas are determined; the presence and characteristics of bridges, dams, locks, ferry crossings, fords and areas convenient for crossing are established.
When studying the soil and vegetation cover, the presence and characteristics of forests and shrubs, swamps, salt marshes, sands, rocky placers and those elements of the soil and vegetation cover that can have a significant impact on the conditions of passage, camouflage, observation and the possibility of shelter are determined from the map.
The characteristics of the forest area studied from the map allow us to draw a conclusion about the possibility of using it for a secretive and dispersed location of units, as well as about the passability of the forest along roads and clearings. Good landmarks in the forest for determining your location and orienting yourself while moving are the forester’s house and clearings.
The characteristics of swamps are determined by the outline of symbols. However, when determining the passability of swamps on a map, one should take into account the time of year and weather conditions. During the period of rains and muddy roads, swamps, shown on the map as passable by a symbol, may actually turn out to be difficult to pass. In winter, during severe frosts, impassable swamps can become easily passable.
Studying the terrain on a map begins with determining the general nature of the unevenness of the area of the terrain on which the combat mission is to be carried out. At the same time, the presence, location and mutual relationship of the most typical typical forms and relief details for a given area are established, their influence on the conditions of cross-country ability, observation, firing, camouflage, orientation and organization of protection against weapons of mass destruction is determined in general terms. The general nature of the relief can be quickly determined by the density and outline of contours, elevation marks and symbols of relief details.
A detailed study of the terrain on a map is associated with solving problems of determining the heights and mutual elevation of points, the type and direction of the steepness of the slopes, the characteristics (depth, width and length) of hollows, ravines, gullies and other relief details.
Naturally, the need to solve specific problems will depend on the nature of the assigned combat mission. For example, the determination of invisibility fields will be required when organizing and conducting surveillance reconnaissance; determining the steepness, height and length of the slopes will be required when determining terrain conditions and choosing a route, etc.
Google Maps has become a universal tool to explore the planet, plot routes, street view. But with all this, some users do not know about all the capabilities of this service. Today we will talk about a simple but useful function - measuring distance on Google Maps.
There is nothing complicated about this - first, open the Google Maps service on the Internet maps.google.com. Next, we change the scale so that both points, the distance between which we will measure, are visible on the map. Right-click on the first point and select “Measure distance” from the drop-down menu:
After this, the mark of the first point will appear on the map:
You can not stop here, but add other waypoints, and the total distance will be indicated next to the last point:
Measuring distance on Google maps is done in a straight line, but because... a map is a two-dimensional representation globe, then when measuring large distances the line will appear curved, and this will shortest distance between points:
Yandex.Maps is one of the popular online services of the Yandex company, providing all the necessary information about places, roads, locations of various objects, etc. Its functionality includes not only displaying the most basic information, it allows you to plot a route and measure the distance from one point to another, independently setting the trajectory of movement. It is about measuring distance that we will discuss in our material today.
The Yandex.Maps service is available for use both on the website and as a complete computer version, and through a mobile application, which has many of its own features and differences. Let's look at these two options one by one so that all users no longer have questions on this topic and everyone can cope with the task.
Method 1: Full version of the site
Next, you will see for which function you should use the full version of the site, since this tool is simply not available in the mobile application. Please read the entire guide below to learn more about the featured feature so you can take full advantage of it.
- Open the main page of the Yandex website by clicking on the link above. There go to the section "Cards".
- Here you can immediately find the place you want to measure the distance to by entering data in the search bar.
- If the distance is calculated on the basis of only two points, it is easier to simply plot a route by choosing one of the modes of transportation. Read more about this in our other material at the following link.
- Now let's move directly to the tool we mentioned above. It's called "Ruler" and allows you to draw absolutely any route with any number of points. Activate it by clicking on the corresponding button.
- Then left-click on one of the places to create the first point. It will be highlighted with a characteristic circle.
- Create unlimited amount points to the final destination, using different lines for turns and other details. If you have created one large line and need to change it by adding a point, simply click on the required part of the fragment and move it to the desired location.
- As you can see in the screenshot, the length of the line is limited only by the map itself, and the end point always displays the distance in kilometers or meters.
Now you know how to measure distance in full version the service in question. Next, let's discuss performing similar actions in a mobile application.
Method 2: Mobile application
Unfortunately, the Yandex.Maps mobile application does not have the function "Ruler", which causes some difficulties when trying to calculate the distance. This can only be done as shown in the following instructions.
As you can see, the functionality mobile application Yandex.Maps is quite poor in terms of measuring distance, so it is best to do this using the full version of the site. Above you were introduced to the step-by-step execution of this operation, so there should not be any difficulties with it.
To determine on a map the distance between terrain points (objects, objects), using a numerical scale, you need to measure on the map the distance between these points in centimeters and multiply the resulting number by the scale value (Fig. 20).
Rice. 20. Measuring distances on a map with a measuring compass
on a linear scale
For example, on a map at a scale of 1:50,000 (scale value 500 m), the distance between two landmarks is 4.2 cm.
Therefore, the required distance between these landmarks on the ground will be equal to 4.2 500 = 2100 m.
A small distance between two points in a straight line is easier to determine using a linear scale (see Fig. 20). To do this, it is enough to apply a measuring compass, the opening of which is equal to the distance between given points on the map, to a linear scale and take a reading in meters or kilometers. In Fig. 20 the measured distance is 1250 m.
Large distances between points along straight lines are usually measured using a long ruler or measuring compass. In the first case, a numerical scale is used to determine the distance on the map using a ruler. In the second case, the opening (“step”) of the measuring compass is set so that it corresponds to an integer number of kilometers, and an integer number of “steps” are plotted on the segment measured on the map. The distance that does not fit into the whole number of “steps” of the measuring compass is determined using a linear scale and added to the resulting number of kilometers.
In this way, distances are measured along winding lines. In this case, the “step” of the measuring compass should be 0.5 or 1 cm, depending on the length and degree of tortuosity of the line being measured (Fig. 21).
Rice. 21. Measuring distances along curved lines
To determine the length of a route on a map, a special device called a curvimeter is used. It is convenient for measuring curved and long lines. The device has a wheel, which is connected by a gear system to an arrow. When measuring distance with a curvimeter, you need to set its needle to the zero division, and then roll the wheel along the route so that the scale readings increase. The resulting reading in centimeters is multiplied by the scale value and the distance on the ground is obtained.
The accuracy of determining distances on a map depends on the scale of the map, the nature of the measured lines (straight, winding), the chosen method of measuring the terrain and other factors.
The most accurate way to determine the distance on the map is in a straight line. When measuring distances using a measuring compass or a ruler with millimeter divisions, the average measurement error on flat areas of the terrain usually does not exceed 0.5–1 mm on the map scale, which is 12.5–25 m for a map of scale 1: 25,000 , scale 1: 50,000 – 25–50 m, scale 1: 100,000 – 50–100 m. In mountainous areas with steep slopes, errors will be greater. This is explained by the fact that when surveying a terrain, it is not the length of the lines on the Earth’s surface that is plotted on the map, but the length of the projections of these lines onto the plane.
With a slope steepness of 20° and a distance on the ground of 2120 m, its projection onto the plane (distance on the map) is 2000 m, i.e. 120 m less. It is calculated that with an inclination angle (steepness of the slope) of 20°, the resulting distance measurement result on the map should be increased by 6% (add 6 m per 100 m), with an inclination angle of 30° - by 15%, and with an angle of 40° - by 23 %.
When determining the length of a route on a map, it should be taken into account that road distances measured on the map using a compass or curvimeter are shorter than the actual distances. This is explained not only by the presence of ups and downs on the roads, but also by some generalization of road convolutions on maps. Therefore, the result of measuring the length of the route obtained from the map should, taking into account the nature of the terrain and the scale of the map, be multiplied by the coefficient indicated in the table. 3.