CROSS SECTION, MAP AND PERSPECTIVE VIEWS

An illustration of a portion of the Earth or ocean basin can be presented in three different ways depending on the information to be conveyed. Each illustration is from a different view. A map view is an overhead or “directly above” illustration. It represents an undistorted diagram of the Earth’s surface as if the viewer is directly overhead. A cross-section is a cut-away sketch of the Earth to illustrate a profile or outline of the feature. A cross-section may also be used to present an illustration of the interior of the earth. A cross-section is a side view. Both maps and cross-sections are scaled diagrams that represent reduced images. That is, they are exact scaled-down versions of the real object. A third type of diagram is a perspective view. This is usually presented as a “box” diagram with the front and side panels being cross-sections. The top panel of the “box “ is a “perspective” view as if the viewer is looking at an angle from above. This is the view that would be seen, for example, from an airplane window when looking in any direction except directly downward. Perspective views are usually “artist’s renditions” rather than exact scaled drawings, because of the difficulty in accurately presenting scaled “perspectives”. Thus, a perspective is more like an artistic impression of the earth.