MAP COMMENTARY AND DESCRIPTION OF MAP FEATURES.

I. PHYSICAL FEATURES

A. RELIEF CHARACTERISTICS; Commenting on the relief of either a portion

of a map or the entire map requires candidates to describe using
illustrations/sketches the following;
1. Nature of slope (observed from the appearance of contours on maps)
- Steep slopes on topographic maps are often represented using contours
close to each other depicting highland relief features eg mountains, V-
shaped valleys, plateaux, hills, col and saddle, ridge, escarpments, spurs
etc
- Gentle slopes are often represented using contours widely spaced from
each other depicting lowland reliefs eg flood and flat plains(arable
lands) with even slopes, depressions or basins etc
2. Altitude. This refers to the heights of reliefs above sea level.
- Relief range or variations ie lowest and highest contour values eg relief
heights range from 60m to 1340m
- Calculate the average height ie HCV+LCV/2 eg 60m+1340m/2
- Keenly observe if there are spot heights and note
3. Landforms or relief features of map portion (should be accompanied with
sketches)
- Location and exact portion covered by landform
- Direction of inclination of slopes and water bodies/valleys
- State if slopes are dissected by rivers and streams

B. COASTAL RELIEF COMPARISMS; Commenting or describing coastal

reliefs (area covered by sea). Description requires sketches in specific areas
1. State the direction of coast using cardinals eg S to N, ENE to SW, NW to E...
and if the coast(s) is intended ie winding or fairly straight
2. If the coast is emerged characterized by raised beaches, highlands or cliffs
and capes projecting inland/away from sea eg ……. And submerged if cliffs
project into the sea with marshes or swamps, creaks and mud eg rias,
fiords, estuarine coasts etc
3. Landforms produced by wave actions either erosional or depositional using
sketches where neccessary
- Erosional features include cliffs, capes, bays, stacks and stumps
- Depositional features include beaches, sand spits, bars, tombolo etc

C. DRAINAGE NETWORK ie the distribution and organization of water bodies

within a drainage basin ie minor tributaries, streams, rivers, lakes and seas or
oceans. Description does not necessarily requires a sketches
1. Identify the drainage condition
- Well drained with absence of marshes as seen on key as well as few
tributaries on map usually associated to highland plains
 - Poorly drained with the presence of marshes and numerous streams
flowing across usually associated to lowlands
- The main river draining in that basin and the names of tributaries if
stated on map eg the Atlantic basin of Cameroon is most drained by
River Sanaga
- Direction of flow of main river(s) should be stated using cardinals eg S
to NW observed using the contours or inclination of tributaries to main
river
2. Identify the Drainage Pattern(s) formed by rivers and tributaries using
sketches eg dendretic, trellis, radial, centripetal, parallel, rectangular,
deranged, annular, multi-basinal etc
3. Features and nature of valleys as they flow
- Type and form of valley either narrow(V-shaped at upper or youthful
course) or opened(U-shaped at middle or matured course) or less
wide/opened (lower or old course), dry valley(due to geological xtics ie
rock permeability and porosity)
- Features found along valleys eg ox-bow lake, flood blains, levées,
braided channels(if at a certain point the river divides into several
channels and joins back later), deltas(swampy area at the mouth) etc
- State if there are other water bodies around like lakes,
- Like Crater lakes, dams, reservoirs etc

D. VEGETATION (Distribution of plants on the map) mostly coniferous, non

coniferous, orchards, thickets or gallery forest vegetations in green.
Description requires sketch map
1. Identify the different types of vegetation on map as seen on key eg
coniferous, non coniferous, orchards, mixed wood, savanna, gallery and
mangroves etc
2. Locate the different vegetations using cardinals and state the exact portion
covered by vegetation either in fractions or percentages and their
repartitions
3. Reasons why vegetation is found in these particular areas than others
- Relief differences. Steep slopes prohibits settlement and favour
vegetation growth
- Drainage differences as some vegetations would likely grow under poor
drainage conditions eg mangroves, gallery, thickets and vice versa for
coniferous
- Man’s influence either via agriculture, urbanization, settlement etc
4. Relationship of vegetation to man’s activities ie exploitation of vegetation
resource
II. HUMAN FEATURES

A. SETTLEMENT. Any form of human habitation/constructions/buildings

represented on maps using shaded squares for Built up areas or Towns and
cities/Urban areas and black dots or squares for villages or localities/Rural
areas. Commenting on settlement requires sketches to describe the following;
1. State the type of settlement found on map(distribution) sketches not
required
- Urban or Rural or both and the names of certain settlements from map
evidence
- Identify and state areas on map where construction is either highly
concentrated or sparse using cardinals or grid references and advance
reasons to why some areas have buildings and others not eg relief,
security or defence, presence of water bodies, transport/road network,
building materials eg sand, vegetation, fertile soils etc
2. Settlement site (the actual piece of land on which human beings have
actually constructed on, at, in by observing the contours) and advance
reasons. Sketches required
- Highlands with steep slopes represented by closed contours eg plateau,
mountain, hill, valleys, spurs etc eg settlement of X is on a plateau, in a
valley, at the foot of an escarpment, at a gap/pass site etc
- Lowlands with gentle slopes represented by widely spaced out contours
or areas of no contours (flat lands) eg on an undulating plain, on a
flood plain, in/along a depression etc
3. Settlement situation (settlement in relation to the nearby natural and human
features eg rivers, roads, factory, junctions/carrefours, church, knolls,
valleys etc. Sketch(es) are needed
- State the physical and human features around, near, besides, between
the settlement or use cardinals eg at the NW of the river and NOT in the
settlement
- Outline the importance/functions of these physical and human features
eg rivers for fishing, supply water, for extraction of resources, forests for
fuel wood, valleys for fertile soils etc
4. Settlement Patterns (how houses or settlements are spaced from each other)
- Nucleated/Clustered when houses or dots/squares are highly
concentrated due to insufficiency of features eg water, security.
- Dispersed/Scattered when dots or houses are sparse on maps due to
abundance of features eg fertile soils, roads.
- NB; Linear pattern can be accepted though most considered a form
5. Settlement Forms (the shape or morphology of settlements and
locate)Sketches needed
- Linear form along rivers, streams, roads, coasts, lakes etc
 - Open space or concentric along a central nucleus either a market,
palace etc
- Cruciform or star-like along many routes eg T-junction
- Rectangular or Square - Loose or close knits etc
6. Settlement Functions (activities performed by a settlement)
- Residential with presence of built up areas
- Educational with presence of schools
- Religious with presence of churches, chapels etc
- Touristic with presence of parks, golf courses, camp sites etc
- Communication with presence of roads, rivers, telephone etc
- Administrative with presence of offices, banks, security etc
- Health/Medical with presence of hospitals, pharmacies etc
- Agricultural
- Industrial
- Commercial or Trading
B. COMMUNICATION OR TRANSPORT
Routes (roads, railways, ports, paths etc), telephone, internet transferring
people, goods, ideas etc no sketch required
1. Distribution of routes
- Mention types of roads as observed on map key and on map portion eg
main road, secondary road, A285, footpaths etc
- State where roads are most concentrated and restricted and advance
reasons eg thick forests, swamps, steep slopes etc
- Direction or orientation of the routes using cardinals eg from N to S
- Features along the routes eg embankments, cutting, bridge, junction etc
- State if it meanders/bends and why eg to avoid projections, water
bodies(a negative deviation) or to interconnect settlements( positive
deviation)

C. LANDUSE OR ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

How man exploits the land on which he/she settles to sustain life. No sketch
needed
1. Types of Landuse
- Manufacturing with presence of industrial estates
- Agricultural with presence of farms (fm), plantations, subsistence etc
- Tourism or Recreational with presence of coasts, hotels, beaches, camp
sites, lakes, mountains etc
- Fishing with presence of sea, rivers, lakes etc
- Forestry or Lumbering with presence of vegetations/forests eg
coniferous, mixed, non-coniferous, orchards etc
- Residential with presence of built-up areas, houses/dots
- Mining with presence of quarries, rocks or minerals etc
- Waste or derelict land with presence of mudflats, poor drainage, spoil
heaps, mines etc
2. Importance/relationship of landuse with settlement and reasons why
certain landuses are absent in some particular areas on map