Title: How to Use Map Scales and Grids
Headings: How to Use Map Scales and Grids
How to Use Map Scales and Grids
Understanding map scales and grids is key to making full use of your map
Map Scales
Map Grids
Discovery Series Map Grid
Four-figure grid references
Watch the 3 other videos in this set.

Content: 2755
2855
2754
2854
In order to be a little more precise with your grid references, you can give a 6 figure grid reference as shown below. In the above diagram, we have taken the lower right square from the previous diagram and divided it by 10 in each direction. The pink circle is in the four-figure grid reference square ‘2552, but more accurately it is 2 tenths across and 7 tenths up within that enlarged grid square, therefore the six-figure map reference is ‘252527’. The red circle has a 6 figure grid reference of 257522. Ireland is covered by the National Grid, that is the country is divided into 25 squares from A to Z (the letter i is not used). When you quote the six-figure grid reference you should put the letter of the area you are in before the numbers. For example, the grid reference for Lugnaquillia, without the grid letter would read 032 918, but these numbers appear in every 100km square. The complete grid reference you should give to correctly identify Lugnaquillia would be “T 032 918”. It is important to note that the National Grid reference is not related to longitude and latitude, even though these references are marked on the edges of our maps. Latitude refers to the north-south position of a point and longitude refers to the east-west position.