Cartography & Map Symbols Guide — A Complete Guide to Map Symbols Used in Geography, Navigation, GIS, Hiking, Travel Maps, and Modern Cartographic Design

Map symbols visually represent physical terrain, landmarks, boundaries, navigation routes, public services, natural features, and human-made structures.

This guide covers standard cartographic symbols, topographic markings, transportation icons, hazard signs, and digital map icons.

All symbols are Unicode-friendly or ASCII-formatted where possible.

1. Basic Map Symbols（基础地图符号）

North Arrow（北向箭头）

• ↑ N
• 🧭

Indicates map orientation.

Scale Bar（比例尺）

```

|———| 1 km

```

Legend（图例）

Visual key explaining map symbols.

2. Terrain & Landform Symbols（地形符号）

Mountains / Peaks

• ▲ Mountain
• ⛰️ Mountain emoji
• ⛰ Range marking

Hills / Elevation

• ⛰ (general)
• Contour lines:

```

────

－－－－

```

Valleys

V-shaped contour pattern

Cliffs

||| steep face

Depressions

⟱

3. Water Features（水体符号）

Rivers

• 〰 Water flow
• ≈≈ River lines

Lakes / Ponds

◯ or irregular shape with blue fill

Ocean / Sea

• 🌊
• ~~~~

Swamps / Marshes

≋≋≋

Waterfalls

↧

4. Vegetation & Land Cover（植被与土地覆盖）

Forest

🌲🌲🌲

▲▲▲ (tree clusters)

Single Tree

🌳

Grassland

"''''"

Desert

• 🏜
• ··· dunes

Agricultural Fields

▒▒▒ (hachures)

5. Roads & Transportation（道路与交通符号）

Roads

• — minor road
• ═ major road
• ≡ highway

Railway

```

═╬═

====

```

Airport

• ✈
• 🛫

Bus / Transit

🚌

Harbor / Port

⚓

Bridges

≍

Tunnels

() curved hatch

6. Urban Features（城市与人造结构）

Buildings

• ■ Square block
• 🏢 Office building
• 🏠 House

Schools

🎓 or SCH

Hospitals

• H (standard)
• ⛨ (medical)

Police

⛦ or POL

Post Office

✉

Industrial Zone

⚙

7. Boundaries & Administrative Lines（边界与行政线）

Country Borders

— — — — dashed line

State / Province Borders

······ dotted line

City Limits

-.-.-.-

Protected Areas

🛡

8. Hiking & Outdoor Navigation（户外 / 徒步地图符号）

Trail / Footpath

• ···· dotted
• -- simple path

Campsite

⛺

Campfire

🔥

Lookout / Viewpoint

• 👁
• ▲ viewpoint

Picnic Area

🍽

Water Source

💧

Shelter

🏚 or hut icon

9. Hazard Signs（危险与警告符号）

Rockfall

⛰⚠

Flood Zone

🌊⚠

Avalanche

❄⚠

Steep Slope

///

Wildlife / Animals

• 🐻 bear
• 🦌 deer

10. Weather Icons for Maps（天气图标）

• ☀️ Sunny
• ☁️ Cloudy
• 🌧 Rain
• 🌨 Snow
• ⛈ Thunderstorm
• 🌪 Tornado
• 🌫 Fog

These appear in travel maps, online weather overlays, and GIS layers.

11. GIS & Digital Map Symbols（GIS 符号）

Point Features

• ● Point
• ○ Hollow point
• ⬤ Filled marker
• 📍 Pin icon

Lines

• ──── road
• ≈≈≈ river
• ..... boundary

Areas / Polygons

• ▧ forest
• ▒▒ agriculture
• ░░ open land

Heatmap / Data Layers

• ⬡ hexagonal bin
• ⬢ density mapping

Digital Indicators

• 📡 GPS
• 🧭 Compass
• 📶 Signal strength

12. Map Symbols for Travelers（适合旅游者的符号）

Facilities

• 🚻 Restroom
• 🍔 Restaurant
• 🏨 Hotel
• ⛽ Gas station
• 🛒 Store
• 🏖 Beach

Activities

• ⛷ Skiing
• 🏊 Swimming
• 🚴‍♂️ Cycling

Cultural Sites

• 🏛 Museum
• ⛩ Shrine
• 🕌 Mosque
• ⛪ Church

13. ASCII Map Symbols（常用于文本地图）

Mountains

```

/\ /\ /\

```

Forest

```

^^ ^^ ^^

```

Water

```

~~~~

```

Road

```

----

```

Buildings

```

[ ]

```

14. Rendering Guidelines（符号显示差异）

iOS / Android

• Emoji-rich, ideal for travel/modern maps
• Some classical cartographic symbols replaced by colorful icons

Windows / macOS

• Better for monochrome GIS map icons
• "Box drawing" symbols render consistently

Browsers

• Chrome / Safari handle emoji layering best
• GIS web apps rely heavily on SVG icons

Summary

Map symbols form the visual language of geography, navigation, and spatial storytelling.

From mountains, rivers, and forests to roads, buildings, boundaries, and hazard signs, each symbol helps readers interpret terrain and human environments quickly and accurately.

This guide provides a complete reference for traditional cartography, GIS notation, outdoor maps, and modern travel icons — ideal for students, hikers, designers, developers, and map creators.

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Related Symbol Guides

* [**Weather Symbols**](/blog/weather-symbols) - Meteorological icons for maps.

* [**Arrow Symbols**](/blog/arrow-symbols-guide) - Directional indicators.

* [**Aesthetic Symbols**](/blog/aesthetic-symbols-guide) - Decorative symbols.