Find out what large and small scale mean on maps

An introduction to the various scales used in Ordnance Survey mapping and how to understand them.

This video explains the different terms / names used to describe Ordnance Survey products such as 1:50 000 scale colour raster and 1:25 000 scale colour raster. It also introduces you to the terms large and small scale.

To determine whether the scale of a map, the rule of thumb is the larger the number on the right hand side, the less detailed the map will be. For example a 1:250 000 scale map will show less detail then a 1:1250 scale map.

The most detailed Ordnance Survey product is OS MasterMap, which is 1:1250 scale and the smallest scale Ordnance Survey map is Miniscale at 1:1 000 000.

Do you want to understand OS mapping scales? Here is our introduction with OS mapping examples.

The video provides an introduction on how the different types of scale can be used for different purposes. For example, if you want a map of a county, then 1:250 000 scale will be useful. A map to show a housing estate should be at least 1:10 000 or 1:1250 scale.

[AnInterestedObserver]

Again, far too quick, not enough time to take in what is being shown. Your narrative is misleading, it makes the viewer think 'How do you get 1:1, 000, 000 to mean that 8 cm shows 80km? and shouldn't 1 cm = 1 km at that scale? Doesn't a scale of 1:1, 000, 000 means that anything on the map that is 1 'unit' in length represents something that is one million 'units' in length. Your video makes no sense and therefore how can your maps make any sense? - Until you watch it several times and then realise that you say that you have used boxes with 8 cm sides. Why not 10 cm sides? Why confuse things? Why not explain clearly what you mean. It's too fast and badly constructed.