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A landmark is a recognizable [1] natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or features that have become local or national symbols.
In Old English, the word landmearc (from land + mearc (mark)) was used to describe a boundary marker, an "object set up to mark the boundaries of a kingdom, estate, etc." [2] Starting around 1560, this interpretation of "landmark" was replaced by a more general one. A landmark became a "conspicuous object in a landscape".
A landmark literally meant a geographic feature used by explorers and others to find their way back to their departure point, or through an area. [3] For example, Table Mountain near Cape Town, South Africa, was used as a landmark to help sailors navigate around the southern tip of Africa during the Age of Exploration. Artificial structures are also sometimes built to assist sailors in navigation. The Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Colossus of Rhodes are ancient structures built to lead ships to the port. In modern usage, a landmark includes anything that is easily recognizable, such as a monument, building, or other structure. In American English it is the main term used to designate places that might be of interest to tourists, due to notable physical features or historical significance. Landmarks in the British English sense are often used for casual navigation, such as giving directions. This is done in American English as well.[ citation needed ]
In urban studies as well as in geography, a landmark is furthermore defined as an external point of reference that helps orientation in a familiar or unfamiliar environment. [4] Landmarks are often used in verbal route instructions ("Turn left at the big church and then right over the bridge.")
Landmarks are usually classified as either natural landmarks or human-made landmarks, both are originally used to support navigation on finding directions. A variant is a seamark or daymark , a structure usually built intentionally to aid sailors navigating featureless coasts.
Natural landmarks can be characteristic features, such as mountains or plateaus. Examples of natural landmarks are Mount Everest in the Himalayas, Table Mountain in South Africa, Mount Ararat in Turkey, Uluru in Australia, Mount Fuji in Japan and the Grand Canyon in the United States. Trees might also serve as local landmarks, such as jubilee oaks or conifers. Some landmark trees may be named, such as Queen's Oak, Hanging Oak and Centennial Tree. Bases of fallen trees, known in this context as rootstocks, are used as navigational aids on high-resolution maps and in the sport of orienteering. [5] Because most woods have many fallen trees, generally only very large rootstocks are mapped.
In the modern sense, landmarks are usually referred to as monuments or prominent distinctive buildings, used as the symbol of a certain area, city, or nation. Some examples are Tokyo Tower in Tokyo, the White House in Washington, D.C., the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building in New York City, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, the Colosseum in Rome, Big Ben in London, the Tsūtenkaku in Osaka, the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Great Pyramid in Giza, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Statue of Unity in Narmada, Bratislava Castle in Bratislava, Helsinki Cathedral in Helsinki, the Space Needle in Seattle, the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Château Frontenac in Quebec (city), Place Stanislas in Nancy, the CN Tower in Toronto, the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, the Atomium in Brussels, Gateway Arch in St Louis, and the Moai in Easter Island. Church spires and mosque minarets are often very tall and visible from many miles around and thus often serve as built landmarks. Also town hall towers and belfries often have a landmark character.
A cairn is a human-made pile of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn.
Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points. Originally a training exercise in land navigation for military officers, orienteering has developed many variations. Among these, the oldest and the most popular is foot orienteering. For the purposes of this article, foot orienteering serves as a point of departure for discussion of all other variations, but almost any sport that involves racing against a clock and requires navigation with a map is a type of orienteering.
A buoy is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.
A waypoint is a point or place on a route or line of travel, a stopping point, an intermediate point, or point at which course is changed, the first use of the term tracing to 1880. In modern terms, it most often refers to coordinates which specify one's position on the globe at the end of each "leg" (stage) of an air flight or sea passage, the generation and checking of which are generally done computationally.
Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or aircraft with respect to a desired course or location. Horizontal fixes of position from known reference points may be obtained by sight or by radar. Vertical position may be obtained by depth sounder to determine depth of the water body below a vessel or by altimeter to determine an aircraft's altitude, from which its distance above the ground can be deduced. Piloting a vessel is usually practiced close to shore or on inland waterways. Pilotage of an aircraft is practiced under visual meteorological conditions for flight.
A sea mark, also seamark and navigation mark, is a form of aid to navigation and pilotage that identifies the approximate position of a maritime channel, hazard, or administrative area to allow boats, ships, and seaplanes to navigate safely.
Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail.
In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the axis mundi is the axis of rotation of the planetary spheres within the classical geocentric model of the cosmos.
A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel, an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom or cherry laurel. It is worn as a chaplet around the head, or as a garland around the neck.
Diver navigation, termed "underwater navigation" by scuba divers, is a set of techniques—including observing natural features, the use of a compass, and surface observations—that divers use to navigate underwater. Free-divers do not spend enough time underwater for navigation to be important, and surface supplied divers are limited in the distance they can travel by the length of their umbilicals and are usually directed from the surface control point. On those occasions when they need to navigate they can use the same methods used by scuba divers.
A daymark is a navigational aid for sailors and pilots, distinctively marked to maximize its visibility in daylight.
A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several other types of named border markers, known as boundary trees, pillars, monuments, obelisks, and corners. Border markers can also be markers through which a border line runs in a straight line to determine that border. They can also be the markers from which a border marker has been fixed.
Aviation obstruction lighting is used to enhance the visibility of structures or fixed obstacles which may conflict with the safe navigation of aircraft. Obstruction lighting is commonly installed on towers, buildings, and even fences located in areas where aircraft may be operating at low altitudes. In certain areas, some aviation regulators mandate the installation, operation, color, and/or status notification of obstruction lighting. For maximum visibility and collision-avoidance, these lighting systems commonly employ one or more high-intensity strobe or LED devices which can be seen by pilots from many miles away from the obstruction.
Mounted orienteering is the practice of orienteering while riding a horse or other riding animal.
Ski orienteering (SkiO) is a cross-country skiing endurance winter racing sport and one of the four orienteering disciplines recognized by the IOF. A successful ski orienteer combines high physical endurance, strength and excellent technical skiing skills with the ability to navigate and make the best route choices while skiing at a high speed.
An orienteering map is a map specially prepared for use in orienteering events. It is a large-scale topographic map with extra markings to help the participant navigate through the course.
A control point is a marked waypoint used in orienteering and related sports such as rogaining and adventure racing. It is located in the competition area; marked both on an orienteering map and in the terrain, and described on a control description sheet. The control point must be identifiable on the map and on the ground. A control point has three components: a high visibility item, known as a flag or kite; an identifier, known as a control code; and a recording mechanism for contestants to record proof that they visited the control point. The control point is usually temporary, except on a permanent orienteering course.
Mountain bike orienteering is an orienteering endurance racing sport on a mountain bike where navigation is done along trails and tracks. Compared with foot orienteering, competitors usually are not permitted to leave the trail and track network. Navigation tactics are similar to ski-orienteering, where the major focus is route choice while navigating. The main difference compared to ski-orienteering is that navigation is done at a higher pace, because the bike can reach higher speeds. As the biker reaches higher speeds, map reading becomes more challenging.
This glossary of geography terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in geography and related fields, including Earth science, oceanography, cartography, and human geography, as well as those describing spatial dimension, topographical features, natural resources, and the collection, analysis, and visualization of geographic data. It is split across two articles:
A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced.
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