Scale explained
Scale on a map determines how much data will be displayed.
On the SmartMap order form, there is an option 'scale (optional)'.
The following are examples of A3 maps where a scale has not been selected on the order form (Note: while these examples are for A3 size, property sales maps are also available in A4 and A2 sizes, and all others are also available in A1 and A0 sizes.)
- Suburban avg 700 sqm (PDF, 30K)*
- Surburban—semi-rural 1 ha (PDF, 36K)*
- Semi-rural 6 ha (PDF, 66K)*
- Small rural 40 ha (PDF, 32K)*
- Rural 100 ha (PDF, 28K)*
- Large rural (PDF, 44K)*
Map scales can be confusing because it is sometimes difficult to relate the distance on a map to a real distance on the earth. For instance, a map scale of 1:25 000 tells us that 1 unit of measurement represents 25,000 of the same units on the earth's surface.
People in the mapping business often refer to maps as either large- or small-scale maps. In simple terms, a large-scale map shows a small area with a large amount of detail, where a small-scale map shows a large area with a small amount of detail. The following PDFs display a highlighted parcel in a large-scale map through to a small-scale map over a suburban area.
| Large scale | 1:500 (PDF, 20K)* |
| 1:5000 (PDF, 98K)* | |
| 1:10 000 (PDF, 288K)* | |
| Small scale | 1:25 000 (PDF, 384K)* |
For more information:
Email the department Enquiries
Telephone: 13 13 04
* Requires Acrobat Reader
Last updated: 29 April 2008