When you look at a picture you hold it the right way up, that is, so that you see the object it represents as you would see it in every day life. If you hold it any other way, you may be able to recognize what it is, but you will find it difficult to understand it properly.

It is just the same with a map, but right way up with a map does not necessarily mean that north must be at the top and the lettering the right way up. It means that what is in front of you on the ground must be in front of your position on the map; what is to the right of you on the ground must be to the right of your position on the map, and what is to the left of you on the ground must be to the left of your position on the map.

In other words, the picture of the ground, that is the map, must he made to correspond with the ground as you look at it. The map is then orientated.

Orientating the map makes it easy to relate the map to the ground because every direction and distance on the map corresponds to the direction and distance it represents on the ground. It in very simple to orientate the map since, if one direction on the map is made to be the same as its counterpart on the ground, all other directions will similarly be the same.

When the map is orientated, the lettering will often not he the right way up. Do not let that disturb you. With a little practice it is not difficult to read names sideways or upside down, it is much easier than trying to do map reading without orientating the map.