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Symbols used in cartography and map legends.
All 440symbols recorded in this context, A–Z.
A marked opening driven horizontally into a hillside.
A circle with runway strokes across it.
A ring of dots around a point.
A hatched boundary round a restricted volume.
A triangle marking a named position.
A rotor shape attached to a unit icon.
A dot beneath an arc inside a unit frame.
A parachute canopy attached to a unit icon.
Fine sorted material marking river deposits.
A patterned mid-level layer of rounded cloudlets.
A labelled point where ammunition is issued.
A wave shape attached to a unit icon.
An anchor mark showing where a vessel may anchor.
A line with regular teeth marking an excavated obstacle.
A side elevation showing altitudes along a final approach.
A map fill marking cultivated ground.
A fixed point all measurements refer to.
A marked point locating an object.
Short strokes showing a cut edge.
A bounded area of excavation.
Four X marks above a unit frame, marking a field army.
Five X marks above a unit frame, marking an army group.
A filled dot inside a unit frame.
An enclosed area where a force gathers before an operation.
A pair of wings inside a unit frame.
A broad hollow arrow showing a route of movement.
Two angles fixing a direction from where you stand.
Angular marks marking a fine-grained lava.
Colour standing for depth.
Two vertical bars above a unit frame, marking a battalion.
A Greek letter with a constellation's genitive name.
Wind force 0 to 12, described by what it does rather than measured.
A numbered metal band on a bird's leg.
A domed metal bolt set into masonry.
A marked point recording where the ground was drilled.
An H across a boundary showing shared responsibility.
A line with echelon marks dividing areas of responsibility.
A fixed stone or marker defining a legal boundary.
A maker's name impressed into a brick's recess.
A single X above a unit frame, marking a brigade.
A dashed line marking a right of way for vehicles.
A T-shaped mark on a plan showing who maintains a boundary.
A number identifying a defined land parcel.
A stacked pile of stones marking a route, a summit or a place.
A closed line with hachures marking a collapsed crater.
Letters after a year saying which era it counts from.
A triangle representing a tent, marking a camping site on a map.
A labelled point where casualties are gathered for evacuation.
Two great circles drawn across a star chart.
A running distance measured along a route.
A numbered circle marking a control point on a route.
A retort shape inside a unit frame.
A branching incised channel figure.
A tiered tower in profile.
Clustered closed depressions.
Stacked contour-following hatches.
A crenellated line with towers.
The national mapping symbol vocabulary.
Fine curved streaks marking high ice cloud.
A strike line with a tick, for a plane of splitting.
A line with hatching or a rock-face texture on the falling side.
A mark showing where a pitch ends.
A small mark showing fixed protection.
A mark naming the hardest section.
A line traced up a photograph or drawing.
How much of the station circle is filled — eighths of the sky.
A cast iron post bearing the City of London arms.
A solid band marking a coal seam.
A flag staff attached to a unit frame.
A single vertical bar above a unit frame, marking a company.
A star-like figure of radiating points marking the cardinal directions on a map or chart.
A dotted fault line beneath younger cover.
Rounded pebble shapes marking a conglomerate unit.
Three letters standing for one of eighty-eight constellations.
A number identifying one deposit, cut or structure.
The stated height difference between adjacent contour lines.
A closed line joining points of equal height, showing the shape of the land.
A pictorial description sheet.
Tinted bands and figures giving a volume's ceiling and floor.
The printed key explaining a map's symbols.
A line marking air streams meeting and rising.
A woodland fill marking cut-and-regrown stems.
Three X marks above a unit frame, marking a corps.
A lettered line marking where a section is drawn.
Names and axis descriptions classifying a crystal's symmetry.
A heaped cloud drawn with a spreading anvil top.
A domed shape on a flat base, marking heaped fair-weather cloud.
A horizontal bar above a broad arrow, chiselled into stone.
A celestial coordinate measured in degrees north or south.
A labelled point where contamination is removed.
A contour with inward ticks, marking ground that falls.
A narrow solid arrow showing a specific line of attack.
Two X marks above a unit frame, marking a division.
A fine line marking a cut watercourse.
Commas standing for drops too small to be rain.
A labelled area where parachuted troops or stores land.
An elongated oval marking an ice-moulded hill.
An underlined number showing ground exposed at low water.
Cuts in an animal's ear encoding an owner or a number.
A number on a logarithmic scale, subscripted by method.
Codes naming an eclipse's type, date and magnitude.
An enclosed area where fires are concentrated on an enemy.
A shape like a squared letter E inside a unit frame.
A winding ridge marking a subglacial stream bed.
A heavy line with ticks or arrows showing which side moved.
A yellow plate marked H with two numbers.
A cast metal plate with a serial number, set into a wall.
Three stacked horizontal lines marking visibility below a kilometre.
An arrowed line showing where rock has been bent.
A strike line with a tick, for a metamorphic fabric.
A finger post naming a right.
Paint bands and dots marking trees for felling or retention.
Blue for cold, red for warm, purple for occluded — where colour is available.
A deeply founded pillar anchoring the levelling network.
A worded warning tied to a defined Beaufort force.
A plan line showing a boundary's approximate position.
A code that shares a prefix with its neighbours.
Colours standing for the age of the rock beneath.
Letters printed on a map naming the rock's age.
A line marking scratches cut by moving ice.
Banded lines marking a coarsely foliated rock.
A stable ground mark used for satellite positioning.
Crosses and dashes marking a coarse igneous rock.
The lines of latitude and longitude.
A contour of gravitational variation.
The ruled squares over a map, from which a position is quoted as a grid reference.
A triangle with a dot, marking ice pellets from a storm.
A number for how cold it gets.
A diagram of stratigraphic relationships in an excavation.
A boxed context number in a diagram.
A line stating which context is earlier.
An angular infinity-like mark for suspended dry particles.
A line of small marks along a field boundary.
A capital H or L at the middle of a set of closed isobars.
A cross in a circle marking undipped strata.
Colour standing for height.
A buoy whose two cones say which side holds safe water.
A channel-side buoy whose colour depends on the region.
Brazil's national map vocabulary.
Colombia's map and cadastral legend.
A long thin country's map legend.
French national mapping's distinct symbol and colour choices.
A thickened contour line carrying its height figure.
Mexico's national map vocabulary.
A dashed fault line whose existence is deduced.
A dotted qualifier for a faint feature.
A hatched qualifier for a covered feature.
A broken outline qualifying a feature.
A grid of eight columns describing each control.
A solid triangle standing for a rock.
Three solid triangles together.
An open outline in wooded ground.
A line with teeth on the lower side.
A hollow shape opening upward.
A small solid mound shape.
A square standing for a built feature.
Short horizontal strokes in rows.
Two lines meeting at a point.
A wave form standing for water.
The column qualifying the feature's state.
The column giving a feature's size in metres.
The column naming what the control is on.
The column saying where on the feature the flag hangs.
The column for refreshment, first aid or a crossing.
The column distinguishing one feature from its twins.
A mark placing the flag at the base.
A quadrant mark giving a compass side.
Year, month and day in fixed order, largest unit first.
A year, a W and a week number.
A dashed line joining points of equal magnetic variation.
A black and red buoy with two black balls.
Isotherm, isohyet, contour — lines joining equal values of anything.
A stationary front line across the archipelago.
A dated line sweeping up the archipelago.
A jointed stem with leaves at its head.
A manji, a swastika-form hooked cross, on the map.
A filled outline standing for a structure.
A small cross-topped upright on a base.
A small circle inside a larger one.
A line carrying inward-pointing teeth.
A thin line joining points of equal height.
A vertical stroke above a horizontal bar.
A closed toothed ring around a depression.
An anchor-derived device marking a customs post.
A line with teeth pointing into the excavation.
A thickened bar across a watercourse.
Two short upright strokes in a row.
A cogwheel in outline.
A stylised fire hook used by Edo firefighters.
Crossed fish device marking a fishery harbour.
A small open circle marking a public office.
A low arched outline over a base line.
The school character device enclosed in a circle.
An open lattice tower in elevation.
A three-pointed device marking a designated site.
A rounded shape enclosing a cross.
A flattened oval with three rising wisps of steam.
An irregular hatched area of solidified flow.
A double line following a riverbank.
A small square with a central point.
An open book seen from the side.
A dot with rays radiating in all directions.
Short horizontal strokes in broken rows.
A wind vane device inside a circle.
A pick and hammer crossed at the head.
An upright slab on a base.
A branching stroke marking mulberry cultivation.
A lighter dashed line with a single dot.
A classical building front with a pediment.
A route number set in a rounded shield.
A monument slab carrying a horizontal band.
A building outline enclosing a walking stick.
A fanned crown over a bare stem.
A crossed pair of truncheons inside a circle.
A truncheon device set inside a circle.
An anchor device marking a designated harbour.
The katakana テ in a circle.
A toothed wheel joined to a circuit line.
A heavy dashed line with paired dots.
A cross within a square outline.
Crossed picks marking stone extraction.
A mast with radiating strokes at its head.
A filled rectangle set on the track line.
A hatched patch drawn offshore.
Two short strokes representing rice seedlings.
The kanji 文 for writing or letters.
Two crossed strokes above a horizontal base.
A torii gate: two uprights under two horizontal beams.
An abacus bead frame reduced to two strokes.
Three dots arranged in a triangle.
Stipple crossed by broken water lines.
A circle enclosing a smaller filled disc.
A light track line drawn within a road.
A small triangle with a central point.
A route line broken between two portal ticks.
The lightest dashed administrative line.
A plain rectangle with a single interior bar.
A point mark where water is drawn off.
A short barred line across a stream.
A mast carrying three angled blades.
A line broken by regular pylon ticks.
A survey point mark carrying an antenna stroke.
A track line carried on paired supports.
A line with teeth pointing away from the crest.
A derrick outline over a wellhead point.
A circle with a small stalk, an apple in outline.
A broken track line beneath the surface.
A pair of narrow leaves rising from a point.
A rounded canopy above a short trunk.
A stepped outline of a castle's stone base.
A low spreading canopy without a trunk.
A pointed canopy above a short trunk.
A stippled patch marking permanent snow.
An evenly stippled area.
Short scattered upright ticks.
A T with a bar for post.
Nested circles around a typhoon centre.
The station and front notation of the Japanese chart.
An empty circle.
A circle with a bar through it.
A circle with a small filled centre.
A circle filled with a hatched band.
A circle filled with a cross-hatch.
A broad banded arrow showing a fast upper-level current.
A short line marking a fracture with no displacement.
A continuous count of days used in astronomy.
A toothed line following the ground.
A mounded semicircle on a base.
Stippling between two shorelines.
A plate naming a road and a side.
The national mapping symbol vocabulary.
A labelled area where helicopters set down.
An E-shaped pattern reading height to a hundredth.
An abbreviation giving a light's rhythm, colour and period.
A brick-like pattern marking a limestone unit.
An arrow marking a linear fabric and its plunge.
A design burned or frozen into hide, read by a fixed grammar.
A numbered tag identifying an individual animal.
Shaded discs showing how much of the moon is lit.
Three arrows showing grid, true and magnetic north.
A shape like a squared letter M inside a unit frame.
A teardrop shape with a circular hole, marking a location on a digital map.
Defined words from good to fog for how far can be seen.
Short horizontal tufts marking waterlogged ground.
Crossed lines with an oval inside a unit frame.
An upright cross inside a unit frame.
An M and a number naming a deep-sky object.
A colour standing for a line.
A picture for every station.
A grid reference you can say out loud.
Crossed pistols or the letters MP inside a unit frame.
A date recording when work stopped.
A line where a seam meets the surface.
A hatched area of extracted ground.
A crossed circle marking a vertical shaft.
Painted or fixed points recording position underground.
A row of filled dots marking laid mines.
A marked point where a mineral has been found.
A number from one to ten ranking scratch resistance.
A fold trace marking a single step in level strata.
A ridged line marking glacially deposited debris.
A single wheel beneath a unit icon.
A small house on a contour map.
A small peak shape attached to a unit icon.
Dashes without lamination marking a mudstone unit.
A ruled line of a rectangular coordinate system.
A stylised acorn marking a designated National Trail in England and Wales.
An acorn on a post.
An enclosed area within which fires are prohibited.
A simple arrow with an N, stating which way is north on a map.
An enclosed area labelled with an objective name.
A circle with a cross above it marking an observation point.
A tower shape with heights above ground and above sea level.
A perpendicular distance from a survey line.
A hachured outline marking a surface working.
Regularly spaced tree dots marking cultivated planting.
A coloured dashed line on a British map, marking a class of right of way.
A thin circle marking a control point's centre.
A paired mark showing where to cross.
Two concentric circles marking the finish.
Graded green shading showing how slow the vegetation is.
A triangle marking the course start.
Hatched or cross-hatched area a competitor may not enter.
An anticline trace with both arrows pointing one way.
A dip symbol with a hooked tick, marking inverted strata.
A figure giving the measured area of a parcel.
A map fill marking grazing land.
A struck device registered on a guild touchplate.
A labelled line coordinating movement across a map.
A shell pointing the way.
Three dots above a unit frame, marking a platoon.
A location as a short string.
A painted or impressed device on the underside of a piece.
A vessel drawn half in section and half in elevation.
Dots for rain, stars for snow, triangles for hail — and doubling means heavier.
A tiny line drawing of how pressure has moved over three hours.
A crossbar on posts carrying a line and a level.
A height measuring how far a summit rises above its saddle.
A long-dashed line marking a right of way for horses.
Names and codes identifying a topographic sheet and its neighbours.
A hatched or textured area marking extraction.
A colour ramp showing how strongly rain reflects radar.
A date with an error, a laboratory code and a calibration marker.
Filled dots whose number and grouping give rain's intensity and continuity.
Blue through red: how hard it is raining, not what kind of weather it is.
Isobars, fronts, pressure centres and station circles, in one picture.
A single diagonal line inside a unit frame.
A height calculated against a stated datum.
A labelled point where vehicles take on fuel.
Three vertical bars above a unit frame, marking a regiment.
A labelled point where a march formally ends.
Light from the north-west.
An enclosed area where fires need prior coordination.
A fault line marking an upthrown hanging wall.
Lines radiating across a sea chart.
A zigzag or marked line along an axis of high pressure.
A celestial coordinate measured in hours rather than degrees.
A graduated board or post showing water level.
Repeating patterns standing for rock type in a section.
A red and white striped buoy with a single red ball.
An even scatter of dots marking a sandstone unit.
A ruled bar in alternating blocks, showing ground distance on a map.
A printed ratio saying how much the map reduces the ground.
Wavy parallel lines marking a foliated metamorphic rock.
Small letters saying what the bottom is made of.
Hachures, levels and a datum line recording a vertical face.
Two dots above a unit frame, marking a section.
A shaded wave against two-way time.
A driven peg marking a designed position on the ground.
Fine horizontal lines marking a shale unit.
Notches and holes cut in a pattern into an animal's ears.
A solid triangle beneath a precipitation mark.
A clock keyed to the stars rather than to the sun.
Paired rails and a T-shaped staff controlling a gradient.
A diagonal line with a loop, inside a unit frame.
A small hachured depression in soluble rock.
A circle shaded in eighths to show how much sky is cloudy.
Six-pointed asterisks whose number gives the snowfall's intensity.
A letter marking a mineral topsoil.
A letter marking a subsoil of accumulation.
A letter marking little-altered parent material.
Capital letters naming layers down a soil profile.
A letter marking an organic layer.
A triangle plotting three particle fractions.
An arrowhead shape inside a unit frame.
A yellow buoy with a yellow cross topmark.
An outline with outward hachures marking waste ground.
A dot with a number giving an exact elevation.
A small circle with a tail, marking emerging groundwater.
A single dot above a unit frame, marking a squad.
Dots of graded size standing for brightness.
A labelled point where a march formally begins.
A circle surrounded by numbers, each position meaning a fixed thing.
Triangles on one side, semicircles on the other, pointing opposite ways.
A number that runs backwards, smaller meaning brighter.
A flat horizontal layer, the lowest and dullest cloud.
A long line with a short tick and a number, giving a bed's attitude.
A fault line with paired arrows showing lateral movement.
A closed trace with arrows pointing inward all round.
A closed trace with arrows pointing outward all round.
A shape like a squared letter S inside a unit frame.
A brass disc set in stone.
A shaded relief rendering of rock faces on Alpine maps.
Five-figure groups encoding a whole observation for transmission.
Raised lines, textures and braille on a map to be read by hand.
A local reference height set for one job.
A skewed thermodynamic diagram that tells a forecaster whether air will rise.
A position as three words.
A capital R with a hooked tail and an arrowhead.
Times and heights of high and low water at a named port.
Mixed angular and rounded clasts with no sorting.
A Z or a signed offset fixing a time to a zone.
A gate of two uprights and two crossbars, marking the entrance to a shrine.
Broad arrows and a bounded zone dividing shipping lanes.
A painted rectangle on a tree or rock, marking a route and its turns.
Bus rapid transit signed like a metro.
A wheel shape inside a unit frame.
A numbered ground mark in a survey traverse.
A small square marking an exploratory excavation.
A small triangle with a central dot, marking a surveyed height and position.
Numbered intensity scales that differ between ocean basins.
A circle with two curved tails, spiralling the way the storm does.
A bold line with no triangles: a pressure feature without a front.
A wavy line marking missing time in a rock sequence.
A post above a buried line.
Metres east and north of a false origin.
Letters assigned in an order almost nobody can guess.
A strike line with ticks both sides, marking upright strata.
A radiating fan of lines on a map, marking a view and the direction of it.
A number from zero to eight rating an eruption's size.
A small marked circle where lava reached the surface.
A hexagon with a compass rose marking a radio navigation aid.
A graded colour scale from yellow to red for expected impact.
Two curves swapping order to flag a zone.
A vertical strip carrying one measurement.
An arrow showing wind direction on a public forecast map.
A line with regular cross ticks marking barbed wire.
A hull or crossed-mast mark showing a sunken vessel.
A small triangle or hut outline marking a hostel on a walking map.
A colour that is a legal permission.