A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
The landmark can be a recognizable mountain, tree or building that people recognise and associate with a particular place or event. This can be a natural or man-made feature that attracts interest and draws tourists to the area.
Definition
A landmark is a distinctive identifying feature of a landscape. It can be a fixed marker, such as a concrete block, that indicates a boundary line; it may also be an event marking an important stage of development or a turning point in history.
In the past, the landmark could be a specific mountain or tree that served as a guide for navigation. Today, landmarks are often other structures, such as buildings or statues that help people find their way around the world or to a particular place.
A landmark is also a building or other structure that has been declared of historical importance, often given a special status (landmark designation), ordaining its preservation. Often, landmarks have become local or national symbols.
Purpose
Landmarks programmatically identify sections of a page to assist assistive technologies, such as screen readers and VoiceOver, navigate easily to these regions. Learn more about landmarks in Deque University’s HTML 5 and ARIA Landmarks posts.
A landmark is a recognizable[1] natural or artificial feature used in navigation, often a prominent building or other distinctive structure. For example, Table Mountain near Cape Town in South Africa served as a landmark to sailors sailing around the southern tip of Africa during the Age of Exploration.
Landmarks are not only physical features, but historical and cultural markers that highlight significant events in a community or country. They function to generate interest in a place and can stimulate tourism. They also add character and personality to a place.
Significance
A landmark is a prominent identifying feature in a landscape. It may be a natural feature or a man-made structure such as a tower, bridge or monument.
Historically, a landmark was one of the fixed objects used to mark the boundaries of a kingdom or estate. In modern times, a landmark is often considered to be the most prominent or distinctive building or structure of a city, country or region.
It is also the term given to a landmark-like structure, such as a tower or bridge, that has been designated for preservation by a local or national government.
The significance of a landmark can be determined by the number of people who notice it, its impact on local and national culture or its ability to convey information about history and prehistory (archaeological sites). A landmark is also considered to be a significant event, juncture, or achievement in the history of a nation or a region.
Functions
Landmarks are a type of environmental object that can be used to provide accurate positional information during wayfinding. These environmental objects are categorized as proximal landmarks, which serve as local environmental cues, and beacon cues, which are always exclusively associated with a single goal location (Lynch 1960).
A key point to note is that these two types of landmarks can have different functions in an environment depending on the wayfinding task. In general, proximal landmarks are used as local environmental cues that provide accurate route information and help people identify specific locations along the path.
However, it has been shown that global landmarks can also have a major impact on the effectiveness of wayfinding. This is because they are a more reliable source of accurate positional information for a particular goal location than proximal landmarks.