A topographic map is printed on a flat piece of paper yet it provides a picture of the terrain and manmade features through the use of contour lines, colors, and symbols. For points located between contour lines, you can estimate the elevation by examining the distance to the two closest contours. To make topographic maps easier to read, every fifth contour line is an index contour. Anyone who plans to travel though the backcountry – whether hiking or hunting – should be able to read a topographic map. Here is an easy to follow explanation of how to read contour lines.
Before getting into the technical knowledge of how to read a topographic map, here’s a little history. I am taking machine learning, and I have seen a few contour plots in the course. Using contour lines you can calculate the elevation of your route, or height of travel. Most maps are oriented with north at the top of the map. To read the contour lines on a map, first note the direction your map faces. Recent Posts.
In our apple example, you might add a little curve that indicates the indentation where the stem forms. Reading and interpreting contour lines may seem intimidating at first, but it’s actually quite simple and is a valuable skill for learning to how to read a topographic map. Understanding all those little lines on a map can make your travels easy or extremely treacherous. To read the contour lines on a map, first note the direction your map faces. How to read and understand topographical maps for trails and hiking while backpacking or in a survival situation.
Contour lines spaced narrowly between one another indicate areas of steep transition – meaning the depth of the water column changes from shallow to deep (or vice versa) quickly within a short distance.
Beginner's Guide to Reading Contour Lines on Topograpic Maps. I would like to get data from a single contour of evenly spaced 2D data (an image-like data). The index contours are a darker or wider brown line … In brief, a contour line is drawn between points of equal height, so any single contour line will be at the same height all the way along its length.
A detailed guide to contour lines, formations, drawings, hills and depressions. Contour Lines. Common Topographic Map Symbols. Not all contour lines are created equal. Index contour lines: Every fifth contour line is a thicker, “index” line.At some point along that line, its exact elevation is listed. Types of contour lines: How to Read a Topographic Map? One of the most significant features of our maps are contour lines, which show bottom depth in gradients (usually of 5 or 10 feet) from the shoreli Because it's impractical to mark the elevation of every contour line on the map, the index contour lines are the only ones labeled. As there are no contours present on the left side I can say that the distance between the two contours (contour marked with yellow and some other contour located far away towards the left, if present) is very large because I can’t see any contour in the vicinity. This is useful because you can add the uphill distance to the length of your route to get a more accurate estimate of the total distance you’ll go. Contour lines allow you to infer general terrain characteristics from their patterns. The cornerstone for all topo maps is the contour line. But one thing’s for sure— knowing a full range of navigational skills, including how to read a topographic map, will help you stay on course no matter what the earth’s electromagnetic field, or the weather, or the terrain, is up to. Contour lines close together represent a steep increase or decrease in elevation, while lines further apart represent a gentle slope. This is also a contour line.
Top tip! Contour Lines. How to use contour lines. How to Read a Topographic Map . By counting the number of contours from a labeled line, and multiplying by the contour interval, you can calculate the elevation of any contour line. Spaces with no lines indicate flat ground. By examining these lines, you can see exactly where all the hills and valleys are, thus avoiding any steep hills or cliffs. Without these lines, you could find yourself following a path that becomes so steep it’s impossible to climb, forcing you to double back and waste lots of precious time. September 30, 2019 by TylerDickow. Another way of thinking about contour lines is as a tide mark left by the sea as the tide goes out, leaving a line every 5 metres. For example, lines crowded close together mean steep sections. Contour lines mark points of equal elevation on a map and are critical to … Contour lines give you a mental picture of the shape of the ground.