How to read a Topographic Map
By:
Shauna
Lilienthal http://libremap.org/data/state/minnesota/place_name_results/

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Table of Contents
Introduction
What is a topographic map
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Contour and Isolines
Scale
O Symbols
The map of Mora
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O Reading the scale
O Reading symbols
Township and Range
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What is township and range
Visual of township and range
Using township and range

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We will be going through three main parts.
The first part will be, “what is a topographic map?” We will explore the big picture as well as different things to remember about a topographic map.
The second part will be the map of Mora. When we know what a map is, we will point out specific things on the map of Mora.
Finally, we will explore township and range and locate specific places on the map of Mora.

http://www.rollanet.org/~conorw/cwome/hahatonka_topo_map.jpg

A general thing to remember is that you can tell how steep a place is by looking at the contour lines. Lines close together resemble somewhere that is steep. Lines farther apart resemble places that are not so steep. This arrow is pointing out a place where there is quite a bit of space, resembling that that place is not so steep. http://mail.colonial.net/~hkaiter/imagextras/topo_map
.jpg

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In the following slides are symbols that you will most likely see on topographic maps. Whenever the lines are represented in this manner, means that is how the earth elevations goes.

http://www.nh.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/imag es/methods/topo1.jpg

Another thing to remember, is that whenever a line crosses the path of a river, it automatically points upward. That shows where valley’s are at. It makes a “V”.

http://www.csuchico.edu/lbib/maps/MAP3.
GIF

To find out more symbols, you can find “symbol pages”. Pages with symbols will differ, depending on where you find them at. The previous page was an example of what some of them look like.

http://librema p.org/data/st ate/minnesot a/place_name
_results/
Here is a topographic map of Mora,
MN
.

Taking what we learned, we will look at specific locations in the map of
Mora. I will point out different areas, following symbols, lines, ect.

Here is the scale.
1:24,000

Lake
Marsh
Hill
River

Another thing still yet to mention is Township and range. The purpose of township and range is to give land a government setting and a means to sell land from it. The system by which it is measured by is from the United States Public
Land Survey. It is divided by the latitude and longitude line. A square, 6X6 miles long, equals one township. The range is measured from east to west.

Below is a drawn example of how a township is measured.
Longitude
Latitude
T 1 N
T 1 S
The little orange boxes would keep adding up. You would keep counting them by T1N, T2N, ect. Then you go from side to side to figure out the range. The blue box would be T1S RSE.

To make it even more specific, each square is cut off into 1/4ths.
Then you add direction to them. NW ¼. That would mean it is the top, left corner.
To describe a township, you start from the littlest factors and mount up to the biggest factors.
EXAMPLE : NW ¼, Section 32, T15, R21W
However, if you wish to find one on a topographic map, you would follow them backwards: from the largest to the smallest.

On the corners of topographic maps are little red numbers and letters showing the township range that topographic maps cover.

34 35 36 SAME
TOWNSHIP
28
NEW TOWNSHIP
Within the squares are little red numbers representing the numbers as you move from square to square. If the numbers are in sequence,
34,35,36, ect
That means it is the same townships. When the numbers jump you have moved to a new range.

We will follow the factors from big to little to see what lies at
SW ¼, S 36, T41N, R24W on the Mora map.
Here are the ranges. We want R. 24W

Now we find T 41N and follow it to section 36.

Once you find section
36, mentally square the section off into four even corners.
Then we would look to the South-West ¼.
We have found
Hillman Baptist
Church!

Bibliography :
Media – http://libremap.org/data/state/minnesota/place_name_results/ http://www.rollanet.org/~conorw/cwome/hahatonka_topo_map.jpg http://mail.colonial.net/~hkaiter/imagextras/topo_map.jpg http://www.nh.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/images/methods/topo1.jpg http://www.csuchico.edu/lbib/maps/MAP3.GIF
Music –
McCreery, Scotty, Water Tower Town. Clear as Day .
Interscope records, 2011.
Information :
Everything written was learned from Professor Knapp’s Physical
Geography