Name:_________________________________________
Block:____________
Reading a Topographic Map
Background:
A topographic map is a map that portrays the configuration of Earth’s surface
(topography). For locating places on a topographic map, the latitude-longitude system is
used. Height, or elevation, is shown by means of contour lines. A contour line is a line
that connects all points of equal elevation. Therefore, all points on that line should be the
same height above sea level.
A contour interval is the number of feet higher or lower one line is to another.
Different contour intervals are used on different maps. The one selected for use on a map
is largely a function of the amount of local relief (general difference between high and
low elevation). A map of an area with great local relief will have a contour interval of 50
or 100 feet while a map of an area with small relief will have a contour interval of 5 or 10
feet. When reading a topographic map, you must count the number of contour lines
between the location and the nearest index contour line, the line that is labeled with its
elevation. If the ground is actually a depression, or dip in the ground, the lines will
appear with tick marks around the inside.
A topographic map, like any map, must have a scale (the ratio of map distance to
ground distance). The two most common used scales are 1:24,000 and 1:64,000. In the
first instance this means that one unit on the map is equal to 24,000 units on the ground.
These units can be inches, millimeters, centimeters etc. Visuals of the scale are also
given as bars representing thousands of feet, miles, and kilometers.
Part I- Symbols
1. What is the purpose of a topographic map?_______________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. Map scale is defined as the ratio of ____________ distance to _______________
distance. Mention two ways in which scale is expressed on a topographic map:
__________________ and _________________.
3. The vertical distance between contour lines is known as the
__________________________.
Part II-Interpretation
1. What is the name of your topographic quadrangle?_________________________
2. What does it mean to have a 7.5 minute map?_____________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. What is the approximate ground distance along the southern margin?
_________________kilometers _________________miles
4. What is the contour interval on this map? ________________________________
5. What is the elevation of the point 5 kilometers from the left edge and 10
kilometers up? ____________________________________________________
6. What is the elevation of the upper right hand corner?_______________________
7. Are there any depressions on your map?___________If so, where?____________
8. Describe how you found the elevation of the ground?_______________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
9. Find a hill located on your map, is this a steep hill or gentle hill?_____________
10. How do you know if a hill is steep or gentle?______________________________
11. Find a river on your map, what direction is the river running?
__________________________________________________________________
12. How do you know what direction a river is running? ______________________
_________________________________________________________________
13. What is the highest elevation you can find on this map?____________________
14. Find an elevation that has an X next to it. What does this X and elevation
show?___________________________________________________________
15. What is the magnetic declination for this area? ____________________________
16. Explain what the magnetic declination of an area means.____________________
_________________________________________________________________
17. What is the representative fraction scale of this map? Explain what that means.
_________________________________________________________________
18. What type of projection is your map?________________________________
19. What do closed contour lines indicate? __________________________________
20. What is the relief between the top center and the bottom center of your map?
_______________________________________________________
21. What is the slope between the top center and bottom center of your map?______
22. What are the latitude coordinates for all four corners of your map?
__________________________________________________________________
23. What are the longitude coordinates for all four corners of your map?
_________________________________________________________________
24. What are the coordinates for the center of your map? _______________________
__________________________________________________________________
25. Sketch the symbols that you see on your map and label them below.