How To Label Contour Lines On A Topographic Map

Because its impractical to mark the elevation of every contour line on the map the index contour lines are the only ones labeled. Essentially topographic maps represent the three dimensional landscape of earth within the two dimensional space of a map.

Reading Elevation From Contour Lines

Labels such as substation or golf course topographic contours are shown in brown by lines of different widths.

How to label contour lines on a topographic map. How to read and interpret topographic maps. Which trail would you take. Using the maplex label engine and a combination of the contour placement style a label expression and a halo symbol will allow you to create labels that ladder along the contours at specified elevations.

However if you begin to. So if you walked along any contour line on a topographic map you would remain at the same elevation the entire time. In the example below weve added labels and it should be clear that its a depression.

Go do the quiz on labeling contours link. To make topographic maps easier to read every fifth contour line is an index contour. Therefore contours never cross.

To help the user determine elevations index contours are wider. What do contour lines on a topographic map show. Placing labels for contours is a common task.

They show the general shape of the terrain. The 124000 label refers to the maps scale every 1 on the map is equal to 24000 2000 on the earths surface. Each contour is a line of equal elevation.

Contour lines are used to determine elevations and are lines on a map that are produced from connecting points of equal elevation elevation refers to height in feet or meters above sea level. You dont really know unless there is a label on the contour line. What we have is a contour map.

A map with contour lines on it is called a topographic map. Lines of equal elevation height above sea level. So we have contours at 0 500 1000 and so on.

Studying a topo map of a familiar area is a great way to learn how to match terrain features with the contour lines on a map. We also make the labeled lines heavier. And how to draw contour lines.

Topographic maps also have a vertical scale to allow the determination of a point in three dimensional space. Topographic maps use a combination of colors shading and contour lines to represent changes in elevation and terrain shape. The painted lines are topographic contours.

Then all we do is label every fifth contour starting with the zero contour. Every fifth contour line is a thicker index line.

Civl 1101 Class Presentations And Notes