![]() ![]() Each color means something different.Ī topographic map uses symbols to keep the map less crowded, but it's still chock-full of information. You'll see these lines in many colors - brown, blue, red, black and purple. These lines indicate boundaries, contours, roads, streams and more. Lines on a topographic map can be straight or curved, solid or dashed, or a combination. ![]() You'll see big buildings - your local shopping center, for example - as their actual shapes. On these maps, you'll see large expanses of green for vegetation, blue for water and gray or red for densely built up areas. The first step in learning how to read a topographic map is to understand how to interpret the lines, colors and symbols. People use topographic maps for engineering, conservation, environmental management, public works design, urban planning and outdoor activities like fishing, hiking or camping. The advent of airplanes in the 1940s helped to advance mapping techniques.īecause the maps show so much information, they have a wide variety of uses. Then they would plot their maps, with the features that they could see and measure. Mapmakers would find an area's best vantage point - usually the highest point - and climb up to it with drawing boards and sighting devices. Mule pack train was the only way to reach the mostly unsettled West, and cartographer's tools were crude compared with today's. When the USGS first started creating maps - which it did to catalog public land - the process was time-consuming and costly. Developments in aerial photography and satellite imaging make these maps much more accurate and efficient to produce than in the days when they were created by hand. Geological Survey (USGS) produced its first topographic map in 1879, and it still produces them today. This contour and elevation information distinguishes them from other maps. These maps show the land's contours, elevations, mountains, valleys, bodies of water, vegetation and more. What's the difference between a topographic map and a regular map? In a nutshell, topographic maps allow you to see a three-dimensional landscape on a two-dimensional surface.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |