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Course Outline

  • If you plan to spend a lot of time traveling through unfamiliar terrain, a topographic map is a good investment.
  • Topographic maps are created from aerial photographs and reveal the contours of the land, including hills, ridges, and valleys, as well as lakes, rivers, creeks, trails, and roads.
    • Contour lines show the elevation of the ground.
    • Contour intervals reveal how much vertical distance there is between each contour line. Closely spaced contour lines indicate very steep slopes.
    • Contour lines that are sharply tapered indicate an uphill direction.
    • Rounded contour lines typically indicate a downhill direction.
Topographic Map
  • Unit 6 of 7
  • Topic 2 of 4
  • Page 1 of 6