• Question: what does topographic map mean

    Asked by Jbrolly07 to Breandan on 15 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Breandan Murphy

      Breandan Murphy answered on 15 Mar 2018:


      a topographic map is a way of showing something that is 3D on a flat piece of paper. We use lines called contours to represent the height at a given point (eg. 100m above sea level), then we draw anotehr one representing 110, 120, etc above sea level. The close the contours are together, the steeper the slope. This way we can have a map of the terrain that tells us where the flatter bits and where the steeper bits are.

      Here’s a video that explains it pretty well. When you combine topography with other information, like ground cover (trees, grassland, rock etc) you have a powerful tool for navigating through an environment!

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