Point out that a contour line joins points of equal elevation. Topographic maps practice sheets set by haney science map worksheets, school worksheets. Save contour map as an svg file if you want to have the contour maps as an individual layer e. Through a combination of contour lines, colors, symbols, labels, and. The change in elevation from one contour line to the next is always the same within the same map. To ensure reproduction of this page at 100%, please ensure any default print commands affecting reproduction size e. Contour lines have been drawn for the 100foot and 120foot elevations. Explorer website to find and display a contour map of your area. On these maps contour lines illustrate the variations in elevation of. On the diagram above, draw the 60foot contour line. Place an x at the same elevation on the west side of the lake. Practice 6 figure grid references and discover how to interpret contour lines through the magical world of harry potter before moving onto os maps.
Examine each map to determine whether sea level, the zero 0 elevation contour line, is given. On behalf of the boy scouts of america bsa, i am expressing interest in using the contour quiz graphics in our new edition of the. Contour lines connect points around a given area think of a mountain that are at the same elevation. The contour interval is printed in the margin of each u. The way that it is structured reinforces that latitude measures north and south of the equator, and that longitude measures east and west of the prime meridian. These maps are helpful when trying to imagine the terrain in ways that simple distances dont represent well.
Contour lines show elevation and the shape of the terrain. In cartography, a contour line often just called a contour joins points of equal elevation. If you want to have the contour maps as an individual layer e. Maps are usually two dimensional representations of a three dimensional world. Practical quiz on reading a contour university of north. Contour lines at different heights cannot cross each other. Topographical map a topographical map is one that shows the physical features of the land. This article uses the sam houston national forest as its cartographic reference. All aspects of 2d or 3d maps can be customized to produce exactly the presentation you want. All points along the same contour line are at the same elevation above sea level.
Make sure students understand that contour maps, though 2dimensional, use contour lines to show elevation above sea level. To get a fishs eye view, a depth profile will be needed. Online army study guide land navigation map reading. Topography for kids geography worksheets, topographic map. Lesson 4how to read a topographic map orange county water. Contour lines on a map illustrate the height of places. A stepbystep guide to buying and using topo maps if you enter the wilderness, at some point or another, youll be required to read a topographic map often called topo maps. Ladybird series 671 understanding maps rewilding how to read contour lines on topographic maps. Recognising land features on a map involves identifying the shapes created by the pattern of contours.
Besides just showing landforms such as mountains and rivers, the map also shows the elevation changes of the land. This practical quiz offers various examples of topographic maps and asks you to answer the questions associated with each map. Contour lines contour lines connect places of equal altitude contour lines depict various landforms on a map by reading the contour lines we can determine what the terrain in an area looks like. This worksheet features a world map with an answer key. Show students map images and introduce the activity. To be able to use and recognise a variety of map symbols and to understand why they are used. Please note, as for now, the drawing below is square and you may want to stretch it to cover the actual area in a map.
Divide 300 feet by 3 to get one contour every 100 feet. Topographic maps lesson and making contour maps activity. Map skills map skills worksheets blank maps contour maps map quizzes make a 3d map map skills worksheets when teaching map skills, having high quality resources is a must to help pupils understand map reading skills you wish them to develop. These land features are identified by the way the contour lines come together to create shapes on the map. From this data we can supply contours and a grid with height values at every 5m. If the map scale permits, the length of the fill tick marks are drawn to scale and extend from the base line of the fill symbol.
Now it is time to practice and apply your recently gained skills in reading a contour line. Contour lines show 3d information on 2d representations topo. Every fifth contour line on the map is numbered and is darker. Here is a part of a contour map, showing the area of half dome in yosemite national. It creates a 3d map or a contour chart from the scattered points, numerical arrays or other data sets. The map below shows a simple topographic map including a spur, cliff, valley and plateau. In cartography, the contour interval is the elevation difference between adjacent contour lines. Contour lines are lines drawn on a map connecting points of equal elevation, meaning if you physically followed a contour line, elevation would remain constant. Each contour line represents a specific elevation, and on a given map, there is a fixed elevation difference between contour lines. This is called the contour interval and on the map overleaf it is 50 metres.
The software component swlib and others are available. Topoquest topographic maps and satellite maps online. Theyre useful because they illustrate the shape of the land surface its topography on the map. Mar 01, 2017 starter task paperlayering activity, with printable individual layers key terms. The open center circle inside the 5100 contour line indicates that the top of the mountain is a flat plateau. Your contour map shows a birds eye view of the maug islands. Many of the drg downloads are links to the drg map archive at the. This booklet examines topographic mapping and the usgs in this changing. Plot the elevation of each contour line that crosses line bc. The thin brown lines snaking around a topographic map are called contour lines.
Points a and b represent two spot elevations on the map. Use contour lines to determine elevations of mountains and. Explain to students that these are imaginary lines that join points of equal elevation, and that they allow you to read the shape of the earths. In figure 3, the innermost circle on the left is marked 40. This contour line extends the length of the filled area and has tick marks that point toward lower ground. From a drawing of a hill with contour lines added to a contour map. Contour lines worksheets topographic maps contour line. Display the images of topographic, or contour, maps. Mark four points two on the endpoints, and two between and draw the contours.
Oct 12, 2017 this worksheet is an awesome way to teach latitude and longitude. Develop students map reading skills with this earth science worksheet. They will be presented with activities that will help them to describe a topographic map. Make sure students understand that contour map s, though 2dimensional, use contour lines to show elevation above sea level. At some point along that line, its exact elevation is listed. The questions are similar to the map questions you have dealt with throughout this webpage and will cover determining. Study this presentation carefully and complete the quiz task 1 complete the tasks set out on this worksheet task 2 you will need to complete this os map. Contour line is the most common usage in cartography, but isobath for underwater depths on bathymetric maps and isohypse for elevations are also used. Reading topographic maps for wilderness adventure, research, survival, and navigation is criticalespecially as a precautionary measurefor safety and comprehension of the terrain and landscape. Pictures that explain things, part contour lines math in diagram maps collection of data visualizations to get inspired and finding the right type. Extend the line you drew in procedure 6 to mark your course into the center of the island group so that it becomes a transect line cutting across the entire chart, including a portion of any of the islands. The contour interval should be the same over a single map. Topo maps just look like a childrens drawing if you dont know what contour lines are. Discuss the 1785 ordnance act, signed into law by president jefferson, that provided for this systematic survey and monumentalization of public domain lands.
An 80foot interval simply means that each contour line is 80 vertical feet away from. Mark the top line as north, the right side east, the left line as west and the bottom line as south. The pencil marks are going to act as simple latitude and longitude markers on your map. Label the base contour line as 0 feet, then label the other contour lines using an elevation rate of 500. Contour map free, pilsdon pen jim champion under creative commons bysa 4. By following a contour line on the ground, you would travel neither uphill nor downhill, eventually ending up back at your starting point. The contour interval is the vertical distance between contour lines. The map includes contour lines to show changes in the elevation of the land. This topgraphic map is of devils tower which is the photo in the lower left. Heres a social studies activity to help your middleschool or highschool teenager better understand how contour maps work using only the back of her hand. When drawing in three dimensions is inconvenient, a contour map is a useful alternative for representing functions with a twodimensional input and a onedimensional output.
Contour elevation numbers indicate the direction of elevation by always reading pointing uphill. Assume base layer of mountain is at sea level 0 feet. Topographic maps show special information that you cant find on normal maps. They also help us obtain information regarding the steepness of slopes, along with the direction which the land is sloping. Determine the contour interval by reading the numbers on the contours. Israelipalestinian conflict map activity use this map and materials to help y sponsored sponsored israelipalestinian conflict map activity use this map and materials to help your and grade classroom or home school continue reading best world history lessons activities classroom 18 ideas. The height difference between successive contour lines.
Elevation, contour lines and topographers are some of the topics that youll see on the quiz and worksheet. For the activity below, draw a line from the contour image of the mountain range on the left to the correct side view of the mountain range on the right. Resources for teaching human geography geography lessons. Introduction to contour maps national geographic society. Heres an activity that will help your teenager understand contour maps like the back of her hand with the back of her hand. Match the contour line drawing in the photo column with the corresponding contour line image in the topo column. Aug 16, 2015 learn the basics of topographic maps with this worksheet. Extend the line you drew in procedure 6 to mark your course into the center of the island group so that it becomes a transect line cutting across the entire chart, including a. Harry potter contour mapping lesson teaching resources. Contour mapping lesson plan contour mapping orange county. When a contour line is drawn on a map it represents a given elevation. Maps in mountainous areas may have contour intervals of 100 feet or more.
Drawing a crosssection activity wellscaffolded and differentiated simple map with key and easytoread contour lines printable map provided differentiated map exercises answers provided for peer or self assessment plenary task. Make sure that the contour line extends to the edges of the map. Contour or contour line line on a topographic map connecting points of equal elevation above or below mean sea level contour map a map showing elevations and surface configuration by means of contour lines topography the general configuration of part of the earths surface, including its relief and the position of its natural and manmade features. Help students understand that the closer the lines, the steeper the slope. However, the height difference between one line and the next is always the same throughout the map. The closed end tip of the v of a line points upstream. Starter task paperlayering activity, with printable individual layers key terms. Please note, as for now, the drawing below is square and you may want to stretch it. Contour lines on maps represent lines of constant height, and all points on a line same height.
A contour is a line that shows the border or outline of an object. Contour lines activity develop students map reading skills with this earth science worksheet. The top illustration introduces students to con tour lines. To download a usgs topographic map in drg geotiff form, visit our find maps page to find and download the map you need.
New activity for 2016 emoji mapping our school work booklet here. Topographic maps are included on the pages of sources listed in the references. The worksheet gives an example of what a map might look like and it also lists the key features needed to make a good map. It is a plane section of the threedimensional graph of the function fx, y parallel to the x, yplane. Study this presentation carefully and complete the quiz task 1 complete the tasks set out on this worksheet task 2 you will need to complete this os map symbols sheet using the link beneath to help you to draw and complete the symbols as necessary. In this mapping activity, the pupils apply the skills they have learnt to make their own map of an imaginary place. A contour map shows the high and low areas of geography. The contours form patterns that show you how steep the slopes are.
Each line represents the increase in elevation and hopefully represents the shape of the dough mountain at each elevation too. Many maps have either a 40 or 80foot contour interval. Contour maps are a way to depict functions with a twodimensional input and a one. A contour line also isoline, isopleth, or isarithm of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value, so that the curve joins points of equal value. Locate the contour lines of dry landform featuresthose with elevations above sea level. May 12, 20 practice 6 figure grid references and discover how to interpret contour lines through the magical world of harry potter before moving onto os maps. This booklet, one of a series developed by the frederick county board of education, frederick, maryland, provides. After reading a paragraph about contour lines, students will use the topographic maps in this printable to answer questions about elevation, flood plains, and sinkholes. See the bottom of the page for answers to contour map quiz.
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