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May 1, 2019 · Lesson 4 - How to read a topographic map | U.S. Geological Survey. An official website of the United States government. Here's how you know.
- Topographic Map Resources for Teachers | U.S. Geological Survey
This directory level site includes links to various...
- Finding Your Way With Map and Compass | U.S. Geological Survey
This fact sheet explains the basics of topographic map...
- Topographic Map Resources for Teachers | U.S. Geological Survey
To help you get started understanding how to read a topographic map I’ve put together this comprehensive guide that covers everything from understanding contour lines, reading elevation symbols, identifying features on the maps and measuring distances using grid lines.
This directory level site includes links to various resources on topographic maps, how to obtain them, read them, their history, and map projections and includes links to various teaching activities and modules.
Jan 26, 2024 · By learning how to read a topographic map, you'll be able to understand how certain industries function using data – and you may even find yourself a new addition for the walls of your living room or office.
- Background
- How to Read These Maps
- Getting Around
- Zoom to Location
- Map Records Table
- Map Information
- Basemaps
- Downloading Maps
- Previewing A Map
- Map Metadata
Topographic maps originally were produced to support a geological survey of the western United States (Powell, 1888). But they quickly became popular with many other disciplines and with the general public because of their usefulness for viewing and studying the Nation’s vast landscape (U.S. Geological Survey, 2010a, 2010b). Technological capabilit...
The distinctive characteristic of a topographic map is that the shape of the Earth’s surface is shown by contour lines. Contours are imaginary lines that join points of equal elevation on the surface of the land above or below a reference surface, such as mean sea level. Contours make it possible to visualize the height of mountains, depths of the ...
In most web mapping interfaces, there are a variety of ways to zoom/pan around the map. In topoView, panning is enabled by default. Simply click anywhere on the map, hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse. For zooming into an area, we offer the magnifier tool, but instead you may find it easier to: 1. Hold the shift key and drag a box o...
To find maps for a location, such as your house, or town, or larger area, use the location search bar. There, you can enter very specific information, such as your full street address (e.g., 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192) or latitude/longitude coordinate pair, or more general information (e.g., zip code, town name, or park name). Not...
When you click on any of the colored map boxes, a map records table is populated along the right side of the interface and a marker appears on the point that was clicked. By default the active record is expanded and contains information like quadrangle name, map year, map edition, map scale, and a list of downloadable files associated with the reco...
The information for a particular map can be accessed by simply clicking on the map record. When clicked, the map information window will expand revealing the basic metadata information, the map download options, a list of actions for that particular record (detailed later in this guide), and a preview image of the map (click the preview image to vi...
A base map, commonly shown as a backdrop to give locational information such as cultural or physical features, is essential to help us locate ourselves on the ground. TopoView offers a variety of base maps which can be toggled in the upper left corner of the map window. Our default base map layer is powered by Mapbox using open data from OpenStreet...
TopoView offers the topographic maps in a variety of downloadable file formats, in order to meet a range of user needs. The GeoTIFF, KMZ, and GeoPDF formats are georeferenced file formats. Georeferencing means that the internal coordinate system of a map can be related to a ground system of geographic coordinates. The relevant coordinate transforms...
TopoView lets users preview any of the historical maps within the interfaceand provides tools to compare them to a modern base map. Overlaying historical maps on a modern base allows users to explore things like coastline change, urbanization, geographic name changes, and how people have altered the landscape over time. To preview the map record in...
Metadata is the background information which describes the content, quality, condition, and other appropriate characteristics of the data. Paper maps contain metadata, primarily as part of the map legend. In this form, metadata is readily apparent and easily transferred between map producers and map users. When map data are in a digital form, metad...
This fact sheet explains the basics of topographic map concepts, map reading, and the basic concepts on how to find your way with a compass. Objectives: Learn to measure distance on a map; Learn map scales; Learn navigation with a topographic map; Instructions:
A topographic map is a representa-tion of a three-dimensional surface on a flat piece of paper. The digital eleva-tion model on the poster is helpful in understanding topographic maps. Contour lines, sometimes called "level lines," join points of equal elevation.
