Introduction to Topographic Maps
DIRECTIONS: Read all of the following content. READ EVERYTHING!! At the end of the packet, you will find
two topographic maps. Your task is to indentify each of the elevations at the letters A thru J. Write them in your
notebook.
A topographic map shows the elevation data for a certain part of the earth, in addition to other physical and man-made
features. In the U.S., the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is the main distributor of topographic maps. The
USGS creates several scales of maps. 7.5 minute maps (scale 1:24000) are the most detailed. All map samples shown
below are from 7.5' maps.
Above is a small part of a USGS map. 7.5 minute maps are so called because each covers 7.5 minutes of latitude and 7.5
minutes of longitude on the earth's surface. On the ground, this is approximately equal to eight miles (north and south)
by six miles (east and west). Each 7.5' paper map (called a quadrangle, or just a quad) is about 28 inches long by 21
inches wide.
Reading map symbols
Before getting into contours, take a look at the map above. Topographic maps also show many cultural and physical
features. Some of the more common map symbols are labeled. Here are explanations for the non-contour symbols shown
above:
Forest: Shown in green
Unforested areas: White; May be grass, sand, or some other surface
Roads: Two parallel lines; Unbroken lines indicate paved roads, broken lines unpaved
Trails: Dashed lines
Streams and Rivers: Thin lines for streams, large blue area (actual scale size and shape) for larger rivers
Marshy Area: Blue symbols enclosed by blue dashed line
Buildings: Building shapes shown, may be filled or unfilled
UTM Grid Lines: Especially useful for GPS, each grid square is 1 km x 1 km
On the following page is a key of all of the symbols and features you will find on any USGS or other official
topographic map.
Intro to Contours
Contour lines are the continuous brown lines found on topographic maps that give information about elevation. Each
line represents a specific elevation, and all locations along that line have the exact same elevation. For example, observe
the line indicted by (A) in the map above. If you were to walk along that line on the ground, your elevation would never
change.
Notice the words "Contour Interval 20 Feet", which are found along the bottom collar of USGS maps. This means that
the elevation change between contour lines is 20 feet. The line at (D), for example, has an elevation that is 20 feet below
that of (A). It follows, then, that a place on the map with many contour lines together has a large amount of elevation
change-- a hillside. The area around (C) is a hillside. Likewise, places like (B) with few contour lines have little
elevation change and are flat.
You may have noticed that every fifth contour line is darker than the others. The darker contour lines (like (A)) are
called Index Contours. If you follow an index line, you will eventually find a place where the elevation of that line is
given. (E) is an example of such a place. Another way to find elevations is to use Spot Elevations, like the one shown at
(F). These consist of an 'X' next to a number. The number tells the elevation at the location marked by the X. The X
indicated by (F) has an elevation of 7,740 feet. There is also another spot elevation on this map. It says '7901T'. Ignore
the T, and the elevation there is 7,901 feet.
Using Contours to Determine Land Shape
How can you tell which side of a hillside is the highest? There are several ways. For the first, look at contour lines (A)
and (B) in the map above. Note that (A) is at 7500 ft. and (B) is at 7600 ft. Any line from (A) to (B), then, should be
uphill. If you were to travel from east to west on line (C), for example, you would travel uphill. Since the difference
between (A) and (B) is 100 feet, there would be exactly 100 vertical feet of elevation gain.
A quicker way to find elevation changes is to use creeks and streams. Since water travels downhill, finding the direction
that a stream travels can quickly tell you about relief along the length of the watercourse. Fortunately, it is easy to do.
Look at the stream indicated by (D) above. Notice that when contour lines run into this stream, they form a 'V' shape that
appears to point to the left. On all streams, the V formed by contour lines always points upstream, and therefore uphill.
This tells you that the highest point along that hillside is at the left side. Also, check the V shape at point (E). Even
though the stream is in a relatively flat area, the upstream-pointing V is still visible.
What about the hillside between (H) and (I)? Most larger streams tend to flow at a low point between two high points-in this case, (I) and (J). From point (H), then, you would be walking uphill if you went east or west. Also, a closed circle
like the small one at (I) indicates a high point.
At point (F), you can see that the contour lines form V's that point uphill. This may be a dry or intermittent stream. The
land shape indicated by uphill-pointing V's, whether or not there is a stream, is a small canyon or gully. (G) is similar,
except the rounded V's appear to point downhill. On the ground, this looks like a promontory that extends outward.
More About Contours
This map may look considerably more difficult to interpret, but don't panic. First, look at index contours (A) and (B).
You can see that (A) is at 8200 feet and (B) is at 8300. Therefore, a walk from (A) to (B) would be uphill (you can
examine the stream at (G) to confirm this). Now look at the line at (C). The contour interval for this map is 20 feet. This
means that (C) has an elevation of 8220 feet, since it is one line uphill from (A). Line (D), then has an elevation of 8240
feet.
The elevation of areas between contour lines is simple enough to approximate. Location (E) is between the 8220 and
8240 contour lines, so its elevation is somewhere between those figures. But what about the contour line surrounding
(F)? If you were to walk from (E) to (F), would you go uphill or downhill?
To answer that, it helps to know that every regular closed circular-shaped contour line is a high point. The contour
circle at (H), for example, shows that the land inside it is higher than the surrounding land. Similiarly, (F) is a high point,
and a walk from (E) to (F) would be uphill. The elevation of the contour line around (F) is actually 8240, the same as at
(D). If you were to walk between (D) and (F), your elevation would drop somewhat, then increase as you crossed the
8240 contour again. Concentric circles, such as those found around (K), always have a high point at their center.
There is one exception to the above rule about closed contours being high points. Note the index contour at (I). There are
tiny tick marks pointing to the inside of the shape. This is a depression with no outlet. The contour line is at 8200 feet,
and everything inside it is less than 8200 feet. Contour lines (I) and (J) are both at the same elevation. If you were to
walk from (J) to (I), you would climb slightly above 8200 feet before dropping into the depression (8199 feet).
If you had some trouble with some of the tougher spots on the previous map, check this one out. It has many of the
crucial non-index contours marked. In addition, all the arrows on it point from lower places to higher places. This should
help you to better understand contour lines. And if you can read this topographic map, you can read just about any one.
Calculating Slope Angle
This is a nifty trick that is especially useful for hikers who like to go cross-country and climb mountains. You can also
use it to find out how steep, on average, a trail will be. Take a look at the map above. In real life, Avalanche Peak has a
trail to the summit. But we'll pretend it doesn't. You want to reach the top, and you're considering two routes, (A) and
(B). (A) has two separate parts that are steep, while (B) has one long, steep section.
First, select a section to measure. Try to pick the steepest segment of the climb, and one that has uniform contour lines
between two points. Then measure the ground distance using a ruler and scale (for paper maps) or software (for digital
maps). In this example, segment (C) turns out to be 730 feet in length (on the ground). Then determine vertical rise,
using the contour lines. Here, the interval is 40 feet, for a total rise of 200 feet.
Now that you have Rise (elevation change) and Run (length), calculating grade is easy with a calculator. The formula is
(Rise/Run)*100. In this case, it would be (200/730)*100 = 27.4% gradient. You can use this technique on places you
have been to determine what the grade for a steep trail is, or for a climbable scree slope.
Gradient is simply a measure of feet of rise per 100 feet of run. I prefer to get an actual measure of a route's slope in
degrees from the horizontal. Unfortunately, it requires a bit of trigonometry. The formula is arctan(rise/run). You can do
this using the Windows calculator by turning it to Scientific mode. First, check 'Inv' on. Divide the Rise by the Run, then
select 'tan'. This is the slope's angle in degrees. It may seem surprisingly small, but keep in mind that 15 degrees is a very
steep trail and 30 degrees is a steep mountain slope.
Back to the example. It turns out that (C) is a 15 degree slope, (D) is 30 degrees, and (E) is 36 degrees. Both (D) and (E)
would be steep, tough climbs, but (D) might be the better choice. Good luck using this method. I hope you can plan
many fun trips using it.