AR 303_Site Planning and Landscape Architecture

LECTURE NOTES (Arch. Eduardo F Bober, Jr.)

Contour Lines and Topographic Maps

Contour Lines and Topographic Maps

A topographic map is a type of map used by geologists, engineers and geographers. It represents the
Earth’s surface not just in horizontal distances, but in vertical distances as well. Elevation, or vertical
distance, is depicted as contour lines, which are continuous lines that connect points of equal elevation
above or below a reference plane on the Earth’s surface. The reference lane, or datum, from which
elevations are measured for topographic maps, is mean (average) sea level. The datum is usually declared
in the lower central margin of the map (ex. Datum = mean sea level).

The contour interval (CI) defines the vertical difference in elevation or depth between nearby contour
lines, and is constant for a given topographic map.

Thus, all contour lines are multiples of the contour intervals. Most maps make use of the smallest possible
contour to provide the greatest amount of detail for the surface being mapped. The contour interval of a
topographic map is usually given in the lower central margin of the map (ex. Contour interval = 20 m).

Topographic maps that have many contour lines become too confusing to read, if not for index contours,
which are lines that are printed thicker than the normal contour line. By convention, index contours are also
labeled with the line elevation. For example, for topographic maps with contour intervals of 20 m, index
contours are usually drawn at each 100 m. Reference points called bench marks (BM) are also often
present in topographic maps to represent known points of elevation.

The difference in elevation between two points on a topographic map is called a relief. The total relief is
the difference between the highest and lowest points in the map, while the local relief refers to the distance
in elevation between two specific points. The relief divided by the distance between two particular points
gives the slope or gradient between those points. In other words, it’s the rise over run between the given
points.

A topographic map is constructed by measuring elevations in the field and plotting these using their
corresponding coordinates. Between points of known measurements, elevations are interpolated
(estimated) ad contour lines are drawn to separate elevations greater or less than the represented value.

There are different interpolation schemes depending on the assumption of the gradient of the topography.
The easiest method to use is linear interpolation, wherein it is assumed that the gradient between two
points is uniform; that is, the distance between two points is measured and the units between them are
equally distributed.
 Certain rules govern the construction of contour lines, as
enumerated below:

1. Every point on a contour line is of the same elevation.

2. Contour lines always separate points of higher elevation (uphill)
from point of lower elevation (downhill). One must determine
which direction on the map is higher and which is lower, relative
to the contour line in question, by checking adjacent elevations.
3. Contour lines always close to form an irregular circle, although
sometimes part of a contour line exceeds beyond the mapped
area, so that you cannot see the entire circle formed. A contour
line never branches or splits.
4. Steep slopes are shown by closely spaced contours, while gentle
slopes are relatively wider- spaced. Evenly spaced contour lines
represent a uniform slope.
5. Contour lines never cross, except to show an overhanging cliff.
(To show an overhanging cliff, the hidden contours are dashed.)
Contour lines can also merge to form a single line along a vertical
cliff face.
6. Hills, mountains and volcanoes are generally represented by a
concentric series of closed contour lines.
7. A concentric series of closed contours with hachure marks on
the downhill side represents a closed depression.
8. The Rule of V’s: When contour lines cross streams or dry stream
channels, they form a “V” that points upstream.
9. Contours that occur on opposite sides of ridges and valleys are
always paired.

Topographic Profiles

A topographic map provides a bird’s eye view of an area, showing features and relief by means of symbols
and contour lines. But occasionally, a more pictorial representation is useful. A topographic profile is a
cross section that shows the elevations and slopes along a given line.

Topographic profiles can be easily constructed using the following steps:

1. On the topographic map, draw a section line along which the profile is to be drawn. Label the
section line A-A’. Be sure that the line intersects all the features (e.g. ridges, valleys, streams) that
you wish the profile to represent.
 2. On a strip of paper placed along section line A-A’, make tick marks at each place where a contour
line or feature intersects the section line, and note the elevation at the tick marks. Also note the
location and elevation of points A and A’.
3. Draw the profile:
a. On a separate sheet of paper, draw a series of equally spaced parallel lines that are the
same length as the section line (graphing paper or cross-section paper can be used). A
horizontal line on this sheet represents a constant elevation, and therefore corresponds to
a contour line. The total number of horizontal lines that you need, and their elevations, will
depend on the total relief along the section line, and on whether you make the space
between the lines equal to the contour interval, or to multiples of it (vertical exaggeration,
see explanation following this discussion). Label your lines so that the highest and lowest
elevations along the section line will be within the grid.
b. Place the strip of paper with the tick marks along the base of your blank grid, and place a
dot above it for each corresponding elevation. Smoothly connect the dots to complete the
topographic profile (this line should not make angular bends or “bounce off” a horizontal
grid line; it should be a smoothly curving line that reflects the relief of the land surface
along the line of section).

The vertical scale of the profile will vary greatly, depending on how you draw your grid. If the vertical scale
is arbitrarily selected, it may somewhat be stretched or shrunk compared to what the profile looks like in
real life. To get the real life profile, the vertical scale must be equivalent to the horizontal scale. If, for
example, the horizontal scale is 1:50000 (1cm = 50 cm), then the vertical scale must be drawn using the
same relationship. Otherwise, a difference in horizontal and vertical scales causes a vertical exaggeration
(VE). This is almost always necessary in the construction of a readable profile, because without vertical
exaggeration, the profile may be so shallow that only the highest peaks are visible.

The vertical exaggeration can be calculated by dividing the fractional vertical scale by the fractional
horizontal scale:

Vertical exaggeration (VE) = fractional vertical scale

fractional horizontal scale

Example:

1. Given: horizontal scale = 1:50,000

vertical scale = 1:10,000

What is the vertical exaggeration?

VE = 1/10,000/1/50,000
VE = 5
The value of the vertical exaggeration (5, in the example; sometimes written as 5x) indicates that the relief
shown on the profile is 5 times greater than the true relief. This makes the slopes on the profile 5 times
steeper than the corresponding slopes in “real life”.

The given relationship can also be used to determine the vertical scale of a given profile where both the
vertical exaggeration and horizontal scale are known:

2. Given: horizontal scale = 1:100,000

vertical exaggeration = 20
What is the vertical scale?
VE = 1/x/1/100,000
1/x = (20) (1/100,000) = 0.0002

X = 5,000

Vertical Scale = 1: 5,000

Computing for the Actual Scale of the Map

In order to check what your map’s bar scale represents, one must measure and compare the scale bar with
a known and accurate measuring device such as a ruler. Place your ruler onto the bar scale and check how
many centimeters a certain distance is. After that, compute for 1 centimeter and convert the calculation into
a fractional scale.

Example:

3. Given: bar scale measurement: 5 cm = 500 m

What is the fractional scale?

5 cm = 500 m
5 cm = 50,000 cm
1 cm =10,000 cm
Fractional scale = 1:10,000

REFERENCE: NIGS, 1996-2015