1. Topographical Maps: Contour Lines
Map work Skills
Topographical Maps:
Contour Lines

2. What are we going to learn?
How to tell height from maps
Contour lines – what they are and how we read them
What relief is and how to identify it on a map

3. Topographical Maps: Contour lines
Contour lines are lines drawn on maps to show the height of the land

4. Contour lines on a map
A contour is a line on a map, joining all places that are the same height above sea level
Sea level is 0
Contour lines have heights in metres written on them in spaces along the line
Each contour has a higher or lower value, depending on whether it is up or down the slope
The height difference between any two contours is the same – it is called a contour interval

5. Contour lines on a map Look at the picture of the hill.
Notice that the hill rises from sea level
It is from 0 to 125 at the top
Look at the picture contour map below
The contours go up from 0 m to 120 m
The height difference between the
any two contours is 20m
So the contour interval is 20m

6. Identify contour lines and altitude
Match the drawings
Which has the highest point?
What is the altitude?
Which landscape is not at the
coast?
How do we know this?
What is the difference in height
between each pair of contour
lines

8. Contour patterns
The patterns that contours make on a map show us what the land looks like on the ground
By looking at contour patterns, we can recognise landforms such as hills, valleys, slopes and cliffs
Let’s look at the contour patterns of steep and gentle slopes
This diagram shows a model of a landscape with a steep and gentle slope

9. Contour patterns This is a view of looking down on the model
Can you see the contour patterns?
The steepness of a slope
is called a gradient

11. Contour Patterns
Contours far apart indicate
gentle slopes

12. Contour Patterns
Contours close together
indicate steep slopes.

13. Contour Patterns
When the spacing of the contours, reading from high to low, decreases, the shape is convex.

14. Contour Patterns When the spacing of the contours, reading from high
to low, increases, the slope is concave.

15. River valleys and spurs
Rivers flow in valleys
Where two rivers flow next to each other, there is always a wedge of hilly land in between
This is called a spur
This is a diagram of that shows valleys and spurs

16. Contour map of valleys and spurs
The patterns look the same for a valley and a spur
An important difference:
In a valley the contours
are V-shaped and point towards
high ground
In a spur, the contours are
more rounded and point towards
low land

17. Contour map of valleys and spurs

18. Spot heights
Spot heights are points on the map with the height of the particular feature shown alongside.
This gives more accurate information when used in conjunction with contours because peaks and height details are shown where, with contours alone they would be left out

19. Spot heights
An example of a spot height:

20. Let’s do it together
1. Look at the models of landscape features labelled A-C 2. Look at the contour patterns labelled Match each contour pattern with the landscape it shows