1. TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS AND TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILES
Nick D’Anna HHS 2007
Adapted from R. DeMarco

3. CLOSER CONTOUR LINES = STEEPER GRADIENT
TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS WOULD BE VERY CLUTTERED IF ALL CONTOUR LINES WERE LABELED, SO ONLY HEAVIER LINES SHOW LABELS

4. What is the pattern of the contour lines around a simple hill?
Concentric circles getting smaller - hill

5. Identify the features marked at A and B

6. Hachure contour lines (lines with tick marks) show depressions – the first hachure is equal to the last contour line passed 20 20 10

7. WHAT DOES THIS PROFILE SHOW?
VOLCANO
NOTICE HACHURE DEPRESSION LINES IN CENTER SHOWING VOLCANIC VENT

8. TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILES
TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS SHOW THE ELEVATION OR VERTICAL DISTANCE ABOVE SEA LEVEL OF THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH
TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILE IS A SIDE VIEW OF AN AREA.

10. Notice line AB

11. So, if we were to look at a profile view of line AB on our topographic map, what might we expect to see? Predictions?
Time to FIND OUT!
Step 2

12. Take out a piece of scrap paper

13. Make a small tick at A and B

15. Make a small tick where each contour line crosses AB

17. Label each tick mark with the correct value!

18. Make the X-axis exactly as long as line AB.

19. Next, decide what the HIGHEST and LOWEST elevation values are that line AB crosses on your topographic map and create a scale. You may wish to increase your scale by the contour interval on the map to make things easier. In this case, we are going up by 10’s, because our contour interval on the map is 10 meters.

20. Remember Labels and Units!

21. Hold your scrap paper page up to the profile.

22. Transfer the tick marks directly onto the profile.

24. straight edge may help

27. connect the dots!

28. This is what you might expect the “profile” or cross section view of line AB to look like!
Notice how the line dips below 250m where it crosses Long Creek

29. Does it make sense. SURE. There is a creek flowing through this region
Does it make sense? SURE! There is a creek flowing through this region. Think about where it would flow on your profile. We also recognize the V shaped contour lines that indicate the direction of water flow.

30. The contour lines point up the page (orange), but Long Creek flows down the page.

31. Contour lines point upstream
Contour lines point upstream. Stream flows from high elevation to low elevation. So a stream flows in the oppostite direction the contours point.

32. CONTOUR LINES BEND WHEN CROSS STREAMS
UPSIDE DOWN V’S POINT UPSTREAM STREAMS FLOW DOWN

33. Or… if you are lucky enough to be able to do your profile on the same page as the topographic map…
You can use the:
“Drop down a dotted line” method!
Example

34. Same idea, but no need for tick marks and scrap paper!