Topographical Maps: Made For Reader's Ease!
A map can be defined as a graphical representation of the Earth's surface, or a section of it. A map that clearly marks topographic features over the Earth's surface via contour lines can more precisely be termed as topographic map. Contours are imaginary lines which join the points of equal elevation on the surface of the land above or below a reference surface, for example, mean sea level. So, topographical maps are extremely useful to us. The contours on the topographical maps mark the mountains' height, ocean bottom' depths, and slopes' steepness with accuracy. A topographical map shows more than contours and may also include a variety of symbols. They represent man made objects over the Earth. These objects may include streets, streams, buildings and vegetation. These symbols are continuously refined to better relate to the characteristics they represent. They help increase the visual impact as well as readability of the map.
Knowing how to read a topographical map is essential. Topographical maps are quite easy to read. One just needs to keep a few things in mind. To begin with, one needs to properly interpret the colored lines, areas, and other symbols given on the maps. It needs to be remembered that characteristics or features are depicted as points, lines, or areas. All characters are depicted as per their size and extent over the Earth. For instance, small black squares may depict individual houses. Many features are also shown by lines. The lines may be straight but they could also be curved, solid, dashed, and dotted. The area features are the first features usually noticed on a topographic map. A variety of point symbols are made use of to depict features that include large buildings, large important grounds, springs, big water tanks, mines and water bodies or wells. Names of important places and features are depicted in a color that corresponds to the type of feature. Many characteristics are also identified by labels. One must also make a note of numbers running all around the outside of the map. These numbers stand for two grid systems which may be made use of to discover one's precise whereabouts. The first is known as latitude and the second as longitude. We all know how good knowledge of correct latitude and longitude of a place is valuable to a good map. As one can see, a good topographical map is easy to read. Anyone can make use of them. One just needs to have a keen eye for detail. |