Topography - Definition & Meaning

Topography is the study of the features and forms of land surfaces. The origin of the word topography comes from the words “graphia” and “topo”. “Graphia” means writing and “topo” means place. This article will share some interesting insights about topography.

Topography – What Does it Refer to?

Topography refers to the craters on the surface, rivers, valleys, and mountains. In topographic maps, the distinguishing factor is the elevation. Contour lines are shown in the topographic maps. Contour lines are lines of equal elevation. Topography incorporates artificial and natural features.

Topographic maps often tie in buildings, transportation, landmarks, parks, hydrography, cities, and administrative boundaries.

Topography – Contour Lines

• Contour lines are also known as isolines.
• With the help of contour lines, we can interpret the shape, slope, and height of topographic maps.
• We can conclude from the topography map that the slope is more gradual when the contour lines are spread apart.
• We can conclude from the topography map that the slope is very steep if the contour lines are close together.
• Contour lines are used for bathymetry, valleys, and mountains.

Topography Maps – Interpretation

A topography map is interpreted under the following heads:

• Human Settlement
• Means of Transport and Communication
• Land Use
• Relief and Drainage
• Marginal Information

Human Settlement

Human settlements are studied under the following heads:

• Urban Settlements: Type of urban settlements and their functions, i.e. hill stations, port towns, religious towns, administrative towns, capital cities, etc.
• Rural Settlements: The patterns and types of rural settlements such as linear, dispersed, semi-compact, compact, etc.

Means of Transport and Communication

• The means of transportation include national or state highways, major communication lines, waterways, railways, district roads, footpaths, cart tracks, camel tracks, post offices, etc.

Land Use

It includes the use of land under different categories like:

• Facilities and services such as electric substations, airports, hospitals, colleges, schools, parks, etc.
• Industrial, wasteland, orchard, agricultural, etc.
• Natural vegetation and forest (which part of the area is forested, whether it is thin or dense and the categories of forest found such as classified, unclassified, protected, reserved, etc.).

Relief and Drainage

Drainage of the Area

• The important rivers and their tributaries and the type and extent of valleys formed by them, the types of drainage patterns such as internal, trellis, ring, radial, etc.

Relief of the Area

The general topography of the area is studied to identify the general direction of the slope, spur, ridges, peaks, mountains, peaks, hills, plateaus, and plains. These features are studied under the following headings:

• Mountain – General elevation, peak, passes, etc.
• Plain – Its types such as marshy, coastal, karst, glacial, alluvial, etc.
• Plateau – Whether the plateau is dissected, undulating, flat, narrow or broad.
• Hill – Shape, slope – gentle or steep, convex, concave.

Topography Maps – Methods to Gather Information

There are two methods used to gather information in topography maps. They are:

• Indirect survey
• Direct survey

The indirect survey involves using various methods such as taking images from planes, sonar mapping, radar, and satellite pictures.

The direct survey method involves using manual instruments such as levels, theodolites, and clinometers. The primary data used for topographic maps is from the direct survey method. The direct survey method involves direct measurements of distances, location of land, and elevation.

Topography Maps – Uses and Applications

Some of the applications and uses of topography maps are given below:

• Topography maps are tied into the climate models by climate scientists to understand the water and airflow.
• Topography maps are used by the hikers to understand the steepness of the slopes.
• Topography maps are used by mining engineers.
• Topography maps are used by Geologists to understand the landforms, tectonic activity, etc.
• Scientists use topography maps to study the surface of asteroids, mars, and the moon.

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