A darker contour line usually every fifth line

Topographic Maps

Explain how elevation is described on a topographic map with contour lines
Estimate the elevation of any point on a topographic map
Identify areas that are steeply sloped or gently sloped on a topographic map
Identify the shape of land forms on a topographic map, including whether slopes are concave-up or concave-down
Use the Rule of Vs on a topographic map to determine the direction a river is flowing
Determine the gradient of a stream or other linear feature on a topographic map
Use the map scale to infer distances on a topographic map
Identify the latitude and longitude of the corners on a topographic map
Describe what is meant by a "7.5 minute" topographic map
Describe the relationship between map scale and map detail
Describe how to find adjoining maps from a topographic map

Topographic Maps Name:

Note: To complete this homework you will have to view the PDF files of the topographic maps, which are linked separately on Canvas. Print out this handout and fill it in as you go through the different maps. When you’re done you will take a Canvas “Quiz” to enter your answers.

Waynesville, OH Map

Quadrangle maps are always named for a prominent geographic feature on the map–a town, mountain, lake, etc. What feature is the Waynesville Quadrangle named after? (This question is as easy as it seems)

Topographic maps are divided into series. The series is always listed underneath the quadrangle name in the right-hand corner of the map, and the longitude/latitude coordinates are always labeled at the four corners of the map. Therefore you can either read the series directly or figure it out by computing the longitude (or latitude) range spanned by the map. What kind of map series is the Waynesville Quadrangle?

What is the longitude in the northwest corner of the map? (It is W longitude.)

What is the latitude in the southeast corner of the map?

The map scale is always located at the bottom of the map, and is shown as two numbers separated by a colon (:). These numbers indicate the factor by which objects on the map have been shrunk relative to the real world. For instance, a scale of 1:62,500 means that objects on the map are 1/62,500 as large as they are in reality.

What is the scale of the Waynesville Quadrangle map?

If you were to print out the Waynesville, OH map, you’d find that the total distance across the map from west to east is 45 cm.

How long is this distance in the real world? Give your answer km.

If you wanted a map that provided great detail, would you rather have a map with a scale of 1:6,000 or a map with a scale of 1:100,000? Explain your answer.

Many quadrangle maps are needed to cover a large area, and often it is useful to know the maps that are adjacent to the one you are looking at. The USGS (the government agency that makes the maps) has used two different methods to display this information. On some maps, the adjoining quadrangles are written along the boundaries and corners of the map. On some newer maps, a small inset diagram shows the layout and names of the surrounding quadrangles.

What quadrangle adjoins the Waynesville Quadrangle to the east?

What quadrangle adjoins it to the southwest?

Many other features of topographic maps can be simply read by studying the key or map itself:

When was the Waynesville Quadrangle made?

What state is the Waynesville Quadrangle in?

Within what part of this state is the Waynesville Quadrangle located? (i.e., “north”, “northeast”; “central”, etc.)

In which three counties does the Waynesville Quadrangle lie? (look on the map)

The feature that distinguishes a topographic map from other maps is the swarm of brown lines which are used to indicate elevation. These lines, called contour lines, depict the shape of the landscape.

To make the map easier to read, not all contour lines are labeled with their elevation. Normally every fifth contour line is labeled and is also printed a little darker than the others to make it stand out. These contour lines are called index contours. The elevation of contour lines between index contours must be inferred by counting up (or down) from an index contour using the contour interval.

The elevation of every point on a topographic map can be determined by studying the elevation of the nearby contour lines. This can sometimes be tricky. If a point actually lies on a contour line, then determining its elevation is easy–it’s just the elevation of the contour line. If, as is more typical, a point lies between two contour lines then its elevation must be inferred. When the surrounding contour lines are different (the usual case) the elevation of the point must be between these values. For example, a point lying between the 50 foot and 60 foot contour lines must be between 50 and 60 feet–say, 52 feet if the point is closer to the 50 foot contour, or 58 feet if it is closer to the 60 foot contour, or maybe even 55 feet if it is nearly in the middle.

Contour lines that form closed loops enclose eithers hills or depressions. In most cases they enclose a hill, or rise, since these are much more common features of the landscape. When the contours enclose a depression they will sometimes have little ‘tick-marks’ on them indicating the direction downhill.

What is the elevation of the intersection of Oglesby-Harris Rd. and Furnas-Oglesby Rd?

What is the elevation of Stonybrook Farm Lake, southwest of Waynesville?

Locate the depression just east of Corwin, to the east of Sun Ridge Drive. What is the elevation at the bottom?

Newdale, ID Map

Is the Newdale, ID quadrangle closer to Wyoming or Washington state?

How many degrees or minutes of latitude/longitude are spanned by the Newdale, ID topographic map?

What is the map scale?

What is the contour interval in feet?

Find the intersection of 5000N and Reed Parkinson Rd, and determine its elevation. Be as precise as you can.

Locate Chester Cemetary near the very top of the map, and determine its elevation. Be as precise as you can.

Find the intersection of Hog Hollow Rd. and N 2800 E. What is its elevation? Be as precise as you can.

Use the Law of V’s to determine the direction in which the Teton River is flowing (east or west). Make a sketch showing how you came to this conclusion. You will have to upload your sketch into the quiz.

Suppose you were driving west on State Route 33 and wanted to continue using topographic maps. What topographic map would you need when you left this one?

Jackson, WY Map

Suppose you wanted to climb Boyles Hill, located in the northern part of the map. Would it be easier to ascend the northern side or southern side (assuming steeper = harder)?

What is the approximate elevation of the town of Jackson?

Estimate the elevation of the very tip-top of Boyles Hill:

Suppose you were on the top of East Gros Ventre Butte and started hiking down to the south just south of the word “Butte”. Would your path be concave up or down? How can you tell?

Concave down Concave up

Calculate the gradient of the Snake River between S and S’, and Flat Creek between F and F’, by dividing the change in

elevation by the length of the stream (straight-line length, not including all the bends). Express your answer in ft/mile.

Distance S-S’: 11,700 feet

Distance F-F’: 8,700 feet

Snake River Flat Creek

Why do you think the Waynesville, OH, Newdale, ID, and Jackson, WY all have different contour intervals? How do the mapmakers decide on a contour interval?