A topographic map is a detailed and accurate two-dimensional

representation of natural and human-made features on the

Earth's surface. These maps are used for a number of
applications, from camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking to
urban planning, resource management, and surveying. The
most distinctive characteristic of a topographic map is that the
three-dimensional shape of the Earth's surface is modeled by
the use of contour lines. Contours are imaginary lines that
connect locations of similar elevation. Contours make it
possible to represent the height of mountains and steepness of
slopes on a two-dimensional map surface. Topographic maps
also use a variety of symbols to describe both natural and
human made features such as roads, buildings, quarries, lakes,
streams, and vegetation.
Topographic maps use symbols to represent natural and human
constructed features found in the environment. The symbols
used to represent features can be of three types: points, lines,
and polygons. Points are used to depict features like bridges
and buildings. Lines are used to graphically illustrate features
that are linear. Some common linear features include roads,
railways, and rivers. However, we also need to include
representations of area, in the case of forested land or cleared
land; this is done through the use of color.
Features on topographic maps can be divided into three major
groups:
 Relief: Depicted with brown contour lines that show hills,
valleys, mountains, plains, etc. Elevations are given in
meters (or feet) above mean sea level. There are also spot
elevations (shown in black), where lake level, summit of a
hill or road intersections are marked for elevation.
 Water features: Depicted in blue, they represent oceans,
lakes, rivers, streams, swamps.
 Cultural features: Depicted in black, they represent all the
man-made features: buildings, roads, railroads, land
boundaries.
Contour lines also indicate the shape of the terrain. Roughly concentric circles are
probably showing you a peak, and areas between peaks are passes. Studying a topo map of a
familiar area is a great way to learn how to match terrain features with the contour lines on a
map
Contour lines indicate the steepness of terrain. Contour lines connect points that share the
same elevation: Where they’re close together (they never intersect), elevation is changing
rapidly in short distance and the terrain is steep. Where contour lines are wide apart, elevation
is changing slowly, indicating a gentle slope

The map’s scale tells you how detailed your map is. A 1:24000 scale, for example,
means one inch equals 24,000 inches in reality. A larger scale, like 1:65,000, means
that a map covers a larger area, but that it will have less detail.