Identifying landform features on the Map

The common landform features of a topographic map are:

• Ridges and Plateaus
• Conical hills or isolated hills (Inselbergs)
• Valleys or plains
These landforms can be identified by analysing the contour line that represents
them:
A Conical Hill
A hill or knoll is an area of high ground. From a hilltop, the ground slopes down in all
directions. A hill is shown on a map by contour lines forming concentric circles. The
inside of the smallest closed circle is the hilltop.

Col and Saddle

A saddle is a dip or low point between two areas of higher ground. It looks like an
hourglass.
 saddle

A Gully or Depression
A gulley is a groove in the land, usually formed by a watercourse, and has the high
ground on three sides. Contour lines forming a gully are either U-shaped or V-shaped.

A Cliff
Cliffs are also shown by contour lines very close together and, in some instances,
touching each other.
 A Ridge
A strip of highland

A plateau
A plateau is a table like a mountain with steep sides. The diagram above shows a dry
plateau, while most plateaus are dissected by rivers.

plateau

cliff

Gorge
A very narrow, deep valley with steep sides.
 gorge

Dissected plateau
A plateau cut up by valleys. Dissect means to cut up.
Valleys and spurs
A valley is a strip of lower land bordered by higher land. A spur is a thumb-shaped
piece of high land jutting in to the lower land.

Valley