Also called contour,
level curve, level line
.
What are contour lines?
A contour line is
a line drawn on a topographic map to indicate ground elevation or depression
. A contour interval is the vertical distance or difference in elevation between contour lines. Index contours are bold or thicker lines that appear at every fifth contour line.
What are the 3 types of contour lines?
Contour lines are of three different kinds. They are
the Index lines, Intermediate lines and the Supplementary lines
.
What are 4 types of contour lines?
- Isopleth. Isopleth on a contour map connects the places having the same value of some measurable quantity of geographical or meteorological phenomena. …
- Isohyet. …
- Isobar. …
- Isobath. …
- Isohaline. …
- Isotherm. …
- Isohel. …
- Isohume.
What are the 5 Rules of contour lines?
Rule 1 – every point of a contour line has the same elevation. Rule 2 – contour lines separate uphill from downhill. Rule 3 – contour lines do not touch or cross each other except at a cliff. Rule 4 –
every 5th contour line is darker in color
.
What are the main types of contour lines?
- Index lines are the thickest contour lines and are usually labeled with a number at one point along the line. …
- Intermediate lines are the thinner, more common, lines between the index lines.
What are the properties of contour lines?
- Must close on themselves, on or off the map.
- Perpendicular to the direction of max. …
- Slope between them is assumed uniform.
- The distance between them indicates the steepness of the slope, gentle or steep.
- Irregular signify rough, smooth signify gradual slopes.
How do you get contour lines?
The two ways to establish a contour map are
the cross-section method and the trace contour method
. To use the cross-section method, set a control or reference line at the center of the lot, then lay out and stake a grid; the elevation is determined at each stake in the grid relative to a benchmark.
Does Google Earth show contour lines?
This KML network link displays a map overlay for USGS Contours (http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/) in Google Earth. To get started, simply download usgs-contours-overlay-for-google-earth. Or checkout all 4 USGS The National Map map overlays on this site. …
Can contour lines cross?
Contour lines never cross
.
They may come very close to each other (e.g. along a cliff), but by definition they may never cross each other. * This is because one location on the surface of Earth cannot be at two different elevations!
How do contour lines work?
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.
What is major and minor contour lines?
The major contour lines at the decades
are logarithmic values that are equally spaced
, and the minor contour lines are linear values that are logarithmically spaced.
Are contour lines always closed?
Contour lines always close to form an irregular circle
. Note that sometimes contour lines extend beyond the area on a map so you may not see the entire closed circle.
What is contour explain with example?
Define Contour Line. A Contour line is
an imaginary outline of the terrain obtained by joining its points of equal elevation
. In our example of the cone, each circle is a contour line joining points of same level.
What are contour lines why they are used?
Explain to students that these are imaginary lines that join points of equal elevation, and that
they allow you to read the shape of the Earth’s surface
. Tell students that by reading contour lines, they can measure the steepness of a hill, the height of a mountain, and even the depth of a lake or ocean.