CONTOUR READING

What is Contour?
A Contour is line drawn on a map connecting points of equal height. Contour lines
connect a series of points of equal elevation and are used to illustrate topography, or relief, on a
map. They show the height of ground above Mean Sea Level (M.S.L.) in either feet or metres
and can be drawn at any desired interval. For example, numerous contour lines that are close
together indicate hilly or mountainous terrain; when far apart, they represent a gentler slope.

BASICS OF CONTOUR LINES

The contour line represented by the shoreline separates areas that have elevations
above sea level from those that have elevations below sea level. We refer to contour lines in
terms of their elevation above or below sea level.
Contour lines are useful because they allow us to show the shape of the land surface
(Topography) on a map. The two diagrams below illustrate the same island. The diagram on the
left is a view from the side (cross profile view) such as you would see from a ship offshore. The
diagram at right is a view from above (map view) such as you would see from an airplane flying
over the island.
Normal View (0 ft contour line)

The shape of the island is shown by location shoreline on the map. Remember this
shore line is a contour line. It separates areas that are above sea level from those that are
below sea level. The shoreline itself is right at zero so we will call it the 0 ft. contour line (we
could use m., cm, in., or any other measurement for elevation).
The shape of the island is more complicated than the outline of the shoreline shown on the map
above. From the profile it is clear that the islands topography varies (that is some parts are
higher than others). This is not obvious on map with just one contour line. But contour lines can
have elevations other than sea level. We can picture this by pretending that we can change the
depth of the ocean. The diagram below shows an island that is getting flooded as we raise the
water level 10 ft. above the original sea level10 ft.

10 ft contour line view

The new island is obviously smaller than the original island. All of the land that was less
than 10 ft. above the original sea level is now under water. Only land where the elevation was
greater than 10 ft. above sea level remains out of the water. The new shoreline of the island is a
contour line because all of the points along this line have the same elevation, but the elevation
of this contour line is 10 ft. above the elevation of the original shoreline.
 We repeat this processes in the two diagrams below. By raising water levels to 20 ft. and
30ft above the original see level we can find the location of the 20ft and 30 ft. contour lines.
Notice our islands gets smaller and smaller.

20 ft contour line view

Fortunately we do not really have to flood the world to make contour lines. Unlike
shorelines, contour lines are imaginary. They just exist on maps. If we take each of the
shorelines from the maps above and draw them on the same map we will get a topographic
map.
Taken all together the contour lines supply us with much information on the topography
of the island. From the map (and the profile) we can see that this island has two "high" points.

30 ft contour line view

The highest point is above 30 ft elevation (inside the 30 ft contour line). The second high
point is above 20 ft in elevation, but does not reach 30 ft. These high points are at the ends of a
ridge that runs the length of the island where elevations are above 10 ft. Lower elevations,
between the 10 ft contour and sea level surround this ridge.
Over all contour lines view

Topographic Maps Rules

A topographic map is a map that shows surface features, or topography, of the Earth.
Topographic maps show both natural features, such as rivers, lakes, and mountains, and man-
made features, such as cities, roads, and bridges.

Rule #1- Contour lines never cross. All points along a contour line represent a single
elevation.

The most striking features of a topographic map are the contour lines. The contour lines
connect points of the same elevation. In th e map below, the contour interval is 20 meters. That
means that between each contour line there is a difference of 20 meters in elevation. If you look
closely at the map to your right, you will notice some dark lines with numbers on them. These
lines are called contour lines.
Rule # 2- Contour lines form closed circles around the tops of hills and mountains.

Notice that the contours seem to form rings. Inner rings are at higher elevations than
outer rings. The innermost rings are the tops of hills. If you start out walking from the innermost
ring, you will be walking downhill. The lowest elevation on this map is at the ocean. The red
arrows on the map to your right are all pointing from higher to lower elevations.

Rule # 3- Contour lines form closed circles marked with short, straight lines (hachure
marks) inside the circle around depressions.

If there is a low place such as a sinkhole, a crater, or another enclosed area of low
elevation, it is called a depression. The hachure marks point downslope toward the center of the
depression.
Rule # 4- Contour lines that cross a valley or stream are V-shaped.

Contour lines "point" upstream when they cross a river or stream. Look at the Mill River
in the map to the right. The V points toward the area of higher elevation. Notice how the contour
lines bend uphill where the river crosses them. Knowing this helps you determine which way is
uphill and which is downhill. The arrow below points to the direction the water flows, which is
always downhill. If you need help remembering, think of it this way: the contours at a stream or
river are in a "V" or "U" shape. The water flows out of the opening of the V or U shape and the
closed end points uphill.

Rule # 5- The spacing of contour lines depends on slope characteristics.

Closely spaced contour lines represent a steep slope. Widely spaced lines represent a
gentle slope. The circled area on the map to the right indicates the steepest slope on the map
where the contours are closest together.
The figure below shows how and why those close contours indicate a steep slope. Look at
the orange line stretching from X to Y in the map below. The graph on the map shows the profile
(what the landscape looks like from the side). Along the left side of the graph are the elevations
from sea level (0 meters) to 400 meters. Each of the vertical lines is drawn from the site where
our X-Y path crosses each contour line. (Notice that some of the vertical lines are closer together
than others. The distance between each vertical line is representative of the horizontal distance
between each of the elevations in reality on the ground.)
PATH PROFILING

A path profile is a graphical representation of a path between two adjacent radio link
sites in two dimensions. From the profile, tower heights are derived, and, subsequently, these
heights can be adjusted (on paper) so that the ray beam reflection point will avoid reflective
surfaces. The profile essentially ensures that the proper clearances of path obstructions are
achieved.

Figure 1. Example of Path Profile or Topographic Profile

There are three recognized methods to draw a path profile:

1. Fully Linear Method. Common linear graph paper is used where a straight line is drawn
from the transmitter site to the receiver site, giving tangential clearance of equivalent
obstacle heights. A straight line is also drawn from the receiver site to the transmitter
site.
2. Earth Method. Earth graph paper is required. In this case true values of obstacle height
may be used. An example of a profile using 3 graph paper is shown in Figure 2.2. Of
course, with this method, the value of K is fixed at f.
3. Curvature Method. Linear graph paper is used. True values of obstacle heights are
employed from a reference line or mean sea level (MSL) and a curved line is drawn from
the transmitter site (arbitrarily one end) to the receiver site and vice versa. The curved
line has a curvature KR, where K is the applicable K-factor and R is the geometric radius
of the earth or 3960 statute miles (6370 km) assuming the earth is a perfect sphere.

When should a Profile be constructed?

In introductory geoscience courses, a profile is appropriate when you are asked to

construct a cross-section or profile. Topographic profiles are used to understand what a
topographic map is telling you in a specific area (or, you can think about it like it is giving you a
"side view" of the landscape along a specific line on the map). Interestingly, many geologists are
quite visual and like to have visual representations of data. Because maps are two-dimensional
but represent three dimensions (that is, topographic maps are flat with lines that represent hills
and valleys).

How to construct a Path Profile:

1. Sketch in the line on the map or locate the line that is provided

2. Place the edge of a blank piece of paper along the line and mark the starting and ending
points of the line (label them with A and A', or whatever the given line is labelled).
3. Start at one end (maybe it's the A end) and move along the edge of the paper, making a
mark on the paper every time a contour line touches the edge of the paper. Make sure
you label each mark with the right elevation so that you can transfer that point to the
correct elevation on your profile. (If you get tired of marking every elevation contour, you
can just label the index (darker) contours and the places where a contour line repeats).
You may also want to mark where rivers or streams occur.

4. Take note of the highest and lowest elevation you record for later.

5. When you have marked all of the points where a contour line crosses the paper/profile
line, get a piece of graph paper (or a paper with all horizontal lines). Make sure that the
graph paper is at least as long as your profile line (you can paste more than one piece
together but make sure you line up the grid lines).

6. Draw a horizontal line on the graph paper that is the length of your profile line. Draw
vertical lines above your starting and ending points. Label the y-axis (vertical lines) with
elevations making sure that your scale goes from highest to lowest on your cross-section
(see step 3). For example, if your lowest elevation is 4200 feet and your highest
elevation is 7600 feet, you might want to label your axis going from 4000 to 8000 feet.
7. Line up your tick marked paper with the bottom of the graph and, beginning with the
elevation on the left hand side of the paper, go directly up from that tic mark to make a
small dot at the corresponding elevation. Note that the point does not need to be on a
vertical line on the graph paper.
 8. Once you have transferred all of your tick marks to your graph, connect the dots with a
smooth curve.

References: Yuriko Linck, Fisher Telecommunication Services – Satellite Communications

(Path Profile), March 2018
Pidwirny, M. "Topographic Maps". Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition,2006
J.M Wenner et. al, The Math You Need when you Need It, April 2017