LANDSCAPE REPRESENTATION

3/10/2023 1
 Landscape or Landform?
• Sensu stricto:
– landform – a feature on the Earth's surface that
is part of the terrain/landscape
– Landscape - a collection of landforms
• In geomorphology, landscape is
synonymous with landform, and are
sometimes used interchangeably.
• Geographical landscape as a regional unit
and a geographical system can be
characterized by certain natural uniformity,
harmonious and organic unity, and
distinction from other parts of the Earth's
surface.
• Landform  Land Systems  Landscape
• These are separated by a border or
boundary
• The border enables one natural landform,
land system or landscape to be
differentiated from the others by its natural
borders.
• Types of boundaries: clear and not so
clear or obvious ones.
 Field Description of Landscapes
According to
• Morphogenesis (evolution)
– origin or formation of a landform or landscape
– Eg denudational, fluvial, aeolian or solution landforms
– endogenous/exogenous eg Volcanic landforms/landscapes

• Morphometry (measurements)
– quantitative representation and analysis of the
spatial properties of the geomorphological features
– slope dimensions,
– gradient,
– curvature,
– aspect;
– surface area,
– texture and
– altitude
 Field Description of Landscapes
• Morphologic, morphographic and /or structural
– qualitative descriptive appearance and or shape of the landscape
– landform classification through their description or configuration
– landforms identified with specific names
– landforms depicted with their correct shape.
– relationship between geological structure and landforms esp bed rock lithology
– Rock type
– Rock strength e.g. hard or soft rock
– Sediment consolidation
– Rock structure – fracturing, stratification, strike, dip
• Morphochronology (age/time)
– the absolute or relative age of the landform/landscape
– the chronological sequence of landform development
– Please note that landform development is a long time process.
– landforms we see today were formed by geomorphological processes which took a
long time

• Morphodynamics (change)
– activity status
– rate of genetic processes
– the current geomorphologic processes
 Examples of Field Descriptions: narration
• The region indicates evidence of landforms developed
by tectonic activity. It is dominated by steep slopes with
evidence of frequent landslides and Earth movements.
• The landscape is dominated by drumlins that typically
indicate the direction of glacial flow.
• Granitic tors landscapes dominate the flat plateau
region around Matoks near Capricorn, in Limpopo
Province, etc
• The river floodplain is dominated by several erosional
gullies, while rill erosion is concentrated on the alluvial
fans on the foot slopes of the escarpment.
• We can even describe a soil profile on the road side in
terms of grain size, soil texture, colour, among others .
 Morphological Mapping
• This is a means of representing landforms. In S. Africa
morphological maps display only the shape of the
ground with breaks in slope and gradients indicated.
• The maps present landforms according to their origin
(i.e. morphogenetic mapping); used in Europe in
engineering geomorphology, resource surveys and
pure research (i.e. Applied Geomorphology).
• They also indicate morphogenetic regions, i.e. regions
where certain geomorphological processes result
from a particular set of conditions (e.g. glacial,
climatic, fluvial, denudational or erosional etc).
 GEOMORPHOMETRY
• Quantification in all branches of Geography is now
the order of the day and all researchers seek to state
the relationships they observe in some form of
mathematical model.
• In Quantitative Geomorphology measurements are
always possible in the analysis of FORMS.
• GEOMORPHOMETRY is the term applied to the
measure of shape, geometry or relief features in a
given landscape.
 GEOMORPHOMETRY
• the measurement of landforms (Goudie, et
al., 1990).
• the science of topographic quantification;
its operational focus is the extraction of
land-surface parameters and objects from
digital elevation models (DEMs) (Pike, Evans
and Hengl, 2008:4).
Geomorphometry as a system
 GENERAL AND SPECIFIC GEOMORPHOMETRY
General Geomorphometry
• quantitative analysis the land surface as a
continuous, rough surface, described by attributes
at a sample of points
• no challenge of landform definition and delimitation
– less subjectivity and human difference
– However, results affected by data resolution and
sampling pattern.
 General Geomorphometry
• General geomorphometry should enable
– comparison of areas and suggestion of differences in
form that require explanation;
– demonstration of representativeness of the sample;
– Expression of the areal importance of a target
population (e.g. ‘straight slopes’) selected for detailed
study;
– prediction of process rates and discharges from their
relationships to form attributes; and
– to show the presence and importance of various
combinations of surface attributes, which may be
relevant to predictions from theoretical models.
 General Geomorphometry
Applications
• construction, erosion hazard, farming,
telecommunications, radar, terrain-following aircraft
and missiles, irrigation and drainage
• In most of these applications, it is not necessary to
predefine specific landforms
• general geomorphometry is the relevant approach.
 Specific Geomorphometry
• the measurement and analysis of specific landforms,
defined by one or more processes, and
distinguished from adjacent parts of the landscape
according to clear criteria of delineation
• data used for analysis of shape and pattern in
specific geomorphometry are obtained from maps
eg aerial photographs, published topographic maps,
or satellite imagery
• Specific geomorphometry focuses on landforms
that are distributed regionally as a set of replicates
rather than individual landform features eg focus on
alluvial fans, landslides
 Specific Geomorphometry
• Specific geomorphometry focuses on the pattern
and shape of the specific landform
• Landform pattern
– Point approach - spatial pattern given as points in space
• Pattern given in terms of intensity and grain
• Intensity - extent to which density varies within the bounded
area
• Intensity can be regular (or uniform), random or clustered.
 Landform pattern
• Either as point or mosaic approach
– Point approach - spatial pattern given as points in space
• Point patterns have two attributes - intensity and grain
• Intensity - extent of density variation within focus area
• Intensity identified as regular (or uniform), random or
clustered
 Landform Pattern
• grain is independent of intensity
• concerns the area and spacing of patches of high and low
density
– point pattern analysis measures intensity using the
techniques of quadrat analysis, block size analysis of
variance and nearest-neighbour analysis.
Specific Geomorphometry Applications
 Landform Patterns
– Mosaic methods
• Landform distributions mapped and look at as number-phase
mosaics
• every point in an area is assigned to a particular phase
• all the phases are present as patches of finite extent
• A two phase approach is the easiest – eg gullied and non-
gullied patches
• The patches can be sampled parallel and perpendicular to the
slope direction and direction of water flow / prevailing wind
direction
 Landform Shapes / form
• shape of the land surface is largely a function of
curvature
• forms can be convex, straight or concave
• This is part of the morphographic / morphologic
landform data
• Plan or surface shape
– Plan – a view from above
– Surface - a view from the ground. Also called profile
• From a morphometric point of view, form is derived
from measurement and comparison with known
mathematical shapes
 Landform shapes / form
• Planar form
– indices are scaled such that a critical value approximates
to that of a standard shape
– eg watershed shape if compared with the circle
– results include indexes such as the form factor (Horton
1932), the circularity ratio (Miller 1953) and the
elongation ratio (Schumm 1956)
• Form factor – the ratio of the width to the length of the
drainage-basin.
• Circularity ratio - the ratio of basin area (Au) to the area of
circle (Ac) having the same perimeter (Pr) as the basin.
• Elongation ratio - the ratio of the diameter of a circle with the
same area as that of the basin to the maximum basin length
 Landform shapes / form
• Surface form / shape
– transect profile typically along the longest axis of the
planar form
• Surface form / shape
– Information about surface form
• affects the accumulation of surface flow
– affects accumulation of surface deposits
• This happens through two accumulation mechanisms
– divergence in flow in response to local horizontal convexity and
convergence in flow in response to horizontal concavity, resulting in
accumulation in areas of horizontal concavity
– relative deceleration of flow in the downslope direction as influenced
by changes in profile curvature from broadly convex to concave
Cartographic Techniques in
Geomorphology
 Landform identification on
topographic maps
• A map is a conventional representation of a
portion of the earth's surface as seen from
directly above
• shows in varying detail the various features of
the place represented
• The feature being represented is made
prominent
• various types of maps exist
– Cadastre
– Vegetation
– Geology
– Population
– Topo
 Topographic Maps
• represent the relief of the ground such as hills,
valleys, mountains
• Represent water bodies such as rivers, creeks,
lakes, ponds
• features can be shown qualitatively or
quantitatively
– Qualitative methods show relief by shading or
hachures
§ hachure method - short shade lines running directly
down the slopes of the hills; they show the direction
in which water would flow down the hill
§ The slope is indicated by the thickness and spacing of
the individual hachure lines.
§ steep slopes are indicated by thick lines very close
together. Level ground is left unshaded
§ The exact height of the ground is only shown at
important points by spot heights

Every road, railroad, canal, dam or bridge is first planned and

laid out on a topographic map.
 Topographic Maps
– Quantitative methods show relief by
indicating the elevation above sea level.
This is done by contour lines or isohypses
• The method adopted to show the relief
must indicate clearly three phenomena:
§ the shape and size of the hills;
§ the slope; and
§ the height of the ground
• Contours do all the three with great
accuracy.
• However, contours are difficult to
understand as compared to shading and
hachure methods
 Contour lines and landform
identification
• expressing relief by lines drawn at
equal elevations above sea level
• the lines represent imaginary lines
on the ground that have the same
elevation.
• contours expresses the slope -
where it is steep the contours are
close together; where it is gentle
the contours are far apart
 Contour lines: important points
• Only index contours are marked in bold and
the altitude labelled
• Index contours often occur at intervals of 5
contours
• The difference between consecutive
contours is called contour or vertical interval
(V.I.)
• The VI is usually given in the border
information
• If not given, it can be calculated by dividing
the number of contours between two index
contours by the elevation between the two
index contours
 Contours and landforms
• Contour
spacing
– Close together:
Steep slope Steep Slope

– Far apart:
Gradual or
gentle slope

Gradual Slope
 Contours and landforms
• Valleys: Lines form a “V”
pattern along valleys
• “Vs” point upstream
indicating the direction of
the stream flow.
• Streams always flow
downhill
• Contours can and do cross
streams but never each
other.
 Contours and landforms

• Contour lines never cross or

divide
• On cliffs the may appear to
merge, but are stacked
• May appear to cross in
caves, but go under one
another
 Contours and landforms

• Hills and knobs are shown as closed,

concentric contours

• Closed depressions and basins are

shown as closed contours with
hatches pointing downslope.
Contours and landforms
 Contours and landforms
Description of landforms
• Saddle – A low point between
two areas of higher ground.
– most easily identified as a low spot
between two hilltops or peaks,
– but a saddle can also just be a dip
in a ridgeline.
– If one is in a saddle there is high
ground in two opposing directions
and low ground in the other two
directions.
– can often be identified by contour
lines that form an hourglass shape.
 Contours and landforms
Description of landforms
• Ridge – A long spine-like edge of sloping
ground, with higher elevation in only one
direction. Contours form a sausage shape
– From the top of a ridge low ground falls off
two opposing sides, and a high/low line
running the other two directions.
• Draw - draw or “cut” is similar to a valley, in
that it is an area of low ground with higher
elevation in only one direction.
– a draw is smaller, steeper, usually
perpendicular to the ridge, and is commonly
created by water flow or rock fall.
 Contours and landforms
Description of landforms
• Valley – A long stretch of low lands,
commonly formed by waterways
– three directions have higher ground
and one direction has lower ground.
– Usually two opposing inclines are very
apparent, while the opposing high/low
line (the incline of the valley “floor”)
may be less distinguished;
– the direction of the “V” formed by the
contours indicate direction of water
flow and the high/low side of the
valley floor.
 Contours and landforms
Description of landforms
• Spur –the high ground that is left
between to draws or cuts.
– A spur features “U” or “V” shaped
contours where the narrow portion of
U/V shape point to lower elevations.

• Bench/ terrace –A bench is a flat area

that exists on the rise of a ridge.
– As the ridge/ cliff rises it takes breaks,
flatten out to a bench temporarily, and
then will continue to rise to the peak.
– Benches are often found mid-way up a
ridge/cliff side.
– Terraces in river valleys are caused by
rejuvenation
 Contours and landforms
Description of landforms

• Hilltop/Peak/Plateau – an
area of high ground where
the surrounding ground
loses elevation in all
directions.
– identified on topographic
maps by contour lines that
form complete, concentric
circles.
 Hand Contouring
• Drawing contour lines is a way to represent
a terrain surface with a sample of
elevations
• although computer programs conduct this
type of analysis readily, it is also useful to
hand contour data
• it is still worthwhile to know how this is
done
• In some cases it can be argued that an
experienced geomorphologist might
produce a better contour map of a
landscape than the computer does because
they can use their expert knowledge of
how that type of landscape surface
behaves
 Hand Contouring
Steps to follow
1. Obtain a sketch of the drainage or
stream lines
2. If not provided, chose a contour
interval. Use the smallest contour interval
possible without over-interpreting the
data
– A general rule of thumb is that if you
commonly have several contours
passing between two control/data
points then your interval is too small
– To avoid such challenges, find the range
(the highest minus the lowest value)
and divide by the number of data
points
 Hand Contouring

• ….contour interval
– the contour interval should be larger
than this value
– A contour interval too large will lead to
an over-simplified interpretation
– Alternatively….
– Follow the general mapping
conventions of your area, including
ü The general contour interval commonly
used in topo maps
ü Or the number of contour lines between
index contours – in this case between
data/elevation points…..then
o Measure the distance between two points
o Divide the distance by the number of
contours
 Hand Contouring

Example
• Distance between two points =
30 meters
• There are to be five (5) contour
lines on this distance
• Divide 30 meters by 5 to get
one contour every 6 meters
• Therefore the contour interval is
6 metres
 Hand Contouring

3. Find the location and elevation of

certain controlling points which will
enable interpolation and sketching in of
the contours.
– In this case these are the given points
4. Starting at the highest elevation, draw
straight lines to the nearest neighbouring
spot elevations
– connect all the points that neighbour
each point in descending order
– Do not draw triangles across the
stream
 Hand Contouring
• The result is a triangulated irregular network (TIN)
– A TIN is a vector representation of a continuous surface that
consists entirely of triangular facets.
– The vertices of the triangles are spot elevations
5. Draw ticks to mark the points at which elevation
contours intersect each triangle side (also advised to label these marks)
– Lets use the example of the TIN line 2360-2480
– Because contours are drawn at multiples of the contour
interval, only one contour will be drawn at 2400
– To locate the position of 2400 on the TIN line between 2480
and 2360
ü Find the distance between two points by subtracting the lower
from the higher elevation (2480-2360 = 120)
ü Find the distance between the lower elevation (2360) and the
contour elevation (2400) by subtracting the lower elevation
from the contour elevation (2400-2360 = 40)
 Hand Contouring
• Draw ticks to mark the points at which
elevation contours intersect each
triangle side (also advised to label these marks)
ü Therefore, contour 2400 is at 40 distance of
2360
ü The 40 distance is a fraction of the total
distance of 120. Therefore contour 2400 is
at 40/120 distance on the map (30mm)
ü Hence the position of 2400 contour is at 1/3
of 30mm = 10mm

ü In short the position of a contour line along

a TIN is (contour elevation – Data point
elevation) x TIN length (mm).
 Hand Contouring
6. Draw the contour lines
– working downslope from the highest elevation, thread
contours through ticks of equal elevation.
– Move to the next highest elevation when the surface seems
ambiguous
• Keep in mind the following characteristics of contour
lines (Rabenhorst and McDermott, 1989):
– Contours should always point upstream in valleys
– Contours should always point down-ridge along ridges
– Adjacent contours should always be sequential or
equivalent
– Contours should never split into two
– Contours should never cross or loop
– Contours should never spiral
– Contours should never stop in the middle of a map
Hand Contouring
 Hand Contouring
• Practice Exercise 1
 Hand Contouring

• Practice Exercise
1: Solution
 Hand Contouring
• Practice
Exercise 2
 Hand Contouring

• Practice Exercise 2:
Solution
 Hand Contouring

• Practice Exercise 3.
 Hand Contouring

• Practice Exercise 3:
Solution
 Sections and Profiles
• Sections and profiles are
constructed from contour
maps
– assist in visualizing the relief,
and in the description and
explanation of the land-
forms.
– geomorphologists seek to
analyse the nature of relief…..
interested in surfaces with
different slopes
– convenient and better for
certain kinds of work
 Sections and Profiles
• ‘Profile’ and ‘Section’ ?
• literal meaning of a section is a cutting,
or a surface exposed by such a cutting
eg when the geological structure is
shown
‒ A soil-profile is in fact really a section
since it shows the successive layers or
zones from the surface downwards
• a profile is therefore a curving line
showing the outline of the undulations
on the surface along a line where the
plane of a section cuts the surface of
the ground
– sections are usually drawn showing the
intersection of the ground and an
imaginary vertical plane
– profiles may be drawn for any line on a
model or the ground, curved or straight
 Sections and Profiles
• The figure illustrates the terms,
section and profile
– a shows a model of a rounded
landscape
– a vertical plane, AB, cuts through
the model on the line abc like a
large knife
– when the right-hand portion of the
model is removed, it would look like
b.
– when model is turned around so
that the plane AB is directly facing
the observer, c shows the result
– the portion of the figure marked by
line shading (cross-hatched) is a
section of the model on a plane
through A and C
– the top boundary of the section,
shown by a heavy line lettered abc
in c, is a profile across the model on
the line ac.
 Sections and Profiles
• Types of Profiles
1. Serial Profiles
– A series of profiles to illustrate the
edge of a plateau, the transverse
shape of a valley from the source of a
river to its mouth, the character of a
coastline, a series of projecting spurs,
or a series of planation surfaces
– They can be arranged in a vertical
column, representing for example a
series from north to south,
accompanied by a location map
– They can also be constructed as
serials in time (Fig- 34) if short-term
changes are appreciable.
 Sections and Profiles
• Types of Profiles
2. Longitudinal Profiles
– drawn along a curved or winding
road, railway or river
3. Superimposed Profiles
– profiles spaced at regular intervals
across a piece of the landscape
plotted on a single frame
– Each individual line should be
carefully numbered and located
on an accompanying map
– Usually produce muddled profiles
 Sections and Profiles
• Types of Profiles
3. Composite Profiles
– constructed to represent the surface of any area
of relief, as viewed in the horizontal planes of
the summit-levels from an defined distance, and
so including only the highest parts of a series of
parallel profiles
→ a number of closely spaced equidistant parallel
lines is ruled across the area
→ place a straight-edge of paper along the outside
parallel line, with a set-square at right-angles to it
→ slide the setsquare along the straight edge,
reading off the highest point, on whichever
parallel line it occurs, and noting it on the
straight-edge
→ transfer these points to a base-line on graph-
paper, plot them and join them with a smooth
line, as for an ordinary profile
→ A lengthier method is to draw a profile along each
parallel line, super-impose each in pencil, and join
up all summit lines
 Sections and Profiles
• Types of Profiles
4. Projected Profiles
– a single diagram a series of profiles,
including only those features not
obscured by higher intervening forms
– gives a panoramic effect, with a
distant sky-line, a middle-ground and
a foreground
– it is an outline landscape drawing
showing only summit detail
– The profiles should be spaced at equal
intervals, but it is possible to add
selected lines, running along, for
example, a crest-line
– also called a compressed profile
 Sections and Profiles
• Drawing a Profile – along the road
between A and B.
1. Examine the profile route to identify the
lowest and highest points along the
profile route
2. A horizontal line is drawn on a piece of
paper (preferably graph paper) to
represent an elevation of 800 m and is
marked 800.
ü The starting line should be lower than the
lowest point on the profile
3. Other horizontal lines are drawn above
this line at a convenient spacing to
represent 850, 900, 950, and 1000 m
4. A point is selected at the left end of the
paper to represent the point A on the
map
 Sections and Profiles
• Drawing a Profile – along the road
between A and B
5. mark every point where the road
and contour lines cross, numbering
them as shown on the illustration
6. lay a straightedge of paper along the
road on the map, marking point A on
the left as the starting point
7. mark accurately with sharp clean ticks
all contour intersections, spot-heights,
rivers, summits and other defined
points
8. The point b on the map is 900 m
elevation so b on the profile is plotted
directly above b' at 900 m
9. do the same for all the other points
 Sections and Profiles
• Drawing a Profile – along the road between A
and B
10. Connect the points with a smooth curving line
11. Label the points lettered in sideways above the
point on the section to which they refer
• Note that the height of the road between b
and c and at such points as the bridge were
estimated in order to draw the profile
properly between the plotted points
• When drawing in the profile, care must be
taken
(a) to start from the exact height at either end;
(b) to distinguish between dips and rises where there
are two successive contours numbered identically;
and
(c) to draw carefully the outlines of summits, whether
peaked or flattened.
 Sections and Profiles
• Practice Exercise
– Longitudinal Profile: Extraction
from Bourke’s Luck
1. Along the Blyderiverspoort hiking
trail
2. Along power line
3. Along dirty road behind the dam
wall