HIRANANDANI FOUNDATION SCHOOL, POWAI

DICTIONARY OF CONVENTIONAL SIGNS AND SYMBOLS

Std. X [2021-2022]
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A] Boundaries:
(Represented on map in black
colour)
……………..
(v) Tehsil / Taluka boundary: This
line, represented on the map by a
series of dots, forms the border
between the tehsil / taluka within
a district.

B] Roads and Railways:

(i) Metalled road (pucca road): It
is a tarred road which indicates a
developed region. On the map it is
shown by red parallel lines.
Metalled road may also be shown
with distance-stone markers. 18
The number on the stone indicates
distance in kilometers from the
nearest town. The distance
between two distance-stones is
1.6km.
(ii) Unmetalled road (kaccha
road): Such roads are not tarred
and are indicative of
underdeveloped regions. On the
map it is shown by a pair of red
broken parallel lines.

(iii) Pack track: It is a path made

when man and animal use the
region to travel. On the map it is
shown by a single red broken line.
(iv) Cart-track: It is a path broader
than a pack track, made by bullock or
horse cart. On the map it is shown by
a single red line.
(v) Footpath: It is a path made by
man, usually in very steep regions.
On the map it is shown by a single
line of red dots.
………..
Railways: Railway line with
Station
On a map, this indicates an area of RS
human settlement.

C] Water bodies, features and

systems:
(i) River (Nadi): It is a natural Sipu Nadi
flow of water, larger than a stream
and emptying into an ocean, a
lake or another river.
(ii) Relative height of river
bank: This is represented as a
number followed by a letter ‘r’, 4r
written on the slope of a river
bank or embankment.
(iii) River bed (dry, with water Sukli Nadi
channel):
The river almost dries up, leaving
a bed with a narrow channel of
water flowing through it. It is
found in semi-arid regions, with 4r
seasonal rainfall.
(iv) River with rocks and islands:
Most rivers in their lower course
Narrow Perennial Water Channel
carry an enormous load of
sediments. It is unable to carry it
all the way to the mouth. The
sediment, consisting of rock,
stones, silt, gravel, etc., is
deposited in the river channel. In
some cases, islands may form due
to deposition.

River island
(small white patch in river
course)

(v) Seasonal or non-perennial

Stream: The stream dries up
during the summer season. It
occurs in arid regions with
seasonal rainfall. It is also found
in chalk country when the porous
rocks are saturated during heavy
rains.
(vi) Confluence : It is the
intersection of the tributary with
the main river.

River Confluence

(vii) Falls : The word “falls”

followed by the height such as
15m, 16m are used to indicate the Falls 15 m
presence of waterfalls. Waterfalls
are formed when water plunges
over a steep slope or side of the
highland.

(viii) Meanders : Meanders are

loops and bends found in the
middle course of river. It is
formed due to reduced gravity and
velocity. This feature is indicative
of flat ground.

River Meander

(ix) Broken ground: It is a feature

generally found along the banks
of a seasonal stream or river
(where the soil is soft) in arid
regions. It is formed due to
alternating dry and wet periods.
Land is submerged by floods in
the wet season, and rapid
evaporation due to intense heat in
the dry season causes weathering Canal
to occur.
(x) Canal: It is a channel cut
through land. Water is diverted
from rivers into canals for the
purpose of irrigation and / or
navigation. In India, presence of
canals indicates intensive use of
the land for agriculture.

Perennial Tank / Reservoir

Embankment (raised construction
of earth / mud)
(xi) Tank (perennial) (talao):
Tanks are means of storing water
in hollows where it naturally
occurs. Tanks are usually made by
building embankments across
streams or hollows.
A perennial tank is one which has
water throughout the year.
Note: A tank with embankment is
man-made while one without
embankment is natural

(xii) Tank (dry) : Rockfilled and

with earthwork embankment.

(xiii) Well (lined, perennial): A

well is bore made into the ground
to reach the water table. A well
lined with stones or bricks is
called a lined well. It is shown on
the map as a solid blue circle.
If the well is deep enough to
remain below the water table at all
times of the year, it does not dry
up and called a perennial well.
(xiv) Lined perennial well with
brackish water:
Brackish: Water which is salty
and is unfit for drinking. Occurs
in dry regions, in the lined
perennial wells, where due to
extreme heat excessive (Brackish)
evaporation occurs leaving high
mineral content in the water.
This water cannot be used for
drinking or irrigation but is used
for washing clothes and utensils.

(v) Lined perennial well with

relative depth
A lined well with a number
and letter ‘r’ written in blue
beside it indicates the 20r
relative depth of the well in
metres.
(xvi) Well (unlined): This is
without any brick or stone
lining and is represented on
the map by a blue hollow
circle.

(xvi) Tube-well: It is a deep

bore (tube) dug into the
ground and water is drawn
out with the help of pump. It
is shown on a map by a small
blue triangle. Presence of
tube wells on the map
indicate intensive use of the
land for agriculture.
(xvii) Causeway: It is raised Causeway
metalled road across a
minor stream or low-lying
marshy area at a shallow
Causeway
point. (It should not be
confused with a bridge)

D] Drainage Patterns:
(i) Dendritic: The drainage
pattern resembles a tree and
its branches. Such a pattern
develops when the surface
material (rock) is relatively
uniform and the relief is
almost flat. Main stream

(ii) Trellised: This type of

rectangular drainage pattern
develops where there are
bands of alternately resistant
and less-resistant rocks.
Main Stream
(iii) Radial: Streams flow out
in all directions like the
spokes of a wheel. Such a
Hill Top
pattern develops in areas
where conical hill exists.

(iv) Disappearing stream: In

this pattern, the stream may
not join a river but simply
disappears into the sand.
Such a stream is indicative
of an arid region with
sandy or porous soil.

E] Vegetation and Forests: Open Scrub

(i) Open Scrub: It is an
indicative of scanty rain,
desert or semi-desert
conditions.

(ii) Scattered vegetation: On

the map, the distribution of
trees and shrubs is widely
spaced. Indicates region of
moderate to scanty rainfall.

(iii) Rock outcrop: Open Rock outcrop

scrub with scanty desert-
type vegetation where
rocks are cropped out. The
pieces of rock juts out of the
main rock. On the map it is
shown by the word
‘rock outcrop’
(iv) Dense forest (jungle): It
indicates a region of heavy
rainfall. On the map it is shown Dense jungle
by the word ‘dense jungle’.
(v) Open jungle: It indicates
moderate rainfall.
Open jungle

(vi) Prominent surveyed tree:

Prominent surveyed trees are
shown in black. Surveyed trees
have numbers on their trunks. 181
They serve as landmarks and are
not allowed to be cut.
The number represent the height
of the land above MSL.

(vii) Fire line: The word Fireline

is found in forest areas, in survey
maps. This is a 5metre wide
path or trench, clear of all
vegetation, around the forest to Fire line
prevent forest fires from
spreading. (A fire in the forest
spreads to bush to bush or from
tree to tree. In the absence of
vegetation, the fire is unable to
spread beyond this patch.)

F] Settlements:
(i) Nucleated settlement: These
consists of houses which form
compact and concentrated
settlements. It is indicative of
generally fertile plains and valleys
where the land is productive and
can support a large population.

(ii) Dispersed settlement:

Indicative of areas where farm
sizes are large and population is
sparse. It could also indicate
highland areas where livestock
rearing is the main occupation.

(iii) Linear settlement: In this type

of settlement houses are usually
stretched out along the local
main road or river bank or
railway line.

(iv) Permanent hut

(v) Temporary hut

G] Monuments and Buildings:
(i) Graves

(ii) Post Office PO

(iii) Post and Telegraph Office PTO

(iv) Dak Bungalow DB
(v) Police Station Police Station

(vi) Veterinary Hospital /

Dispensary

(vii) Police Chauki Police Chauki

(viii) Telephone line

…………… Telephone line

H] Representing heights on
Ordnance Maps:
(i) Spot height: It is the height of a
particular point (spot) on the
ground (in metres) indicated on . 542
the map with a black dot in front
of a number.
Sometimes the dot may not be
given. If a six-figure reference is
asked in such a case, then the dot
must be presumed.
 (ii) Triangulated height: When
the height of a place is determined
by using trigonometry, the height
is shown on maps with a dot 364
enclosed within a triangle. They
are then known as triangulation
points or triangulation stations.
These triangulation points act as
the corners of the main triangles
of a survey.

(iii) Bench Mark: Bench marks

are marks cut in a stone or shown
on a building as a permanent
reference for survey purposes.
They indicate the height . BM 225.3
accurately determined by surveys.

(iv) Approximate or Relative

heights: This height is not taken
from the sea level but with respect
to the surrounding area. It may be
the height of a dam, bridge, sand
dune or it can be the depth of a
well, tank and canal. For example,

.
3r, 5r, 8r etc.
Example:
20r - the relative depth of a lined
perennial well is 20metres. 20r

3r - the relative height of an

embankment of a dry tank is 3
metres. 3r

13r - the relative height of a sand

dune is 13 metres.
4r - the relative height of river
bank is 4 metres.

4r

(v) Contour line: A line on a

topographical map joining places
of equal height above sea level.
Contour Interval: It is the
difference in height between any
two successive contour lines
(vi) Form lines: Sometimes the
relief is so complicated or
inaccessible, that is difficult to
survey the region accurately. In
such cases, contours are drawn as
broken lines which indicate only
the general pattern of the ground
and give no idea of definite
heights. Since they show only the
form of the land, they are known
as form lines.

(vii) Depression (Dep) :

Depression is a general lowering
of land. The word “Dep” is Dep
printed on the map in an arid area
to show where the wind has
blown away the sand leaving a
hollow. Such depressions or
hollows are often found on the top
of mounds or dunes.

I] Miscellaneous:
(i) Gravel waste: Wasteland or
Gravel waste
barren land covered with Stony waste
gravel.
(ii) Stony waste: Barren land
which has stones.
(iii) Sheet rock: Continuous
stretch of horizontally
embedded hard rocks
(sedimentary rocks) which are
exposed to the surface and are
well polished due to the agents
of erosion.

(iv) Sand dunes: These are

mounds or hills of sand
deposited by the action of wind.
They indicate arid or desert
conditions. On the map sand
dunes are represented by small
brown patches.
Note: Barren, rocky and sandy
soil are indictive of infertile
region.

(v) Kiln (Khera): It is a large

outdoor oven for drying and Lime Kiln
baking bricks, limestone, stone,
pottery, etc.
Kiln (lime): It is a furnace for
baking limestone.
Kiln (brick): It is a furnace for Brick Kiln
baking bricks.

(vi) Mine: A large excavation

made into the Earth to extract
minerals.
.
(vii) Stone quarry: A place
where stone or slate is obtained
by cutting or blasting for
building purposes. It is usually
Stone Quarry
open to the light, and in this
way differs from a mine.
(Note: The presence of kilns,
mines and quarries are
indicative of human activity
(occupation), and hence
settlements.

Aqueduct: It is an artificial
channel (or pipeline) built of
masonary used for carrying
water. It is usually raised or
elevated (like a bridge carrying
a canal). On the map it is shown
as by the word ‘aqueduct’.

Protected Forest: These are

forests planted as act as shelter
belts (barrier against wind,
running water) to prevent soil
erosion and or/ to prevent
shifting of sand dunes in the
desert area.

Reserved Forest: It is an area in

the forest where the trees are
not allowed to be cut.

Main power line

(i) with pylon surveyed

[Pylon: a tall tower-like structure

used for carrying electricity cables
high above the ground.]

(ii) with poles unsurveyed

Diggi: It is a tank which is used
for the collection of water.
(Sheet No. G43S10 – Grid
Square – 4835)

Overhead Tank

Rest House or Inspection

Bungalow

Covered Tank

Siphon - It is a bent pipe taken

from a canal to supply water

Sluice – A sliding gate to control

flow of water.