GROUP# 4

TOPOGR
APHIC
LESSON 15

SURVEY BSCE-E22
 15.1 THE REPRESENTATION OF

RELIEF

15.2 SPOT HEIGHTS

LESSO
15.3 HACHURES

15.4 FORM LINES

N 15
15.5 CONTOUR LINES

15.6 LAYER TINTING

15.7 SHADING

15.8 RELIEF OR TERRAIN MODEL

15.9 RIDGE AND STEAM LINING

15.10 SUBAQUEOUS CONTOURS

LESSON 15.1

The configuration or shape and roughness of the

THE
ground is referred to as topography or hypsography.
This type of information is shown by topographic
maps, which also includes the location of natural
and artificial features.

REPRESE A detailed topographic map provides much definite

and exact information which can be used as a basis for

NTAION
various purposes. Significant contours can be
extracted; outlines can be traced as a basis for plotting
field information; gradient, slopes and relative relief
can be calculated; and profiles can be drawn.

RELIEF
LESSON 15.1

THE
Different methods and the most widely used include:

Spot heights

REPRESE
Hachures
Form lines
Contour lines
Layer tinting

NTAION
Shading
Relief models
Ridge and stream lining

RELIEF
LESSON 15.2

-It is the elevations of important features and

critical points such as road junctions, peaks,
summits, sags, highway crossings that are

SPOT
indicated on the map and spot heights provide
definite and precise information regarding
elevation, where the precise elevation of a
plotted point is given.

HEIGH
TS -Spot heights elevations may be estimated with
reasonable accuracy on even surfaces with fairly
close contouring, assuming the slope is uniform
between adjoining contours.
LESSON 15.3

- Hachures are a series of short lines drawn in the

direction of the slope and only give a general
impression of the configuration of the ground, but
they do not provide numerical values such as the

HACH
actual elevations of the ground surface.

- Hachures are difficult to draw. The drawing of

hachure lines is a slow and tedious process and does

URES
not provide the elevations required for engineering
applications. Hachuring is now done also in color,
usually brown, purple or gray that removes the
obliterating effect of black hachures in hilly or
rugged terrain.
 - Usually represented or drawn as dotted or broken lines

and do not portray any actual elevations.

- Form lines are produced when there isn't enough

vertical control, or the surface is too uneven or detailed

FORM
LESSON 15.4

to contour.

- The elevation of all points on a form line is expected

LINES to be the same, but not enough points are located to

meet the accuracy standards required for contour lines.

- Form lines are only used to show the shapes of the

terrain rather than relief.

LESSON 15.5
Contour lines or Isohypses are lines drawn or a method used
on a topographic map to represent depressions and ground
elevation on a two-dimensional sheet of paper.

Shows not only the elevation of points on the ground, but the

CONT
shape of various topographic features such as:

Mountains Dams

OUR
Hills Roads
Valleys Cities
Oceans

LINES
Ex: if you to take a large knife and slice off the top of a hill
with level slices at uniform elevation intervals, the edges of
the cut lines around the hill would be contour lines.

Contours are shown on map as the traces of level surfaces of

different elevations
 A color tint system is in common use for serial
LESSON 15.6
navigation charts and on small scale maps of the
world.

A scale of graded color tints or a system of different

LAYER
colors is used to show different zones of elevations.

A color scale is shown in the margins of the map

matching each color with its elevation interval.

TINTI For example, all land lying between sea level and
100 meters elevation is shown in yellow, between
100 meters and 200 meters in light green, between

NG
200 meters and 300 meters in dark green and so
forth.

Color tints when used in conjunction with contour

lines give pictorial effect by accentuating the areas
of different elevation.
 It is an old method used to show relative elevations on
LESSON 15.7
maps.

It is dependent upon shadows cast by the elevated portions

of the land.

This method is accomplished by the correct placement on

the map of different shades of gray tints.

SHADI
The map can be regarded as a picture of a relief model
illuminated by a light source directly overhead or from
the north-west. In vertical illumination, less light will fall

NG
upon the slopes than on level land
LESSON 15.7

SHADI
NG It can be provided as an overprint on conventional
contour map in order to assist laymen in interpreting
contours.

Although useful for some purposes, shading reveals

nothing about actual elevations of the ground surface.
LESSON 15.8

RELIE
Relief or terrain models provide the most
striking and realistic expression of
topography. The model is a representation

F OF
of the terrain done in three dimensions to
suitable horizontal and vertical scales. It is
in fact a miniature of the terrain it

TERRA
represents. They are made from wax, clay,
plastic, cardboard, or other materials and
shaped to agree with the actual terrain.

IN
LESSON 15.9

RIDG
Ridge and stream lining is mainly used to
emphasize the location of low and high
ground. This method is especially useful on

AND aerial photographs. When applied to a

topographic map, the ridge and stream lines

STEA
are usually placed on a sheet of overlay
paper in order not to deface the map.

M
LESSON 15.9

RIDGE
When streams are lined, the main streams
and their tributaries are first selected and
are drawn in blue solid lines. This is done

AND
to show the location of low ground.
Between the streams is higher ground. To
emphasize this, brown dashed lines are

STEA
drawn along the main ridges. The number
of minor ridges to be included depends
upon the emphasized desired. The ridge

M lines are joined in a systematic branching

structure.
 The portrayal of relief of the ground underwater is

SUBAQ
done by using depth curves or subaqueous contours.

They are not depression contours because they are

LESSON 15.10

numbered as the water depths grow deeper, and they

UEOUS are based on the low-water datum rather than the

mean sea level datum of contours. The unit of

CONTO
measure is the foot or meter, except in very deep

water, where depth curves are in fathoms (1 fathom

= 6 feet).

URS
 The importance of the distinction between land and

SUBAQ
water is so dominant that subaqueous contours, if
LESSON 15.10

included, are usually shown by blue lines. Depth

zones (equivalent to hypsometric zones) are

UEOUS represented by variations in blue. A darker tint is

used for portraying deeper areas. A bathymetric map

CONTO
is one which is primarily used to show bottom

contours of lakes, seas, oceans and other bodies of

URS
water.
 6.1 TYPES OF CONTOURS

.6.2 INDEX CONTOURS

6.3 INTERMEDIATE CONTOURS

LESSO
6.4 DEPRESSION CONTOURS

6.5 SUPPLEMENTAL CONTOURS

N 16
6.6 APPROXIMATE CONTOURS

6.7 THE CONTOUR INTERVAL

6.8 SELECTION OF CONTOUR

INTERVAL

6.9 CHARACTERISTICS OF

CONTOURS
LESSON 6.1

Five different types of contours have been designed by

TYPES
cartographers to portray the relief of the ground
surface and to make map reading easier. Most contours
are shown in brown which can be taken in a general
way to be representative of soil. It is, however, also

OF
possible to include contours in other colors, such as
black and blue, depending on the nature of the surface.
To denote rock, black is sometimes used, and blue is

CONT
used for ice or permanent snow.

OURS
LESSON 6.1

In general, all the types used conform to the

TYPES
characteristics of contours, but their symbolization has
been varied to make the relief picture more readily
apparent. These contours are classified into the
following types:

OF
1. Index Contours
2. Intermediate Contours
3. Supplemental Contours

CONT
4. Depression Contours
5. Approximate Contours

OURS
INDEX Index contours are heavier lines which are
normally twice the gauge of standard
contours. Usually drawn every fifth contour as

CONT
well as presenting info at two visual levels.
Contour numbers specify actual elevation
along a particular contour line. Index contours

OUR
are numbered on the upper side of each line
LESSON 6.2 which indicate whether its an uphill or
downhill direction.
LESSON 6.3

In figures 16-1 and 16-2, the four lighter

INTERM weight contours found between the indexes

contours are the intermediate contours.
These lines are not usually labeled except

EDIATE where the terrain is relatively flat and their

elevations are not readily obvious. They
conform to the contour interval specified for

CONTOU the map.

RS
T H E I N T E R M E D I AT E C O N T O U R S A R E F E AT H E R E D , W H E R E I N T H E
C O N T O U R S A R E C L O S E LY S PA C E D T O N E A R LY U N I T E O R M E R G E
INTO A SINGLE LINE.
LESSON 6.4

DEPRE
SSION
CONTO Closed contour, inside of which the ground or
geologic structure is at a lower elevation than
that outside, and distinguished on a map from

UR
other contour lines by hachures marked on the
downslope or downdip side.
LESSON 6.4

DEPRE
SSION A contour that indicates a hole and is represented by a

CONTO
"hachured" brown line. A depression is a point inside a contour
that is lower than the contour; a point outside the depression
contour is higher than the contour. Additionally, how do contour
lines show hills and depressions? Contour lines are used in a

UR
map to portray differences in elevation. When contour lines are
closer together on a map, they indicate a steep slope. Think of
contour lines as the distance between each incline. On the other
hand, the farther apart lines tend to indicate a depression in the
landscape.
LESSON 6.5

Contour line placed between regularly spaced

contours, used when the terrain change is not large

SUPPLEM
enough to be depicted with consistent contour
intervals.

Supplementary contour lines are placed between

ENTAL
regular contour lines to visualize small but important
forms that regular contour lines are unable to show.
On topographic maps, typical forms are hillcrests,

CONTOU
depressions, saddles, terraces, banks, and levees.

R
APPROX
IMATE
CONTO
LESSON 6.4

In some cases, a map marker has to make an

UR
educated guess rather than have a blank are in
the map. In these cases, the approximate
contour (see Fig. 16-5) is used instead of the
full range of possible positions and heights.
LESSON 6.5
A contour interval in surveying is the vertical distance
or the difference in the elevation between the two

THE
contour lines in a topographical map. It must always be
consistent within the limits of the map but may be
varied between map sheets to better portray the terrain.
Neighboring contour lines are drawn either close

CONT
together or far apart to show changes in slope and relief
variations.

OUR
The contour interval will affect the degree of detail for
portraying information related to slope and relief. A
small contour interval will allow slight changes in

INTER
slope and small features like hills and depressions to be
drawn whereas, the use of large intervals tend to mask
out such features. A large interval may be desirable in
areas with steep slopes where the contours will still be
relatively close together.
 IN PLANNING AND DESIGNING THE
CONTOUR INTERVAL TO BE USED FOR
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP, THESE FOLLOWING
FACTORS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED:

SELEC
Relative Costs - The time and expense of field and office
work is given important consideration. The smaller the
interval, the greater is the amount of field work, reduction,

TION
and plotting required in the preparation of the map.

Purpose of the Map - When the map is to be utilized for the

detailed design of engineering constructions or for the

OF
measurement of earthwork quantities, close contouring will
be required.

CONT
Nature of Terrain – The type of terrain and map scale will
invariably define the contour interval needed to produce a
suitable density of contours.

Scale of the map - The contour interval should be in

OUR
inverse ratio to the scale of the map. So, if the map scale is
reduced, the interval must be increased otherwise it
confuse the map user, and may it may possibly obscure
some important map details.
CHARACT
ERISTICS
OF
LESSON 6.9

CONTOUR
HE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMO
ONTOUR CHARACTERISTICS (THE ILLUSTRATION
ROM A TO J IN FIGURE 16-6 CORRESPOND TO EACH
OF THE TEN CHARACTERISTICS LISTED BELOW):

As a contour approaches a stream, the contour turns upstream until it intersects the shore line. It then crosses the
stream at right angles to the center of the bed and turns back along the opposite bank. If the stream has an
appreciable width, its contours are not drawn across the stream but are discontinued at the shore.