Maps represent actual locations of areas, landforms, and water bodies. Learn how to read a map and find out the meaning and significance of...
A topographic map is a three-dimensional depiction (but usually in a two-dimensional presentation) of the contours and elevations of a region, such as mountains, hills, valleys and rivers. Topographic maps are typically used by the military, architects, mining companies and even hikers. To read...
The contour interval is the amount of elevation change between each contour line. Contour intervals vary from map to map. Intervals set at 40-feet are common on 1:24,000 scale maps. But many maps, especially small scale maps, have 50-foot or 100-foot intervals. Index contours are the mo...
Knowing how to read a map is crucial to a successful outdoor adventure, whether you’re exploring the hills or going backcountry
If you're trying to drive from Point A to Point B and prefer a map over GPS instructions, a regular road map is the way to go. But if you've strayed from the road, perhaps on a backpacking trek, you need to see the terrain and the contours of the land. And that means you ...
Getting to know a map ©LFTO The UK is one of, if not the best mapped country in the world, with every crinkly edge, wandering river and twisting highway covered in remarkable detail. And depending on what you need one for, maps come in various scales and sizes, from road atlases ...
How To Read a Topographic Map I know that topographic maps and non-digital navigation can be intimidating, especially for those who never used them. In this guide, I'm going to focus on the basics of the topographic map so that you can look at one and make sense of it if your electro...
Whether you’re going old school on your next adventure in the bush, or just hoping to orient yourself in your local labyrinthine underground mall, read on and discover exactly what it takes to navigate using a map and compass. Connect with Nature with Our Free Hiking & Camping Resources!
Read and interpret contour lines Contour Lines Elevation Profile Perhaps the least intuitive symbols on a topographical map (and the most important) are the contour lines. These brown wavy non-crossing lines seem to dominate the entire map, yet they do not represent anything physical like roads ...
the contours. That’s simple arithmetic, suitable for computers. The USGS has taken all of its maps and created a 3D digital map for the lower 48 states that reconstitutes the shape of the land that way. The map is shaded through another calculation to model how the sun would illuminate ...