What is a topographic map?

A topographic map is a detailed and accurate illustration of man-

made and natural features on the ground such as roads, railways, power transmission lines,
contours, elevations, rivers, lakes and geographical names. The topographic map is a two-
dimensional representation of the Earth’s three-dimensional landscape. The most frequently
used Canadian topographic map is at the scale of 1:50 000.

Refer to the map legend for a complete listing of all features and their corresponding symbols.
Information along the map borders provides valuable details to help you understand and use a
topographic map. For example, here you will find the map scale and other important
information about the map such as the year, the edition and information pertaining to the map
data

Topographic map: Topographic maps also display physical features, using

contour lines instead of color to show changes in the landscape, such as elevation. The
spacing of contour lines are even and help differentiate between steep and flat features;
for example, a mountain may have many closely knit contour lines to show steepness
and a high elevation, whereas flatlands may have spread apart contour lines to show
flatness and a low elevation.

Topographic maps are highly detailed maps that show both the natural terrain
and man-made roads and buildings. They differ from most types of maps because they
show elevation, but they have all the other elements that you find on maps including a
legend, scale and north-pointing arrow.

What do the colours mean?

A variety of colours can be found on a map, each relating to different types of features.

Black shows cultural features such as buildings, railways and power transmission lines.
It is also used to show geographical names (toponymy), certain symbols, geographic
coordinates and precise elevations.

Blue represents water features, such as lakes, rivers, falls, rapids, swamps and marshes.
The names of water bodies and water courses are also shown in blue, as are magnetic
declination and UTM grid information.

Green indicates vegetation such as wooded areas, orchards and vineyards. Some
northern areas of Canada are mapped in black and white (monochrome). What are contour
lines? Contour lines connect a series of points of equal elevation and are used to illustrate relief
on a map. They show the height of ground above mean sea level (MSL) either in metres or feet,
and can be drawn at any desired interval. For example, numerous contour lines that are close
to one another indicate hilly or mountainous terrain; when further apart they indicate a gentler
slope; and when far apart they indicate flat terrain.

Topo tip: • Use contour lines to determine elevations of mountains and flat areas. The
closer together the lines are, the steeper the slope. • Contour elevation numbers indicate the
direction of elevation by always reading (pointing) uphill.

What is scale?

Maps are made to scale. In each case, the scale represents the ratio of a distance on the
map to the actual distance on the ground. A standard Canadian topographic map is produced at
1:50 000, where 2 cm on the map represents 1 km on the ground.

Medium-scale maps (e.g. 1:50 000) cover smaller areas in greater detail, whereas small-
scale maps (e.g. 1:250 000) cover large areas in less detail. A 1:250 000 scale national
topographic system (NTS) map covers the same area as sixteen 1:50 000 scale NTS maps.

Topo tip: • Know what map scale you’re using to measure distance. Refer to the scale
bar at the bottom of the map.

How do I measure distance on a map?

Use the scale bar found at the bottom of every NRCan topographic map to determine
distances between points or along lines on the map sheet. Use the secondary division on the
left of the scale bar for measuring fractions of a kilometre.

What is a grid?

A grid is a regular pattern of parallel lines intersecting at right angles and forming
squares; it is used to identify precise positions. To help you locate your position accurately on
the surface of the Earth (or map sheet), topographic maps have two kinds of referencing
systems:
 • universal transverse mercator (UTM) projection (easting/northing)

• geographic: degrees and minutes (longitude/latitude) The projection used for

topographic maps is UTM. The UTM grid is a square grid system of lines depicted on maps and
based on the transverse mercator projection. It can be used to accurately locate the position of
features on the map by distance or direction.

Topographic maps are detailed, accurate graphic representations of features that

appear on the Earth's surface. These features include:

 cultural: roads, buildings, urban development, railways, airports, names of places and
geographic features, administrative boundaries, state and international borders,
reserves
 hydrography: lakes, rivers, streams, swamps, coastal flats
 relief: mountains, valleys, contours and cliffs, depressions
 vegetation: wooded and cleared areas, vineyards and orchards.
A map legend (or key) lists the features shown on that map, and their corresponding
symbols.

Topographic maps usually show a geographic graticule and a coordinate grid, so you
can determine relative and absolute positions of mapped features.

It is important to note that a map is merely a two or three dimensional representation of

the physical environment at a given time. Therefore, a map will never be entirely up to
date. Changes to the landscape and cultural features regularly occur (such as roads,
vegetation, and buildings), resulting in maps becoming dated, although the rate of
obsolescence varies depending upon location.

What are topographic maps used for?

Geoscience Australia develops and maintains topographic maps and data for a variety
of applications. Of course, topographic maps are used for recreational purposes, such
as travelling, hiking and orienteering, but they are also used by government and
industry to assist with urban planning, mining, emergency management and the
establishment of legal boundaries and land ownership.
 MAP SYMBOLS

First lets recognize that map symbols are color coded. Symbols in green indicate vegetation,
symbols in blue represent water, brown is used for topographic symbols, man made features are
shown in black or red. Lets look at the symbols labeled in the map above:

Contour Lines

Contour lines are lines that indicate elevation. These are the lines that show the topography on
the map. They are discussed in more detail in the next section. Contour lines are shown in
brown. Two types of contour lines are shown. Regular contour lines are the thinner brown lines,
index contour lines are the thicker brown lines. The numbers written in brown along the contour
lines indicate elevation of the line. For this map elevation is in feet above sea level.

Forests and Clearings

Forested areas are represented by areas shaded green; for Spruce Knob this means most of the
area. Areas that are not forested are left unshaded (white). Note that not all topographic maps
show forests. Also note that this information is not always up to date or accurate. I have
struggled to walk across densely wooded areas in places that have been mapped as "clearings".

Streams

Streams and other water features are shown in blue.

Roads and Trails

Man made features are shown in black or red. Trails are represented as thin single dashed lines.
Roads are represented as double lines or thicker red lines. A series of symbols are used roads to
indicate road quality from double dashed lines for dirt roads to thick red lines for major
highways. In the case of the Spruce Knob area we have two types of road, the thin double black
lines and the thin dashed double lines.

Buildings

Like other man made features buildings are shown in black. Solid squares usually indicate
buildings that would be inhabited by people (i.e. a house), hollow shapes usually indicate
uninhabited buildings (for example, a barn) (Note this may not hold for maps in the future
because it is not possible to determine what a building is used for from the aerial photos used to
make the maps). Other man made features shown in black on our example include the lookout
tower on at the summit of Spruce Knob and the radio tower. Though not seen on our map, larger
buildings, like factories, are shown by larger shapes that outline shape of the building, and cities
with closely spaced houses are shaded pink instead of showing individual houses.
Boundaries

Even though these are not physical features you can see on the ground, boundaries are shown on
topographic maps by black or red lines. Boundaries are usually represented by broken lines
(combinations of dots and dashes of different sizes). Different patterns are used for different
types of boundaries (i.e., state, county, city, etc). On our example the boundary that is shown
marks the edge of a National Forest.

Bench Marks

Bench marks indicate places where the elevation has actually been surveyed. These locations are
indicated on the map by a triangle if a marker has been placed in the ground, or an "x" if not
marker was left behind. Near either symbol are the letters "BM" and a number which represents
the elevation of that particular location. Bench marks are shown in black on topographic
maps.