Tracy Nelson Maurer - Using Topographic Maps: What Do You Know about Maps?

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Using

Topographic
Maps

Tracy Nelson Maurer

For S.P., J.L., and M.M.W.

Copyright 2017 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written
permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in
an acknowledged review.

Lerner Publications Company
A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

For reading levels and more information, look up this title
at www.lernerbooks.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Maurer, Tracy, 1965 author.

Title: Using topographic maps / by Tracy Nelson Maurer.

Description: Minneapolis : Lerner Publications, 2016. | Series: Searchlight books : what do

you know about maps? | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015041874| ISBN 9781512409482 (lb : alk. paper) | ISBN

9781512412963 (pb : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Map readingJuvenile literature. | Topographic mapsJuvenile

literature.

Classification: LCC GA130 .M445 2016 | DDC 912.01/4dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015041874

Manufactured in the United States of America
1-39537-21241-3/14/2016

Contents

WHAT IS A
TOPOGRAPHIC
MAP? ... page

WHATS ON A
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP? ... page

HOW DO YOU USE A
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP? ... page

Chapter

WHAT IS A
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP?

Maps combine information

from science and math with a

touch of art. They represent places

and the living and nonliving things

there. What each map shows depends

on its purpose. Some maps guide travelers.

Others show borders

between cities or

countries. Topographic

maps use lines to show

the shape and height of

Earths surface.

Lines are a main feature of
topographic maps. What
do these maps show?

Many maps show only the length or width of a
place. A road map, for instance, might show how long
a main road is between Denver, Colorado, and Orlando,
Florida. Topographic maps are different, since they can
show height. They can show that Denver has a higher
elevation than Orlando does.

A places elevation is its height above sea
level. Denver (ABOVE) has a high elevation.

How do topographic maps show height? The lines on
these maps are called contour lines. They show height
by connecting points that are the same elevation. This
means that if you trace a single contour line with your
finger, all the places along that line will be the same
height. Every fifth contour line is usually labeled with the
height of the places along that line. You can estimate
the elevations of the places along lines without labels too.
Just look at how much space is between the lines. If the
lines are close together, they mark a steep elevation. If
they are far apart, they mark flatter land.

All the spots along one line on a
topographic map are the same height.

The History of Topographic Maps

European explorers used the first topographic maps
in the seventeenth century. These early maps mostly
showed coasts. People in France produced the first full
set of topographic maps for any country. They took
about a century to make.

This topographic map was
first published in 1612.

Modern Topographic Maps

These days, cartographers, or mapmakers, can make
topographic maps much more quickly than past
cartographers could. The United States Geological
Survey (USGS) creates most of the topographic maps
in the United States. They use technology and modern
tools to make the maps, including aerial photography;
pictures from satellites; and information from GPS, or the
global positioning system.

Modern cartographers have many more tools
to help them than past cartographers did.

The Thrill of Mapmaking

Surveyors measure and examine land to gather
information cartographers can use to make maps.
In the past, surveying work was very dangerous.
Diseases, frostbite, and falls killed many surveyors.
But surveying expeditions were also exciting! Sir
George Everest spent twenty- five years mapping
India. The worlds tallest mountain, Mount Everest
in Tibet, is named after him.

Mount Everest is 29,035
feet (8,850 meters) high!

Chapter

WHATS ON A
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP?

Topographic maps cant show

every detail about a place.

Cartographers must focus on the

purpose of the map

when deciding what

to show.

Topographic maps

often include only a few

human- made features.

They focus mostly on

showing elevations.

Topographic maps zero in on
elevations. How many labeled
elevation lines do you see on this map?

Topographic maps look unlike any other maps
because of their rings of lines. A single contour line on a
topographic map is known as an isoline. An isoline is a
line that has a single value, or measurement. A contour
line is an isoline because it marks a single elevation.

This map of Mount Everest
shows many isolines.

Scales

Topographic maps might be different from other maps,
but they do have several typical map features. They
often have a scale. Places on maps cant be drawn at

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