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In cartography, a contour line (often just called a "contour") joins points of equal elevation (height) above a given level, such as mean sea level. [3] A contour map is a map illustrated with contour lines, for example a topographic map, which thus shows valleys and hills, and the steepness or gentleness of slopes. [4]
Topographic maps are also commonly called contour maps or topo maps. In the United States, where the primary national series is organized by a strict 7.5-minute grid, they are often called or quads or quadrangles. Topographic maps conventionally show topography, or land contours, by means of contour lines.
Map symbols may include point markers, lines, regions, continuous fields, or text; these can be designed visually in their shape, size, color, pattern, and other graphic variables to represent a variety of information about each phenomenon being represented. Map symbols simultaneously serve several purposes:
The straight-line distance between the central point on the map to any other point is the same as the straight-line 3D distance through the globe between the two points. c. 150 BC: Stereographic: Azimuthal Conformal Hipparchos* Map is infinite in extent with outer hemisphere inflating severely, so it is often used as two hemispheres.
Tangent and secant lines (standard lines) are represented undistorted. If these lines are a parallel of latitude, as in conical projections, it is called a standard parallel. The central meridian is the meridian to which the globe is rotated before projecting.
USGS topographic map of Stowe, Vermont with contour lines at 20-foot intervals. Terrain cartography or relief mapping is the depiction of the shape of the surface of the Earth on a map, using one or more of several techniques that have been developed.
Topographic maps display elevation above ground and are complementary to bathymetric charts. Bathymetric charts showcase depth using a series of lines and points at equal intervals, called depth contours or isobaths (a type of contour line). A closed shape with increasingly smaller shapes inside of it can indicate an ocean trench or a seamount ...
A circle of latitude or line of latitude on Earth is an abstract east–west small circle connecting all locations around Earth (ignoring elevation) at a given latitude coordinate line. Circles of latitude are often called parallels because they are parallel to each other; that is, planes that contain any of these circles never intersect each