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Terrain (from Latin: terra 'earth'), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientation of terrain features. Terrain affects surface water flow and distribution.
A topographic map of Stowe, Vermont with contour lines Part of the same map in a perspective shaded relief view illustrating how the contour lines follow the terrain Sheet #535 (2013 version; second digital edition) of MTN50 Spanish National Topographic map series, covering Algete town (near Madrid) and its surroundings.
A topographic map of Stowe, Vermont with contour lines This false-color satellite image illustrates topography of the urban core of the New York metropolitan area, with Manhattan at its center. Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces .
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.
Figure 1. Vertical arrows show the topographic prominence of three peaks on an island. The dashed horizontal lines show the lowest contours that do not encircle higher peaks. Curved arrows point from a peak to its parent. The prominence of a peak is the least drop in height necessary in order to get from the summit to any higher terrain.
Inselberg – Isolated, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain; Karst – Topography from dissolved soluble rocks; Nubbin – Small hill of bedrock with rounded residual blocks; Panhole – Depression or basin eroded into flat or gently sloping cohesive rock (Weathering pit)
Topography is the study of terrain, although the word is often used as a synonym for relief itself. When relief is described underwater , the term bathymetry is used. In cartography , many different techniques are used to describe relief, including contour lines and triangulated irregular networks .
A topographic profile or topographic cut or elevation profile is a representation of the relief of the terrain that is obtained by cutting transversely the lines of a topographic map. Each contour line can be defined as a closed line joining relief points at equal height above sea level. [ 1 ]