![]() Notice the brown contour lines depicting elevation and relief. The following picture is a section of a well-worn USGS topo map, showing a part of North Carolina’s Shining Rock Quadrangle, a quite mountainous area. Closely spaced contour lines show steep changes, whereas widely spaced lines show gradual changes. The spacing of the lines allows you to visualize changes in elevation and relief between them. The three circular lines you imagined drawing around the lake’s receding shoreline are essentially contour lines-closed loops running along a fixed elevation. Draw a third line all the way around the latest shoreline. Let’s further imagine the shoreline receded even more.Draw a second line all the way around the new, smaller shore line. Now, let’s imagine the lake’s waters receded somewhat.Imagine drawing a line all the way around the shore of a lake.These stain marks are essentially contour lines-lines forming closed loops running along a fixed elevation. Now, imagine the waters receding each few days, leaving stain marks periodically at each new lower water level around the increasingly-exposed hill. ![]() Imagine a hilltop completely covered in flood waters. ![]() Actually, you might call these lines "contour circles" because each such line is simply a closed loop that runs along a fixed elevation. Contour LinesĬontour lines depict elevation and relief on a map. Announcement: My online Land Navigation course includes four hours of video instruction, and two downloadable PDF books, all for about the same price as a typical paperback book.
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