How is elevation represented on a topographic map?

Answer 1

In order to "map" a terrain a cartographer needs to know how high or how low the soil is (land) from sea level. The physical makeup of earth, the physical map of places shows you land formations through the use of color which codes the particular place as being a certain distance above sea level. If the map was coded so that low elevation numbers (valleys) are dark and high elevations (mountains, peaks, plataues) are light, what you end up with is an image (likely shaded) which represents the "relief" of the place. Relief means 3 dimensional or sculptured in art. You can think of a map as a kind of art of the 3 dimensional physical world.

Answer 2

Topographic maps show the elevation by using "contour lines", which are lines of constant elevation spaced at constant intervals. Contour lines that are close to each other indicate a steep slope, and lines spread further apart indicate flat (flatter) terrain.

Answer 3

Topographic maps represent the Earth's surface because they show elevation in addition to distance and direction.

Answer 4

elevation is shown on a topographic map by MAGIC woah