TOPOGRAPHIC OR ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS

The term 'topography' has been derived from two Greek

words 'topos' meaning 'a place' and 'grapho' meaning to draw
or depict. A topographical map shows the surface of the earth
in detail.
Topographical maps are also known as Ordnance Survey
maps as these maps were originally drawn in Britain for the
army under the direction of the Surveyor-General. These
maps are prepared in every country. In India, Ordnance
maps are published by the Survey of India, Dehradun.
(a) Physical features: They show physical features by
'Contours' i.e., the lines. that join places having the same
height above mean sea level.
(b) Cultural or Man-made Features: These include roads,
railways, bridges, buildings, canals, etc. They are
represented by symbols called Conventional Signs.

GRID REFERENCE
A grid reference system comprising a square grid with grid
lines intersecting each other at right angles and numbered
sequentially from the origin at the bottom left of the map, is
used.
The points at which the vertical and horizontal lines of the
grid cross are called coordinates. These lines are numbered.
The vertical lines that increase in value Eastwards are known
as Eastings whereas the horizontal lines that increase in
value northward are called Northings.
There are two types of grid references:
(a) Four-figure grid reference; and
(b) Six-figure grid reference.

(a) Four-figure reference: The four-

figure grid reference is used to find
out the location that lies within a
particular square. In this type of
reference, the first two figures give
the Eastings, whereas the last two
give the Northings.

(b) Six-figure reference: In the six-

figure grid reference of X, the first
three figures are the Eastings and
the last three are the Northings.
These pinpoint locations with
greater accuracy.
Importance of Six Figure
Reference
• It helps in pin-pointing a place or an object on the map
nearest to 100 metres.
• It adds greater accuracy to a map.

REPRESENTATION OF RELIEF FEATURES

Relief refers to actual configuration of land which includes its
altitude and slope. The relief features found on the earth's
surface include mountains, valleys, hills, plains and plateaus.
Hachures: These are short disconnected lines
which follow the direction of the slope.
Hill-Shading: This method aims at
producing the same effect as
hachures in an easier and cheaper way. In hill
shading method, the relief of an area is shown
by light and shadow effect.
Form-lines: Form-lines are broken contour
lines joining places with same height above
the sea level. They represent only the general
pattern of the ground and give no idea about
definite heights.

CONTOURS
Contour lines are imaginary lines joining places which have
the same height above mean sea level. Thus, a contour
marked 50 means that all places which are connected by it
are located at a height of 50 metres (depending on the unit
used). The contour lines are shown by brown colour in two
ways: (i) thick brown lines; and (ii) thin brown lines.
Contour lines show:
(a) Elevation of land:
(b) Steepness of its slope: When the contours are very close,
they represent steep slopes. When they are farther apart, they
represent increasing slopes. Absence of contour lines
indicates that the land is flat i.e. a low land.
(c) Shape of land at various heights: For example, almost
circular contours whose value decreases inside represent a
lake.

CONTOUR INTERVAL
Contour interval means the
difference of height between two
consecutive contours. In Figure, one
thick contour shows the height 300
metres and the next thin contour depicts the height of 320
metres. The contour interval is 20 metres.

PRINCIPLES OF CONTOURS
(a) Contour lines join places having the same height above
mean sea level.
(b) Contours are curved lines, whose curvature depends upon
the configuration of land. They are never broken.
(c) The spacing of the contour lines indicates the nature of the
slope.
(d) Contours of different heights do not cross each other.
However, contours come very close to each other to show the
steepness of the slope or merge with each other as in a cliff.

IDENTIFICATION OF LANDFORMS MARKED BY CONTOURS

1. Triangulated Height: When the point has been accurately
surveyed, and shown with a triangle, it is called a
triangulation point eg. (1340). The height of such a point is
called triangulated height and is determined
trigonometrically.
2. Spot Heights: It refers to the height of a point on the ground
above the mean sea level. It is indicated on a map but not on
the ground. It is represented by a dot followed by a number
on the map (.500).
3. Bench Marks: These are marks etched on a stone or shown
on a building to indicate the accurate height determined by
surveys. They serve as a reference for surveyors. On most
survey maps, a Bench Mark is written as 'BM' and followed by
a number. The number indicates the height of the surface level
at the marked point.
4. Relative Height: In areas of steep slope, the difference
between maximum and minimum is represented by the letter
'r' which indicates relative height. Thus, if one finds 3r. or 3r
written on a topo-sheet, this means that the concerned place
is higher by 3 metres than its natural lowest place.

Drainage Patterns
Drainage pattern refers to the pattern formed by the streams,
rivers and lakes in a particular drainage area.
(a) Dendritic Drainage Pattern: It is a branching tree-like
drainage pattern which is generally found on flat lands. Most
of the rivers of the Indo-Gangetic Plains are of dendritic type.
(b) Trellised Drainage Pattern: It is a rectangular drainage
pattern with streams flowing parallel to each other and
joining the main stream at right angles. It is generally seen in
areas with alternating hard and soft rocks or in regions of
limestone rocks.
(c) Radial Drainage Pattern: It is a drainage pattern with
streams spreading out in all directions like spokes of a wheel.
It can generally be seen where a conical hill or a volcano
exists.
(d) Disappearing Streams: When rivers or streams do not
have enough water, they dry up or disappear the sand. They
are known as disappearing streams and are indicated by
broken lines. This phenomenon is known as the underground
drainage in context of topographic maps.

CONVENTIONAL SIGNS AND SYMBOLS

Topographical maps use symbols to represent certain relief
features and human activities. These are called conventional
signs and symbols. They are used on a map because they give
plenty of information in a small space and maps can be
drawn easily. They are simple to read. Many of the signs and
symbols are standardised and used throughout the world.
Hindi Terms Used in Survey Maps
• Nadi - river;
• nala - small stream;
• phar - hill;
• parbat - hill or mountain;
• piao - place where drinking water is available generally
along roads or at railway stations. This is found mostly in
north and northwest India where it becomes very hot and
water is scarce.
• Police chowki - police outpost;
• talab tank or reservoir or pond; khera - kiln for baking
bricks;
• tahsil or taluk - part of a district under a tehsildar who
collects revenue from the area;
• dak bungalow - a government-owned bungalow for
travellers to stay for a night or two.

Colours in Contour maps

Apart from conventional signs, different colours are used to
show the distributional pattern of different land uses on the
topographical sheets.
1. Black
• names;
• lines of latitude and longitude;
• surveyed trees, heights and their numbering;
• river banks, broken ground, dry streams, etc.;
• railway, telephone and telegraph lines.

2. Blue
• water related features;
• perennial rivers.
However, minor non-perennial streams are shown in black
and irregular erratic streams are shown by dotted lines.

3. Green
• forests (dark green);
• grasslands (light green);
• orchards;
• scattered trees and shrubs.

4. White
• rocky or bad lands;
• uncultivated lands.

5. Yellow
• cultivable lands.

6. Brown
• sand features like sand dunes and hills;
• contour features like contour lines, their numbering;
• form-lines.
7. Red
• Grid lines, i.e., Eastings and Northings, as well as their
numbering;
• Man-made features such as roads, cart tracks, buildings,
huts, etc

SCALES

There are three main methods of representing the scale on the

map.
(i) A Statement: In this method, scale is stated in words or we
make a statement about it: e.g.
1 cm. to 1 km
1 inch to 5 miles.
(ii) Linear or Graphic Scale: In this method, the scale is
represented by a straight line divided into equal parts
(primary and secondary), to show what these markings
represent on the actual ground.
(iii) Representative Fraction: In this method, the scale is
represented as the ratio of the length of a line on the map and
the corresponding actual distance on the earth's surface.
Representative Fraction (R.F.) =
Distance on the map / Distance on the ground in the same
unit
MEASUREMENT OF DISTANCES ON A MAP
The following methods are used to measure distances on a
map:
(a) To measure distance along a straight line
(i) Place the straight edge of a strip of paper along the
required line.
(ii) Mark the limits of the distances on the strip by means of a
sharp pencil.
(iii) Place the strip along the linear scale, and measure the
distance.

(b) To measure distance along curves

To measure distances like the course of a river or a winding
road, a straight edge of a paper can be used. First you mark
the starting point on the strip of paper, and at every bend
hold the paper and fold the paper until the end of the course.
Now, by using the graphical scale, the actual distance on the
ground can be calculated in miles, yards or kilometres.
(i) Thread: A winding road or a river course can also be
measured by placing a thread along its course. The thread is
then measured against the linear scale to calculate the actual
distance.

(c) Area by the Grid Square Method

On topographical maps, each grid square measures 2 cm x 2
cm or 1 km x 1 km since 2 cm is equal to 1 km. Therefore, the
area of each square is 1 sq. km.
(i) Find out the number of complete grid squares within the
area.
DIRECTION
The northern end of its axis is called North Pole and its
southern end is known as South Pole.
There is another set of four directions between these Cardinal
Points. They include:
(i) North-East (NE) between North and East.
(ii) South-West (SW) between South and West.
(iii) North-West (NW) between North and West.
(iv) South-East (SE) between South and East.
The direction of a line is described by the angle it makes with
the North, measured in the clockwise direction.
1. The main occupation in grid 2504 given map extract is.
a. Agriculture.
b. Forestry.
c. Fishing.
d. Mining

2. The red line running to the north of Santewada (2608)

represents,
A. Cart track.
B. Pack track.
C. Metalled Road.
D. Unmetalled road.

3. The main source of electricity here is,

A. Solar Energy as it’s located in Rajasthan/Gujarat area
B. The main power line (Electricity).
C. The wind energy.
D. All the above.

4. What’s the direction of the flow of the main river?

A. North east.
B. Northwest.
C. South East.
D. South west.

5. Rampura lies on this bank of the river

A. Right.
B. Left
C. West
D. East.

6. The roadway in Grid no. 2409 is a

A. National High way.
B. State Highway.
C. District Road.
d. Expressway.

7. 175 written in 2510 along a road is a.

A. Kilometer Stone.
B. A mile stone.
C. Contour height of 175 m.
D. Spot height of 175 m

8. The blue line in the main river indicates,

A. A canal.
B. Aqueduct.
C.Water Channel.
D. Siphon.

9. The main occupations in 2604 is

A. Agriculture.
B. Animal rearing.
C. Fishing.
D. None of the above.

10. The drainage pattern in 2407 is

A. Dendritic.
B. Disappearing.
C. undefined.
D. Underground.

11. The brown dots in 2609 indicate,

A. Soil.
B. Alluvium.
C. Sand.
D. None of the above. .

12. The black horizontal line between 07 and 08 northings is a

A. Line of latitude.
B. A line of longitude.
C. An Easting.
D. A northing.

13. The main purpose to cover the tanks in 2507

A. Stopping contamination of water
B. Preventing the evaporation of water
C. Both A and B
D. To store the water for future use. .

14. This region of the map has minimum settlements.

A. Northeast.
B. Northwest.
C. Southwest.
D. Southeast.

15. The settlement pattern in grid square 2210 is,

a. Temporary hut.
B. Compact.
C. Scattered.
D. Isolated.

16. The broken land found in 2405 indicates,

A. The climate here is cool and dry.
B. The climate here is hot and dry.
C. The climate here is hot and humid.
D. The climate here is cool and humid.

17. The triangulated height 224 is found in

A. 2606.
B. 2706.
C. 0626.
D. None of the above.

18. 15 r written in 2410, stands for

A. Relative height of sand dune is 15 m above the sea level.
B. Relative height of sand dune is 15 m.
C. The rivers.
D. All the above.

19. In 2611, the available civic facilities are

A. Post office and Police Station.
B. Post office, Police station, Metalled road.
C. Post office, Police station, Metalled road and electricity.
D. All the above.

20. 2811 has a manmade feature constructed over the stream

is used to,
A. Cross the river.
B. Irrigation.
C. To stop the soil erosion by water.
D. To conserve the water. .

21. Santanwada and Kuchanwada are 6.5 km from each

other. Hence the distance on the map will be
A. 13 mm.
B. 13 cm
C. 6.5 cm
D. 6.5 mm

22. The R.F of this map is

A. 2 cm to 1 km
B. 1 cm to 50000 cm
C. 1:50000.
D. All the above.

23. The climate experienced in this region is,

A. Hot and dry climate with scanty and seasonal Rainfall.
B. Hot and dry climate with moderate to heavy Rainfall.
C. Hot and humid climate with scanty Rainfall.
D. Cool and dry climate with scanty Rainfall.

24. Motarable written in Grid square 2104 means

A. The metaled road can be used for driving the vehicles.
B. The cart track can be used for driving the vehicles .
C. The unmetalled road can be used for driving the vehicles.
D. None of the above.

25. There are many causeways in this area. They are used for,
A. Irrigation.
B. Stopping the water for irrigation.
C. To cross the rivers or streams when they are flooded.
D. Making a way for smooth transport.

26. A white patch in the river in the grid square 2806

represents
A. Barren land.
B. River island.
C. Island in a river or huge rocks.
D. An embankment.

27. The general relief feature here is:

A. A plain.
B. A plateau.
C. Both plain and plateau. .
D. A land with gentle slope.

28. The manmade feature in 2207 that is a raised Metalled

road.
A. A district road
B. Causeway.
C. A state highway.
D. None of the above.

29. Most common pattern of the drainage here in this region

is,
A. Disappearing.
B. Dendritic.
C. Linear.
D. Trellised.

30. The area enclosed on the ground depicted by the eastings

and the northings mentioned
in the map is.
A. 72 sq. cm
B. 72 sq.km
C. 100 sq.km
D. 100 sq.cm.