TOPOGRAPHY

Prepared by

Sanjeev Padvi

9881315725
Calculate the area enclosed by the entire
toposheet on ground.
Length= 31-21= 10 om
Breadth= 9—86= 10 km
A= L x B
10 x 10 = 100 sq.km.

All the maps in Board examination are 10

x 10.
Refer to the Toposheet enclosing the eastings
37 to 46 and northings 85 to 94 and answer
the questions.
1. What is the main occupation in this
region? Justify.
Ans: Agriculture.
Because we see lot of yellow shade/ yellow
wash here.

2. In which direction does Balram Nadi flow?

Justify.
The river flows in NW direction as we see
arrow in the grid 4292.
3. In which direction does the following lie
a. Karja( 4292) from Rampura: North East
b. Antroli from Chitrasani. Northwest
c. Bantawada from Ikhapura. NE
d. Arniwada from Rampura: NW

4. Write about the climate of this area. Justify your

answer with two reasons.
Ans: This area experiences hot and dry climate with
scanty and seasonal rainfall.
(If the area is less than half covered with forest)
Evidences: All the streams are dry. There is very little
water channel in the river. There are sand dunes. There
is lot of broken ground indicated by the black curve lines.
5. What do you mean by the following?
a. A vertical black line between 17 and 36 eastings.
b. A horizontal black line between 93 and 94 northings.
c.
The eastings are the red colour vertical lines in a
topography map
The number of eastings increases from left to right.

Northings: These are the horizontal red colour lines in

a topography map.
The number of northings increases from bottom to
top.

Grid square: The square which is formed by the

intersection of eastings and northings is known as
grid square.
What is Topography?
The first letter is either 'N' or 'S' to denote the hemisphere
(North/South) with respect to the equator.

A second letter denotes the 4° latitude band with alphabet increasing as

latitude moves away from equator. So sheets between 12°N to 8°N
would be 'NC' and between 4°S to 8°S would be 'SB'.

The next number denotes the 6° longitude band with numbering

starting at 1 from 180°W (i.e. 1 between 180°W and 174°W) going on to
60 (i.e. between 174°E-180°E). So sheet between 72° to 78°E and 12°N
to 8°N will be 'NC-43'. Similarly between 132°W to 126°W and 4°S to 8°S
would be 'SB-9'. The longitude band span increased to 12° from 60°
latitude and to 24° from 76° latitude due to the decrease in physical
span of longitude band.

Each 6°×4° rectangle is further subdivided into 24 squares of 1°×1°. Each

square is indicated serially by an alphabet increasing first towards east
and then towards south, starting with 'A'
Open
Series
Map

Updated
Topo
Maps
4 degree
each
Topographical map gives detailed information about physical features
and man-made features of a small area. Physical features are depicted
by contours. Cultural or man made features are represented by symbols
called conventional signs.
TOP
O
SHE
ETS
Easting: The vertical red lines. Their value increase from left
to right
Northings: The horizontal red lines. Their value increase from
bottom to top.
Very Important
A scale of a map is the ratio between the map distance to
the ground distance.
Example 2 cm= 1km. It means , 2 cm on map is equal to 1 km
on ground.

There are three types of scales.

1:Statement or verbal scale. Eg 2 cm = 1km.
2. Representative fraction ( R.F. scale) eg 1:50000 . It means
1 unit on map is equal to 50000 units on ground.

Linear scale or graphical scale.

 R. F. Scale
Representative fraction ( R.F. scale) It is the most
widely used scale as it does not use units.
It s value is 1:50000.
Important colours used in topo map
1. Blue colour: It shows water bodies like river, dam pond etc.
2. Green colour: It means forest.
3. Yellow colour: It shows agriculture or cultivated land.
4. White colour: It shows barren land if it is outside a river.
If white patch is inside a river, it means river island or huge
stones/rocks seen above the water.
Graphical Scale
Area of the Map Extract Calculate the
area enclosed
in 22 to 25
eastings and
09 to 12
northings.
Length= 25-22
= 3 km
Breadth= 12-
09 = 3 km
Area= L X B
3 x 3= 9 sq.km.
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning
Cart track RS is railway
station

Pack track 20 is a distance

stone or mile
stone.
Footpath Temporary Hut(
house)

Metaled Road. Permanent hut(

It’s a tar or house)
cement road.
(Pakka Road. )
Unmetalled road. Settlement. It
Its not a can be a village,
completely made town.
road.
Railway track Temple. It shows
Broad gauge Hinduism as a
main religion
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning

PO Post office Rest House/IB

PS Police station Inspection

bungalow

Dispensary is a Brick kiln where

Primary health bricks are baked
Brick here
center
Hospital Lime stone is
baked here.
Lime
Veterinary Cleared patch of
Hospital forest.
Circuit house: Tax Public Work
collection place
PWD
department
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning

Overhead Tank Tube well

Flat Sand Small Talao/tank.

Permanent Veterinary Hospital

sand hill

Shifting sand Aerodrome

dunes.

Well water is Helipad

saline/salty.
Permanent Sand dunes
Flat Sand
 Reserve forest: Telegraph office
Hunting, grazing/
forestry prohibited

Protected forest: A raised

Hunting, grazing/
forestry allowed metaled road
with special
permission
Tourist place. Black dots are
sediment/load.

Circuit house: A Blue line is

place during British water channel
time to collect tax.
Police chauki A police outpost . It White patch IN
works under police RIVER is river
station island

Electricity Supply
Shifting Sand dunes
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning
Tehsil Boundary Bench Mark(
geodetic)
Sheet rock Rocks are found Perennial Canal
in layer.
Approximate Plateau
altitude

Spot height. Hillock/ knoll/

small hill
Triangulated height A conical hill
of 200 m

Contour line of 180 A saddle or a col

m

A surveyed tree at Tertiary bench

height of 180 m. mark 0f 63.3 m
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning

Temporary hut/house Form lines: They

connect the places of
approximately equal
altitude
Permanent hut/house Dry tank

Temple Dry tank with

embankment of
relative height 3 m
Unlined well 20 is stone/ distance
stone

Perennial lined well Annual fair A place of social

gathering, trade,
entertainment
Well water is salty. It Triangulated height of
cannot be used for 324 m is found with
drinking or irrigation. trigonometric ratio.
Falls 7 m Waterfall of height 7 Bench mark of 226 m.
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning

Church Tourist Place

Temple Camping Ground

Chhatri: A
symbol to show Broken Ground
house of royal
people.
Mosque Wooded/Jungle/
Forest
Idgah Approximate
height
Dispensary. A Perennial
primary health Lined well
center.
 A geodetic
BENCH MARKS survey of a region
accounts for the curvature of
the Earth and even
variations in this curvature
while making routes
Tertiary Bench mark. These
are reference points whose
elevations are randomly
assumed.
Perennial canal at the altitude
of 63 m
.
Sluice is a gate commonly used to control water levels and flow rates
in rivers and canals.
An aqueduct anything like pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other
structures used for carrying water to distant places.
Contour interval is the distance between two
consecutive contour lines.
Its value is 20 meter.

Index contour: It is a broad and thickened

brown coloured contour line that indicates a
prominent number which is generally a
multiple of 100.
Sluice. A sliding gate for controlling the flow of water.
Aqueduct
Aqueduct: It a small water channel taken from a big canal.
Siphon
Siphon
Features on either bank of River Sipu.
Barren land and Forest
Double carriage: a road with a dividing strip between the traffic in
opposite directions and usually two or more lanes in each direction.
Distance stone, also called as mile stone and not the kilometer stone.

.
All three types of
roads
 Transport
Routes.

1. National
3. District Road 1. National Highway.
Highway.

2. State
Highway

3. District
Road
2. State Highway
1. Railway Line

4. Railway line
Double carriage: a road with a dividing strip between the traffic in
opposite directions and usually two or more lanes in each direction.
Distance stone, also called as mile stone and not the kilometer stone.

.
Unmetalled road.
Unmetalled Road
Graveled unmetalled Road: Stones are put to avaoid it becoming
muddy or dustry
Foot path formed by the foot movement of people.
In topography this is NOT a Foot path
Foot path formed by the foot movement of people. Also Open Scrub
Open Scrub: Sheep rearing is an occupation at such places.
Meter Gauge: Single line
Broad Gauge: Double line
Board gauge: Single line
Railway Embankment
Distance Stone on railway line
CUTTING WITH TUNNEL
Cart Track
During Rainy Season it cannot be used for motors.
Non motarable in rainy season
A typical Pack
view Track
of a village and its features
on toposheet and in reality.
Pack track formed by the foot movement of animals.
Pack Track is a path formed by the foot
movement of animals.
Ridge with a footpath!!!
A pylon is a bar or rod that supports some structure

It is a tower like a
structure generally
used to carry heavy
electrical energy.
These are high
voltage wires.
It forms the most important aspect of a transmission line survey as
the cost of the transmission line is influenced to a great extent by the
route chosen
It is a raised metaled road over a stream or river to
cross them when they are flooded.
Weir: is a small wall built across a river to control the
upstream water level.
Earth Dam: A dam constructed of earth material (such as
gravel, broken weathered rock, sand, silt, or soil).
Masonry dams are dams made out of masonry – mainly stone and
brick, cement concrete sometimes joined with mortar.
Embankment: Earthen
Perennial Canal
Intermittent Stream
Intermittent/undefined Stream
River Island
Rocky knob. A protruding part of rock overlooking a valley
Rock Knob
Submerged Rocks
Shoal is shallow river, stream, lake or sea
Palmyra plant
Water Channel: It is indicated in a topographic map
with a blue line in a river.
Water Channel: It is indicated in a topographic
map with a blue line in a river.
Champa Caves of Mt Abu
Antiquities: the ancient past, especially the period of
classical and other human civilizations
Rest House/ IB is a kind of hotel or lodge. Many organization
keep the guest house , which is for representatives in free
Circuit House [CH] During British rule it was the
place for tax collection
Undemarcated boundary
 Maharashtra Gujarat Bord
Demarcated boundary
Triangulated Height
Siphon Irrigation.
Fireline Use
TANKS NEAR A FARM WHERE WATER FROM THE CANAL IS STIRED FOR ASSURED SUPPLY OF
WATER.
Khadin and perennial tank
Perennial tanks developed with Kadin system
Temple: Represent by black colour and indicates
Hinduism as the main religion.
COVRED TANKS WATER IS USED FOR DRINKING AND IT
COVERED TO AVAOID LOSS OF WATER
Overhead Tank
Perennial Lined Well
Unlined Well: These are usually
seasonal and not much deep.
Chhatri: A structure built on the house of noblemen
.

Symbol
Rock outcrop is the structure formed when a piece of rock juts
out from the main rock. It is due to weathering and extreme
hot conditions.
Rock outcrop is the structure formed when a piece of rock juts out
from the main rock. It is due to weathering and extreme hot
conditions
Rock Outcrop: It’s a part of the submerged rock seen
above the ground.
Stone Grit
 Symbol Meaning Symbol

1 Cart Track 8 Yellow colour Agriculture

2 Metaled road 9 Green colour Forest

3 Pack track 10 White colour Barren land

4 Dendritic drainage pattern 11 Radial

5 Trellised 12 Temporary
hut/House

6 Disappearing drainage 13 Permanent

pattern hut or house

7 Undefined drainage 14
pattern
Permanent hut
Temporary hut and Permanent hut
Temporary Hut
Settlement Pattern

Isolated Scattered Nucleated/c Linear

settleme settlement ompact/ settlement
nt pattern clustered pattern
pattern settlement
pattern
Scattered settlement pattern
cleated/clustered/compact settlement pattern: This is the most
mmon ( general)pattern of settlement.
Linear Settlement patter: The houses are seen be in a
line.
Deserted Hut/ abandoned house.
Deserted
. House:
Idgah a place where Muslims gather the prayers during Eid
Graves
Bench Mark: The altitude is shown in the map as well
as on the place.
On map it means BM of 225.3 meter.
Surveyed tree at 156. m altitude
Surveyed Tree at the altitude of 321 m
Dispensary: It’s a primary health center
A knoll or a hillock
Knoll [Hillock] A small hill
Forestry: Collecting wood
Forestry: Collecting wood
Forestry as an occupation. The place shaded green is a forest where it
FORESTRY
is done. It includes collecting wood, gum honey, fruits flowers etc.
Forestry: Collecting medicinal plants
Forestry: Collecting fruits and flowers.
 Forestry or animal rearing.
.If green colour is seen in map
Forestry: Collecting honey
Forestry: Collecting gum
Dry streams
are shown by
black lines in
topographic
maps.
Tributaries join the main stream at 90
degree
Trellised drainage pattern indicated by streams joining the
main stream more or less at right angle
Dendritic drainage pattern
Dendritic drainage pattern
Radial drainage pattern: The streams
flow away from the center in all
directions.
Radial drainage pattern/Water Divide
Disappearing Drainage Pattern
BROKEN GROUND
Dry river bed: Black dots in it show sediment OR load
iver bed with load or sediment
Water channel is indicated by thin blue line
Water Channel: It is indicated in a topographic map with a blue
line in a river.
Embankment is a wall like structure constructed to stop the flow
water. Relative height of embankment is 3 m
Relative height of
Embankment
Embankment: Across a Dam near Nasik
Perennial tank with Embankment
Perennial Tank. Trevor's tank at Mt. Abu.
Dry tank . It indicates hot and dry climate.
Dry tank . It indicates hot and dry
season.
Graves
Tank With Embankment.
Nucleated settlement
Annual fair is a social activity
 Annual Fair: Place of social activity, trade, entertainment.
People gather here to offer puja.
Telegraph machine. .
Chitrasani in Gujarat
pection Bungalow: Rest house for the people of irrigation
partment.
Fire Line: Under construction
Fire Line is cleared
patch of forest
where trees are
cut in order to
avoid the spread
of fire. It’s length
varies from 5 to 15
m.
Fire Line: A cleared patch of forest to
avoid the spread of fire in the forest
Fire Line: It is
a cleared
patch of
forest to stop
the spread of
.
fire. It is
usually 5 to
15 m wide
Wireline Use
Brick Kiln
Brick kiln is a place of baking bricks which
makes them hard and ready to use.
Brick kiln: Bricks are baked to harden them
.
Limestone quarry: A place from
where lime stones are extracted.
Lime kiln: A place where lime stone articles are baked
Lime stone kiln
Relative depth of river is 3 m.
Sand Dune with depression

Dep means depression

Stony waste. The stones which are of no use.
Ridge: a long, narrow hilltop, mountain range, or
watershed
Open scrub is short stunted grass
Open scrub
Index contour: Highlighted brown colour
contour
. line such as 400, 300, etc
Radial Drainage pattern
Rock Outcrop
Chhatri is a structure
usually constructed
over the house of kings
and noblemen.
Contour Line: Its brown line that connects the places of
equal altitude above the sea level. The number next to it
indicates the vale. e.g.. 200 m
Form lines
connect places
having
approximately
equal altitude
Contour line: Join the places of equal altitude.
Conical
Hill
If the distance between contour lines go on creasing, it
represents concave slope and vice versa.
A saddle
A valley and a plateau
 Contour
Lines
and
landform
s
depictio
n by
them.
Less distance between contour lines indicate
steep slope and vice versa.
Index contour is a bold brown contour line which represents
a prominent no. such as 100,200,300 etc.
A contour line is brown in colour and it joins the
places having same height above the sea level. It is
seen on the right side of the picture
2. The close spacing( the contour lines are close to
each other) , then the slope is steeper. If the distance
between the two consecutive contour lines is more,
then the slope is gentle. It is on the left side.

Index Contour:
It is a dark brown bold contour
Line which indicates a prominent
nt no. such as 100, 200. 300
Etc.
What is contour interval? State its value.
The distance between two consecutive contour
lines is termed as contour interval. Its value is
20 m.
Chhatrapati
Shivaji
Maharaj
Mount Abu is a famous tourist destination as it has
The Crags, Waterfall, Sunset point, Anadra Point, Jain
Temple and Jaivilas palace of tourist destinations.
ANADRA POINT
Anadra Point
The Crags: These are places of Rock Climbing, a famous
adventure sports.
ROCK
CLIMBING
Jai Vilas Palace
Jai Vilas Palace
Jaivilas Palace
las Palace
Falls 7 m
Famous Jain Temple in Mt. Abu.
Wildlife sanctuary near Mt. Abu
Wildlife sanctuary near Mt. Abu
Jain temple in Mount Abu
nset at Mt. Abu
REPRESENTATIVE FRACTION (RF): It is the ratio between the
distances on the map to its corresponding distance on actual
ground. The RF on this map is 1:50,000.

2. SCALE : Scale is the ratio between the distance of any two

points on the map and the actual distance of the same
points on the ground.
The scale of the given map extract is 2 cm: 1 km or 1:50,000.

3. CONTOUR: Contours are imaginary lines drawn on maps,

joining all places with the same height above sea level.

4. CONTOUR INTERVAL: The vertical distance between two

consecutive contours is called contour interval (*it is a
constant 20 mts in your toposheet.)
5. INDEX CONTOUR: Contour lines are thickened at
regular intervals to make it easier to read contours. For
example at every 100 mts the contour line is made
darker. The darker lines are called Index Contours.

6. TRIANGULATED HEIGHT: It is the height of a place

which has been calculated using trigonometry,
represented by a small triangle e.g. - Δ540

7. SPOT HEIGHT: The height of random places between

contours shown with a dot. Eg - .425

8. BENCH MARK - Height of a place actually marked on

a stone pillar, rock or shown on a building as a
permanent reference. It is written as BM 200 m.
9. RELATIVE HEIGHT: Relative height is the height of a
feature with reference to the height of the surrounding
land and NOT to sea level.
It is represented by the height with a small ‘r’ eg –12r.

10. ROCK OUTCROP: It is a portion of rock jutting

above the surface of the earth.

11. SHEET ROCK: Large areas of rock where the

overlying soil layers have been eroded and removed due
to mechanical weathering.

12: STONY WASTE : A large area usually in arid/semi

arid regions where the finer sand/soil has blown away
leaving a surface covered with boulders, stones and
pebbles.

13. OPEN JUNGLE: A forest where trees are widely

13. BROKEN GROUND: A relief feature found mostly in dry
regions around rivers and streams. It is land around river,
which is totally weathered (exfoliated) due to alternate
cooling and heating.

14. FIRELINE: A cleared pathway in a forest to prevent the

spread of forest fires.

15. FIRELINE: A cleared pathway in a forest to prevent the

spread of forest fires.

16. MIXED FOREST: A forest with more than two varieties of

trees growing in close proximity to each other.
17. CAUSEWAY: It is a raised road over a seasonal
stream or river. (Usually a road used only in the non
rainy months.

18. EMBANKMENT: They are raised rock or soil filled

constructions on which roads/railway tracks are built.
Also made near tanks and rivers to prevent flooding.

19. FORM LINES: Form lines are contour lines, but

show only approximate heights above sea level as they
are used to indicate the elevations of the area which are
not accessible for proper survey. Hence they are drawn
as broken lines and are called 'form lines’.

20. FC : These are alphabetical codes used to represent

the biggest grid sq. of 10,000 square kms. That is 100
eastings and 100 northings
 Calculating the direct distance

The scale of the map: 2 cm = 1km

The distance between two towns on a
map is 6 cm:
Therefore 6cm/2= 3 km on ground.
POWER LINE
Mine is represented by a black dot.
Radial Radial
Drainage pattern Drainage pattern
Open mixed jungle is the forest where trees of two or more are
widely scattered.

Fairly dense jungles has trees quite close to each other and more
than one kind of trees are found.

Dense jungles has trees very close to each other and many kinds
of trees are found.

A water divide is a ridge which separates

the tributaries draining towards one side
of it from those drawing towards the other.
A watershed is never half way up a slope
and on the two sides of it, the slope must
be opposite and downwards
Open jungle is a forest where trees are widely scattered. It
indicates the semi-desert areas or areas of moderate rainfall
Open jungle is a forest where trees are widely scattered. It
indicates the semi-desert areas or areas of moderate rainfall.
Open mixed jungle: Two or three species of trees are found in a scattered way
Fairly dense jungles
Dense jungle where variety of trees grow close to each other.
Tidal River