4.1 Topographical maps

• Reading a topographical map: symbols, key, scale and grid references
• Human activities represented on topographical maps
• How agriculture, mining, urban development and deforestation relate to roads
• Enlarging part of a topographical map
• Reducing part of a topographical map
• Drawing a cross-section from a topographical map
• Showing human activities on a cross-section
• The importance of topographical maps

• describe human activities on topographical maps
• use creative thinking skills to enlarge and reduce parts of topographical maps
• illustrate cross-sections from topographical maps
• appreciate the representation of human activities on topographical maps

“Why are topographical maps important?”

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1. Reading a topographical map
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Contours, symbols, key, scale and grid: the tools for reading any topographical map.
2. Human activities on topographical maps
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Farming, mining, trade, forestry, transport and services each leave a sign, with a grid reference.
3. Human activities and roads
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Roads follow valleys, farms, mines and towns, and new roads bring new activity, including logging.
4. Enlarging part of a map
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Double the grid, copy square by square; the scale becomes 1:25 000 and the area four times larger.
5. Reducing a map
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Halve the grid: the scale becomes 1:100 000, the area a quarter, and only main features are kept.
6. Drawing a cross-section: the paper strip
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Join A and B, lay a strip along the line, and mark every contour crossing with its height.
7. Plotting a cross-section with human activities
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Plot the heights, join smoothly, state the vertical exaggeration, and mark activities where they sit.
8. Why topographical maps matter
   40 min · 2 practice tasks · quiz
   Planners, farmers, disaster managers and learners all read relief and human features together.