Title: 
Headings: TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS: The basics
TOPOGRAPHIC
 
MAPS:

The
 
basics

What
 
is
 
a
 
topographic
 
map?

The
 
topographic
 
map
 
is
 
a
 
two-dimensional
 

What
 
information
 
is
 
on
 
a
 
topographic
 
map?

Topo
 
tip:
 

Is
 
a
 
topographic
 
map
 
similar
 
to
 
a
 
road
 
map?

What
 
do
 
the
 
colours
 
mean?

What
 
are
 
contour
 
lines?

Topo
 
tip:
 

What
 
is
 
scale?

How
 
do
 
I
 
measure
 
distance
 
on
 
a
 
map?

What
 
is
 
a
 
grid?

How
 
can
 
I
 
ﬁnd
 
or
 
express
 
a
 
location
 
on
 
a
 
map?

As
 
an
 
example,
 
the
 
position
 
of
 
the
 
sportsplex
 

Topo
 
tip:

How
 
do
 
I
 
ﬁnd
 
a
 
grid
 
reference?

Determine
 
the
 
easting:

Determine
 
the
 
northing:

How
 
can
 
I
 
determine
 
where
 
I
 
am
 
on
 
a
 
map
 
using
 
a
 
GPS
 
receiver?

Topo
 
tip:

How
 
can
 
I
 
determine
 
where
 
I
 
am
 
on
 
a
 
map
 
without
 
using
 
a
 
GPS?

How
 
do
 
I
 
navigate
 
with
 
a
 
compass
 
and
 
a
 

topographic
 
map?


Content: it
 
is
 
used
 
to
 
identify
 
precise
 
positions. To
 
help
 
you
 
locate
 
your
 
position
 
accurately
 
on
 
the
 
surface
 
of
 
the
 
Earth
 
(or
 
map
 
sheet),
 
topographic
 
maps
 
have
 
two
 
kinds
 
of
 
referencing
 
systems: universal
 
transverse
 
mercator
 
(UTM)
 
projection
 
(easting/northing)


 
geographic: degrees
 
and
 
minutes
 
(longitude/latitude)

The
 
projection
 
used
 
for
 
topographic
 
maps
 
is
 
UTM. The
 
UTM
 
grid
 
is
 
a
 
square
 
grid
 
system
 
of
 
lines
 
depicted
 
on
 
maps
 
and
 
based
 
on
 
the
 
transverse
 
mercator
 
projection. It
 
can
 
be
 
used
 
to
 
accurately
 
locate
 
the
 
position
 
of
 
features
 
on
 
the
 
map
 
by
 
distance
 
or
 
direction. To
 
express
 
your
 
location
 
in
 
grid
 
coordinates
 
or
 
geographic
 
coordinates,
 
read
 
the
 
following
 
section. How
 
can
 
I
 
ﬁnd
 
or
 
express
 
a
 
location
 
on
 
a
 
map? You
 
can
 
ﬁnd
 
or
 
express
 
a
 
location
 
on
 
a
 
map
 
by
 
using
 
geographic
 
coordinates
 
(longitude,
 
latitude)
 
or
 
by
 
using
 
UTM
 
grid
 
coordinates
 
(easting,
 
northing). Geographic
 
coordinates
 
are
 
expressed
 
in
 
degrees,
 
minutes
 
and
 
seconds
 
and
 
can
 
be
 
determined
 
on
 
the
 
map
 
by
 
using
 
the
 
longitude
 
and
 
latitude
 
graticules
 
placed
 
along
 
the
 
edges
 
of
 
the
 
map.