contour interval

American  

noun

1. the difference in elevation represented by each contour line on a topographic map.

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contour interval British  

noun

1. the difference in altitude represented by the space between two contour lines on a map

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Example Sentences

Problem.—By use of the slope scale on the sketch board and the contour interval scale on the alidade, each man will secure vertical data on the flat sketch made in the fourth lesson.

From Military Instructors Manual by Schoonmaker, Oliver

The map seems to show more local relief to this terrace than the general view indicates, but it should be borne in mind that the contour interval is but 2½ feet.

From Aboriginal Remains in Verde Valley, Arizona Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1891-92, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1896, pages 179-262 by Mindeleff, Cosmos

The contour interval on the map is one foot—a sufficiently small interval to show the surface configuration closely and to bring out some of its peculiarities.

From Casa Grande Ruin Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1891-92, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1896, pages 289-318 by Mindeleff, Cosmos

The contour interval on the map is 1 foot, sufficiently small to show much surface detail.

From The Repair Of Casa Grande Ruin, Arizona, in 1891 Fifteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1893-94, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1897, pages 315-348 by Mindeleff, Cosmos

The distance between the planes is called the contour interval.

From Manual of Military Training Second, Revised Edition by Moss, James A. (James Alfred)