topographic map

American  

noun

1. a map showing topographic features, usually by means of contour lines.

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Usage

What is a topographic map? A topographic map is a map that indicates the features of the land’s surface, such as mountains, hills, and valleys. This is typically done with wavy lines that represent the curves and elevation of the land. Topographic is the adjective form of the noun topography, which refers to the surface features of land. Topographic maps are sometimes called topo maps for short. Topographic maps are frequently used by hikers to navigate and plan their routes, but they’re for more than just recreation. Architects, biologists, and many other professionals rely on them for important information about a particular landscape.

Example Sentences

In short, the traits of each species correspond to fitness peaks that can be likened to mountains on a topographic map separated from other mountains by valleys of lower fitness.

From Science Daily • Jan. 18, 2024

The only way to have discovered this hidden time bomb was to consult a topographic map of the land before the developer purchased it.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 17, 2023

The researchers studied how water might move through the city by building a high-resolution topographic map, one that could show details as small as three meters across, or about 10 feet.

From New York Times • Oct. 31, 2022

“I left my kids at home so I could hike,” the German said as he studied a topographic map of the second-largest island in the Mediterranean.

From Washington Post • May 13, 2022

Because he had no topographic map, however, he had no way of conceiving that salvation was so close at hand.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer