topography

American  

[tuh-pog-ruh-fee] / təˈpɒg rə fi /

noun

• topographies
  plural

1. the detailed mapping or charting of the features of a relatively small area, district, or locality.

2. the detailed description, especially by means of surveying, of particular localities, as cities, towns, or estates.

3. the relief features or surface configuration of an area.

4. the features, relations, or configuration of a structural entity.

5. a schema of a structural entity, as of the mind, a field of study, or society, reflecting a division into distinct areas having a specific relation or a specific position relative to one another.

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topography British  

/ ˌtɒpəˈɡræfɪk, təˈpɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

1. the study or detailed description of the surface features of a region

2. the detailed mapping of the configuration of a region

3. the land forms or surface configuration of a region

4. the surveying of a region's surface features

5. the study or description of the configuration of any object

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topography Scientific  

/ tə-pŏg′rə-fē /

1. The three-dimensional arrangement of physical attributes (such as shape, height, and depth) of a land surface in a place or region. Physical features that make up the topography of an area include mountains, valleys, plains, and bodies of water. Human-made features such as roads, railroads, and landfills are also often considered part of a region's topography.

2. The detailed description or drawing of the physical features of a place or region, especially in the form of contour maps.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• topographer
  noun
• topographic
  adjective
• topographical
  adjective
• topographically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• topographies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of topography

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English topographye, from Late Latin topographia, from Greek topographía; see topo-, -graphy

Explanation

Topography is a detailed map of the surface features of land. It includes the mountains, hills, creeks, and other bumps and lumps on a particular hunk of earth. This handy word is a Greek-rooted combo of topos meaning "place" and graphein, "to write." The suffix -graphy means writing or representation made in a specific way, and shows up in familiar words like photography, oceanography, or even geography, which is similar to topography, but refers to where things are, but not what's on top. Topography represents a particular area in detail, including everything natural and man-made — hills, valleys, roads, or lakes. It's the geographical contours of the land.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

topography topographies

“Hill-climbing” is the term that is suddenly on lips across Silicon Valley, for reasons that have nothing to do with San Francisco’s dramatic topography or techies’ love of hiking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The OS first started mapping Britain 230 years ago and has since documented the changes in the country's topography.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

The automated program uses weather observations, forecast data, fuel and vegetation conditions, topography, location data, and information on available resources.

From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026

The county’s estimate of the cost by parcel is actually higher: between $85,000 and $134,000, depending on a property’s location and topography.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

But under the deceptively clean and level slate the topography was the same, and instead of San Francisco or Europe or Mars I would be learning the old landscape, brook and hill and tree.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

University of Washington scientists who combined sea-level projections with topographies along Washington’s coast found some parts of Seattle and other areas will be permanently underwater if worst-case projections are realized.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 9, 2024

Wenders preps us for the impact of his work, whether it’s one Kiefer’s immense scorched topographies or his libraries of lead books, or the painting depicting him lying, corpse-like, under a star-encrusted night sky.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2023

Sure, there are intimations of topographies viewed from above, and of the kinds of artificially colored photographs of deep space later produced by the Hubble Telescope.

From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2022

But the impacts of climate change are uneven, Beissinger said, and the Pacific Northwest’s varying topographies and climates make it challenging to predict exactly how birds will adjust, Beissinger said.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 2021

In contrast, the Mediterranean zones of southwestern Australia and, to a lesser degree, of South Africa and western Europe offer a narrower range of altitudes, habitats, and topographies.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• contour