topography

[ tuh-pog-ruh-fee ]

noun

, plural to·pog·ra·phies.

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.

topography

/ 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

topography

/ 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 .

Derived Forms

• topographic, adjective
• toˈpographer, noun
• ˌtopoˈgraphically, adverb

Other Words From

• top·o·graph·ic [top-, uh, -, graf, -ik], top·o·graph·i·cal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of topography¹

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

Example Sentences

Those fires involve topography, weather, fuel conditions, fire-fighting response, on and on.

From ProPublica

To do it, they had a Trimble SX10 scanner, a tool that measures objects like buildings or the topography of a landscape.

From Popular-Science

Seismology, gravity and topography data could go a long way to revealing what lurks beneath the ice.

From Science News

In the mountains, the rain will quickly run downhill, potentially triggering a flash flood, whereas the water will spread out more slowly where there is less topography.

From Popular-Science

VERITAS is an orbiter that would use a combination of radar and near-infrared spectroscopy to peer beyond the planet’s thick clouds and help us understand the surface geology and topography.

From MIT Technology Review

Rising up from scooping bay, the steep topography—hemmed by hills of evergreens—promises panoramas at practically every turn.

From The Daily Beast

I would say timing and mastering topography were two of them.

From The Daily Beast

It changed the creative topography of the show and it rocked our world and it rocked the viewers.

From The Daily Beast

Mr. Netanyahu has pledged to erect a similar barrier along the Syrian frontier, with changes to suit the topography.

From The Daily Beast

He knows the topography and geography of Israel/Palestine, literally street by street and wadi by wadi.

From The Daily Beast

The combination of these five regions suggests a one-word description of Virginia's topography, namely, diversified.

From Project Gutenberg

But clouds prevented me seeing more and studying the topography more carefully.

From Project Gutenberg

This lack of enjoyment in Nature, lack of interest in topography and archaeology, was probably personal to him.

From Project Gutenberg

But before he went to bed, he got out his maps and studied the topography of the region over which he had to fly the next day.

From Project Gutenberg

They vary with the climate, the topography, the size of the timber, and the kind of product to be harvested.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• contour