Maps and Images

Whether on paper or on a computer screen, a map is the best tool available to catalog and view the arrangement of things on the Earth's surface. Maps of various kinds--road maps, political maps, land use maps, and maps of the world--serve many different purposes.

Topographic Maps
One of the most widely used of all maps is the topographic map. The feature that most distinguishes topographic maps from maps of other types is the use of contour lines to portray the shape and elevation of the land. Topographic maps render the three-dimensional ups and downs of the terrain on a two-dimensional surface.

Topographic maps usually portray both natural and manmade features. They show and name works of nature, including mountains, valleys, plains, lakes, rivers, and vegetation. They also identify the principal works of man, such as roads, boundaries, transmission lines, and major buildings.

The wide range of information provided by topographic maps makes them extremely useful to professional and recreational map users alike. Topographic maps are used for engineering, energy exploration, natural resource conservation, environmental management, public- works design, commercial and residential planning, and outdoor activities like hiking, camping, and fishing.

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