How Are Contours Interpreted?

Contour lines on a map show topography or changes in elevation. A contour line is a brown line on a map that connects all points of the same elevation. ... They tend to parallel each other, each approximately the shape of the one above it and the one below it.

What do the contour lines represent?

A topographic map illustrates the topography, or the shape of the land, at the surface of the Earth. The topography is represented by contour lines, which are imaginary lines. Every point on a particular contour line is at the same elevation. These lines are generally relative to mean sea level.

How do you describe a contour map?

Earth's surface has many different kinds of landforms that vary widely in height and elevation. Contour maps show the elevations of these surface features, which allows you to look at a two-dimensional map to visualize the Earth in three dimensions.