Lesson 4how to read a topographic map orange county water. The top of this drawing is a con tour map showing the hills that are illustrated at the bottom. Students learn about topography and bathymetry by studying and making maps. Geography activities geography for kids teaching geography. Custom text, photos, videos use markers, lines, or shapes to tell your story on mapmaker by adding in text, photos, and videos with the rich editing tool. The new easy way to print topographic maps for free. Topographical maps can be very difficult to understand, even for trained adults. Contour map generation in the field, points and their elevations are measured using automatic levels, total stations, or gps devices geotechnical engineers use these points to generate topographic maps. Contour mapping lesson plan contour mapping orange county. Learn the cardinal directions of north, south, west, and east with this fun directionfollowing activity. A topographic mapis a representation of a threedimensional surface on a flat piece of paper. Worksheets are topographic map work, topographic map reading practice work, topographic maps, misp topographic maps work 2, topographic maps, map reading activity topography ff i, topographic map work, topographic maps.
Geological survey reading topographic maps interpreting the colored lines, areas, and other symbols is the. This application uses licensed geocortex essentials technology for the esri. Topographic maps and countours illinois institute of. What type of characteristics does a topographic map show us. Making topographic maps contour lines and labels contour lines distinguish a topographic map from other types of map. They read a map and create a chart of animals that live in water and on land. In this video we begin by looking at a topographic map of pikes peak in colorado. This activity is a fun way to bring topographic maps into students daily lives.
Most topographical maps show 3d geographical information in a 2 dimensional way. They also show physical features such as forests, rivers and lakes and humanmade features such as roads, railways and settlements. Customize the fill and border colors to make this map layer your own. In this lesson, students complete a very fun lab where they use a specially designed container and a lot of water to build a topographic profile. Show the students that some contour lines are thicker than others. Besides just showing landforms such as mountains and rivers, the map also shows the elevation changes of the land. Bring up the most basic principles first, and then you can build on the youngsters knowledge after that. Base your answers to the following questions on the topographic map below. Land, water, and animals on a map students determine the colors for land and water on a map. Students make a clay model volcano, and then create a topographic map of it. If you are wondering about the answers to these questions, you will find them when making a topographic map of a landform you have created. Students explore a map of a park and use map symbols, a map key, and cardinal directions to analyze it. To understand and use topographic maps, one must be familiar with some important terms and elements of topographic maps. Scott shambaugh created this map of his hometown as a gift for his parents.
National geographics site gives you a handy gps map. Readingunderstanding topographic maps school of forest. Free 2nd grade geography worksheets teachers pay teachers. The final pieces of this middle school 3d art project look so amazing. Water atlas curriculum lesson 03 other graphical representations, topographic maps portray the shapes and locations of mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, cities, roads, bridges, and many other natural and manmade features usgs. Users can zoom in and out, find places and turn satellite imagery on or off. Point out the flattest and steepest areas on the crater lake map. Teacher background mapmakers have devised an ingenious way to show threedimensional topography on a two dimensional flat surface with the use of a topographic map. Hills and ocean depths that would be lost on a simpler map are highlighted here.
A nice reference to have while reading this chapter is a usgs color topographic map. Topographical maps under international map series of the world are designed to produce standardised maps for the entire world on a scale of 1. Using the modeling dough or clay provided, design a landform. Topographic maps use contour lines, lines of equal elevation, to represent the vertical dimension height of the landscape. The key on a topographic map uses conventional signs to.
Therefore, you do not want to overwhelm your classroom or your child when you introduce the maps for the first time. Browse and view free us geological survey, us forest service, and nrcan topo maps for the us and canada. Use these social studies worksheets to teach map skills, including using a compass rose, using a scale of miles, reading a map key, finding places on a street map. The packet includes a teachers guide, four printable activity sheets, and three maps in pdf format that can be downloaded and printed on 8. On these maps contour lines illustrate the variations in elevation of surface. Looking at a topographic map for the first time can be a confusing experience. The worksheet gives an example of what a map might look like and it also lists the key features needed to make a good map. Chapter 2 reading topographic maps and making calculations. The following list provides some guidelines for effectively constructing a topographic profile and uses the topographic map and profile line provided to the left you can download a pdf of the map and profile to work from acrobat pdf 2.
This layered, laser cut map, however, is an object that directly reflects the elevation of portland, maine. Give students access to topographic maps of the surrounding area and any other areas the students frequently travel to. The digital elevation model on the poster is helpful in understanding topographic maps. Contour lines, sometimes called level lines, join points of equal elevation. Contour mapping lesson plan students learn about topography and bathymetry by studying and making maps. The quality of students performance on reading a topographic map b will give an indication of their understanding of the concept of topographic maps. Topographic contours are lines of constant ground surface elevation, and the spatial patterns of contours allow experienced map readers to visualize the shape of the contoured surface. Scale skills 2 kb pdf australian landforms 184 kb pdf. Topographic maps lesson and making contour maps activity. In these surveys, control is achieved by positioning details on the ground which may be identified in images. Exploring maps and models of earth students compare miniature. The basics topographic maps produced by natural resources canada nrcan offer detailed information on a particular area and are used for several types of. Constructing a 3d topographic map activity this exercise uses clear plastic takeout lids, each marked with a different elevation line, and stacked to produce a 3d topographic map.
Before drawing your map, please read through the following explanation and description of topographic maps. Topographic map activity give kids permission to draw on their hands for the sake of learning. The symbol 533 represents the highest elevation on aurora hill. True appreciation of the usefulness and limitations of topographic maps can only be gained through field use.
Displaying all worksheets related to topographic map. Your map can be any size equal to or larger than a standard 8x11 piece of paper do not use lined paper. Display the images of topographic, or contour, maps. Points a, b, y, and z are reference points on the topographic map. Make a topographic map overview make a topographic map shows topographic information, such as roads, trails, lakes, rivers, wooded areas, wetlands and provincial parks, as well as municipal and township boundaries. Customprinted topographic topo maps, aerial photos, and satellite images for the united states and canada. Construct a topographic map of the egyptian pyramid of khafre a topographic map is a twodimensional representation of a threedimensional space. Basics of topographical map reading for kids sciencing. Eighth grade lesson topographic maps lab betterlesson.
Use this scaleable set of seamless topographic maps, in this case from the usgs, inside arcgis online to examine the physical and cultural geography of the usa. They will be presented with activities that will help them to describe a topographic map. In this mapping activity, the pupils apply the skills they have learnt to make their own map of an imaginary place. Yes, you could get usgs topographic maps before, but they were in large, cumbersome pdfs that were difficult to find and even harder to print. It would have twice as many contour lines as it currently has making it nearly impossible to distinguish one contour line from another in some places and obscuring other information. This introductory lesson serves to introduce what a topographic map actually is a representation of a 3d area on a 2d surface and have students create one by pouring progressively more water into a plastic mold, where they then use a plastic.
Latitude and longitude see the coordinates of any place on earth. I then build a clay model of a mountain and create cross sections representing different elevation layers. This packet is a brief introduction to topographic maps and the information that they contain. Topography this is a topographic map with contour lines that show points that are on the same level. Features are shown as points, lines, or areas, depending on their size and extent. The closer together the contour lines appear on a topographic map, the. Topographic maps can present a major challenge in the classroom. Make sure students understand that contour map s, though 2dimensional, use contour lines to show elevation above sea level. Points a, b, c, d, and x represent locations on the. Extension this lesson is followed up with students working with actual topographic maps, identifying various aspects of the landscape. Topography for kids geography worksheets, topographic. Maps are a big part of the fourth grade social studies curriculum, but maps in a textbook can seem boring and hard to conceptualize for many students. Learning how to make a topographic map is a great way to show kids how threedimensional objects can be represented on a twodimensional page. This lesson is followed up with students working with actual topographic maps, identifying various aspects of the landscape.
Students will identify continents and oceans on a world map. The map images and activities in this packet can be used in various courses, including geography, history, math, art, english, and the sciences. You will create a mountain, volcano, or a hill, break it into parts, then map it. Nov 23, 20 make a 3d model out of an elevation map. A topographic map is printed on a flat piece of paper yet it provides a picture of the terrain and man made features through the use of contour lines, colors and. Use the map of lakeside campground to answer the questions about the. Playdough topo overview students make a clay model volcano, and then create a topographic map of it. Topographical map a topographical map is one that shows the physical features of the land. In some cases, much of the topographic surveying may be undertaken via photogrammetric processes. Tracking change over time activity enhance students learning of geography, map reading, earth science, and problem solving through landscape changes recorded by satellites in space. Show students map images and introduce the activity.