Tropographical maps are prepared for smaller areas with all the details, for example low lying elevated areas, rivers, streams, forests, railways, roads, footpaths, canals and wells etc. present in this area.
A topographic map is a detailed and accurate two-dimensional representation of natural and human-made features on the Earth's surface. These maps are used for a number of applications, from camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking to urban planning, resource management, and surveying. The most distinctive characteristic of a topographic map is that the three-dimensional shape of the Earth's surface is modeled by the use of contour lines. Contours are imaginary lines that connect locations of similar elevation. Contours make it possible to represent the height of mountains and steepness of slopes on a two-dimensional map surface. Topographic maps also use a variety of symbols to describe both natural and human made features such as roads, buildings, quarries, lakes, streams, and vegetation.
Topographic maps produced by the Canadian National Topographic System (NTS) are generally available in two different scales: 1:50,000 and 1:250,000. Maps with a scale of 1:50,000 are relatively large-scale covering an area approximately 1000 square kilometers. At this scale, features as small as a single home can be shown. The smaller scale 1:250,000 topographic map is more of a general purpose reconnaissance-type map. A map of this scale covers the same area of land as sixteen 1:50,000 scale maps.
In the United States, topographic maps have been made by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) since 1879. Topographic coverage of the United States is available at scales of 1:24,000, 1:25,000 (metric), 1:62,250, 1:63,360 (Alaska only), 1:100,000 and 1:250,000.
Topographic Map Symbols
Topographic maps use symbols to represent natural and human constructed features found in the environment. The symbols used to represent features can be of three types: points, lines, and polygons. Points are used to depict features like bridges and buildings. Lines are used to graphically illustrate features that are linear. Some common linear features include roads, railways, and rivers. However, we also need to include representations of area, in the case of forested land or cleared land; this is done through the use of color.
The set of symbols used on Canadian National Topographic System (NTS) maps has been standardized to simplify the map construction process. A description of the complete set of symbols available can be found in a published guide titled: Standards and Specifications for Polychrome Maps. This guide guarantees uniform illustration of surface features on both 1:50 000 and 1:250 000 topographic maps. Despite the existence of this guide, we can find that some topographic maps may use different symbols to depict a feature. This occurs because the symbols used are graphically refined over time - as a result the Standards and Specifications for Polychrome Maps guide is always under revision.
The tables below describe some of the common symbols used on Canadian National Topographic System maps (source: Centre for Topographic Information, Natural Resources Canada). See the following link for the symbols commonly used on USGS topographic maps.