Topography Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards related to Topography.

Contours

Lines that join places located at the same elevation above sea level.

Contour lines

Drawn in brown color and do not cut each other, but can join one up on the other.

Index Contour

Every 5th contour in a contour map is thickened.

Contour Interval (CI)

Height difference between two successive contours; also called Vertical Interval (VI).

Identification of landforms

Shape of the landform can be identified by looking at the arrangement of the contours.

Spot Height

The actual height of a place (particular point) on the ground in metres above the mean sea level indicated by a dot with a number on the map; unit used is metre.

Triangulated Height

The height of a particular point calculated using trigonometry; less accurate as it is calculated, not measured; indicated by a small triangle beside a number.

Bench Mark

A permanent survey point, etched on a stone or shown on a building, that indicates the height of the place of the sea level. These are accurate heights and are denoted by the letters BM with numbers.

Map Scale

The ratio between the map distance and the ground distance.

Map Distance

Straight line distance between any two points on a Map.

Ground Distance

Actual distance between the same two points in a straight line

Verbal Scale (Statement Scale)

A method of representing the map scale in the form a simple sentence

Representative Fraction (RF)

A method of representing the map scale in the form of a ratio

Linear Scale (Graphical Scale)

A method of representing the map scale visually, with the help of a line.

Drainage pattern

A pattern formed by a network of streams.

Dendritic pattern

Tree-like pattern that develops on homogeneous rock or beds of equal resistance.

Trellised Pattern

Pattern developed when tributaries join at right angles to the main valley that develops on alternating outcrops of harder and softer rocks.

Radial Pattern

Pattern in which streams diverge outward from a high central area, which develops around conical hills or a volcanic cone.

Settlement

A community (place) in which people live together

Nucleated/Compact/Clustered Settlement pattern

Houses are built very close to each other and around a central point such as a market place or a village area; usually found in agricultural lands.

Dispersed Settlement Pattern

Houses are scattered or are far away from each other.

Relative height & depth

The height or depth of a point on a map with respect to its surroundings.

Broken ground

Banks of a river which are highly eroded in nature; indicates the occurrence of seasonal rainfall.

Surveyed Tree

A tree that has been surveyed.

Causeway

A raised metalled road across a minor stream or low-lying marshy area.

Aqueduct

Structures used to conduct a water stream across a valley or a low-lying area.

Diggi

A small tank constructed near a farm to store water from a canal.

Sluice

A sliding gate for controlling the flow of water drawn from a canal

Brackish

A well with salty water; unfit for drinking and cooking.

Siphon

A bent pipe used for lifting water from a canal.

Dispensary

A primary health centre

Veterinary Hospital

A hospital (a place of treatment) for animals.

Sheet Rock

Large areas of rock where the overlying soil layers have been eroded and removed due to mechanical weathering.

Stony waste

A large area usually in arid/semi-arid regions where the finer sand/soil has blown away leaving a surface covered with boulders, stones and pebbles.

Rock Outcrop

A visible exposure of bedrock on the surface of the Earth or a portion of rock jutting above the surface of the earth.

Rocky knob

A protruding part of a rock overlooking a valley.

Open-scrub

An area of land with scrubs in arid or semi-arid areas that indicates a hot and dry climate with seasonal rainfall. Occupation in this area: Animal rearing

Limestone quarry

A place where the limestone is extracted.

Marblestone quarries

A place where the marble stone is extracted.

Lime Kiln

A kiln in which limestone is burnt or calcined to produce quicklime.

Brick Kiln

A kiln in which bricks are baked or burned.

Falls

Falls = Waterfall and the Height of the waterfalls in metres are given