GEOM 205: TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY
Presented By
Basant Awasthi
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▪ An imaginary line on the ground joining the points of equal elevation.
▪ In other words, contour is a line in which the ground surface is intersected by a
level surface obtained by joining points of equal elevation. This line on the map
represents a contour and is called contour line.
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▪ Contour line, isoline, isogram, topographic contour
▪ Contour lines are the greatest distinguishing features of a topographic maps
▪ Contour lines are lines drawn on a map connecting points of equal elevation on the
ground surface.
▪ Contour lines show elevation and the shape of the terrain
▪ They are useful because they illustrate the shape of the land surface – its
topography – on the map.
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▪ The process of tracing contour lines on the surface of earth is called contouring.
▪ It is a method which is equally suitable in flat as in mountainous country and for
large as well as small scale plotting.
Contour plan/map
▪ A contour map gives the idea of the altitude of the surface features as well as their
relative positions in a plan.
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▪ Gradient means slope or grade.
▪ Rise over run
▪ Can be expressed in percentage, fraction or decimal.
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 (𝐶𝐼)
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 =
𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝐻𝐸)
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▪ The horizontal distance between any two consecutive contours in a predetermined
directions is known as the horizontal equivalent.
▪ It will vary from point to point in a given map depending upon the steepness of the
ground.
▪ The steeper the ground, the lesser will be the horizontal equivalent.
𝐶𝐼
𝐻𝐸 =
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡
The horizontal distance between two points on two consecutive contour lines for a
given slope is known as horizontal equivalent.
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▪ The number of available level surface is infinite, the representation of the ground
can be carried to any degree of refinement by sufficiently increasing the number
of contours.
▪ The constant vertical distance between the contours is called the contour interval
(CI).
▪ The vertical distance between any two successive contours.
▪ Topographic maps show lines for certain elevations only. These lines are evenly
spaced apart. We call this spacing, the contour interval.
▪ Different maps use different intervals, depending on the topography. This makes it
easier to read the map – too many contour lines would be difficult to work with.
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▪ The vertical distance between any two consecutive contours is known as contour
interval and it is kept constant for a contour plan, once it is adopted, otherwise
interpretation of contour will be difficult.
▪ Usually contour interval is noted on the map.
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▪ Importance of the Work (Accuracy)
▪ Time and Expense of Field and Office Work
▪ Nature of the Ground
▪ Scale of the maps
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▪ Accuracy need of surveying work also decide the contour interval.
▪ Surveying for detailed work or for earthwork calculation demands high accuracy
and thus a small contour interval is used.
▪ But in case of location surveys where desired accuracy is less, higher contour
interval should be used.
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▪ If the contour interval is small, greater time and funds will be required in the field
survey, in reduction and in plotting the map.
▪ If the time and funds available are limited, the contour interval may be kept large.
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▪ The contour interval depends upon the nature of the terrain.
▪ For flat ground, a small contour interval is chosen whereas for undulating and
broken ground, greater contour interval is adopted.
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▪ The contour interval normally varies inversely to the scale of the map i.e., if the
scale of map is large, the contour interval is considered to be small and vice versa.
Contour Interval for different scale and types of ground 17
▪ The contour interval should be small when the ground is flat, the scale of the map is
large, the survey is detailed survey for design work and longtime and large cost in
acceptable.
▪ The contour interval may be large when the ground is of steep slope, the scale of
the map is small, the survey is preliminary and the survey is to be completed in a
short time and cost should be small.
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▪ For topographic map, general rule is used to fix the CI based on the scale.
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𝐶𝐼 𝑖𝑛 𝑚 =
𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑚𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑚
Or
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𝐶𝐼 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡 =
𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒
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1. Index Contour
2. Intermediate Contour
3. Supplementary Contour
4. Depression Contour
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▪ To make topographic maps easier to read, every fifth contour line is an index
contour.
▪ Because it’s impractical to mark the elevation of every contour line on the map, the
index contour lines are the only one labeled.
▪ The index contour are a darker or wider brown line in comparison to the regular
contour lines.
▪ We can see the elevations marked on the index contour lines only.
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▪ Contour lines (thinner lines) between index contours are called intermediate
contour lines.
▪ The intermediate contour lines usually come in sets and each intermediate contour
line represents an equal amount of elevation change between each line.
▪ Also important is the fact that the elevation change between one index contour line
and an adjacent intermediate contour line will also be the same change between
two intermediate contour lines that are located next to each other.
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▪ In some situations, elevation and terrain relief can not be shown with enough
details using index and intermediate contours using the standard contour interval.
▪ This is more often seen in very flat areas with minimal change in elevation where
the spacing between contour lines become very wide.
▪ In such cases supplementary contour lines in the form of dashed lines are used to
provide more information about the topography and help detecting small changes
in elevation.
▪ The contour interval for supplementary contours is usually half the regular contour
interval.
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▪ Depression is a low point or sinkhole,
surrounded in all direction by higher ground.
e.g.: volcanic craters, sinkholes, pit craters and
impact craters.
▪ A depression is represented by a series of
concentric closed contours with the inner
contours having lower elevation than their outer
surrounding. There are small tick marks or
hachures on these contour lines pointing towards
lower elevation.
▪ Such contours are called hachured contour lines
or depression contour lines.
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▪ The fundamental property of a contour is that every point on it has the same
elevation and by virtue of this property, a contour map with constant interval
portrays elements of configuration in a characteristic manner.
▪ It is essential to have a knowledge of the more important qualities of the contours
for the following two reasons:
▪ To enable the draughtsman to avoid possible misrepresentation which are apparently
false in nature
▪ To facilitate the proper interpretation of a map
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1. All points in a contour line have the
same elevation.
2. A uniform slope is indicated when the
contour lines are uniformly spaced
and steep slope where they run close
together.
3. A plane surface is indicated when they
are straight, parallel and equally
spaced.
Gentle and Steep Slope
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4. A series of closed contour lines on the map represent a hill, if the higher values
are inside.
5. A series of closed contour lines on the map indicate a depression if the higher
values are outside.
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6. Contour line cross ridge or
valley line at right angles. If
the higher values are inside
the bend or loop in the
contour, it indicates a ridge.
7. Contour line cross ridge or
valley line at right angles. If
the higher values are
outside the bend, it
represents a Valley.
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8. Contour lines cannot merge or cross one
another on map except in the case of an
overhanging cliff.
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9. Contour lines never run into one another
except in the case of a vertical cliff. In this
case, several contours coincide and the
horizontal equivalent becomes zero.
10. Contour lines passing through the man
made features like buildings, temples,
etc., are not shown.
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11. When contour cross stream, they form
the inverted U-shape, whose convex part
orients to the higher value. Contour
crosses a stream line at right angle.
12. Contours cannot end anywhere but close
on themselves either within or outside
the limits of the map.
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Direct method (Trace Contour Method)
▪ In this method, the contours to be located are directly
traced out in the field by locating and marking a number
of points on each contour.
▪ These points are then surveyed and plotted on plan and
the contours drawn through them.
▪ This method is most accurate but very slow and tedious
as a lot of time is wasted in searching points of the same
elevation for a contour.
▪ This is suitable for small area and where great accuracy
is required.
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Advantage of direct method:
▪ Method is more accurate because points are directly located on the contour.
▪ Used for small area where greater accuracy is required
Disadvantage of the direct method:
▪ Method is slow and tedious.
▪ Not suitable for contouring in large areas.
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▪ Grid method
▪ Cross-section method
▪ Radial Lines method
▪ Tacheometric method
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▪ In this method, the whole area is divided into
number of squares, the side of which may vary
from 5m to 30m depending upon the nature of
the ground and the contour interval. The
square need not be of the same size
throughout.
▪ The corners of the squares are pegged out
and the reduced levels of these points are
determined with a level.
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▪ This method is used for determination of contours along a fixed route such as a
canal, road, rail way etc.
▪ Cross section are located on the ground at right angles to the fixed line (center
line) of the route.
▪ Spacing of cross section depends upon the nature of ground, the contour interval
and the purpose of contouring.
▪ Spacing should be kept small where the direction of the contour is change
abruptly.
▪ Staff reading should be taken at the points of break in the ground surface.
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▪ Radial lines are run from the peak to cover
the area.
▪ The guide points are taken on the radial
lines and their elevation are determined.
▪ Contours are drawn by interpolation.
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▪ Points are surveyed using tacheometer/theodolite.
▪ Later, surveyed points are plotted to scale and contours are drawn.
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▪ Interpolation is the process of locating the contour points between the plotted
guide points.
The following method of interpolation are generally used:
1. Estimation
2. Calculation
3. Graphical Method
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▪ Position of the contour points between the guide points is estimated by eye
judgment.
▪ Used for small scale map.
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▪ In this method, distance of contour points are calculated by linear interpolation
▪ Method is quite accurate and commonly used in practice.
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 = × 𝐶. 𝐼.
𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡
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1 𝑐𝑚
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 = ×1𝑚
5𝑚
= 0.2 𝑐𝑚
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▪ In this method interpolation is done with the
help of line drawn on a tracing paper or a
tracing cloth.
▪ Following two methods are commonly used:
A. First method
▪ Number of parallel lines are drawn on a piece of
tracing cloth.
▪ Spacing between the lines is kept constant.
▪ Every fifth line made thick.
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▪ Let there be two points A and B whose elevation are
118 and 108.
▪ For locating the control point between A and B, place
the tracing cloth on the plane such that point A is on
third line from bottom. If bottom line represent an
elevation 105, point A represent an elevation of 108.
▪ Rotate the tracing cloth about A in such a way that the
point B lies on the thirteenth line from the bottom to
represent an elevation 118.
▪ Determine the point of intersection C and D of the
line AB with the line representing 110 and 115
▪ The point so obtained are on the contour 110 and 115.
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B. Second method
▪ In this method number of radial lines are drawn
on a piece of tracing cloth
▪ Draw a line of PQ and divide it in to number of
equal part say 15.
▪ Bisect PQ at R and draw a perpendicular OR to
PQ, after selecting a suitable pole O
▪ Rule out suitable guide line 1-1, 2 - 2, 3 – 3, etc.
parallel to PQ.
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▪ Move the tracing cloth over the plane so that the
point A lies on the radial line representing an
elevation of 108 and at the same time the point
B lies on the redial line representing an
elevation of 118
▪ Adjust the diagram so that the line AB is parallel
to PQ
▪ Prick the points of intersection of the thick lines
with the line AB to obtain the points C and D on
the contour of 110 and 115.
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▪ Describe briefly on the possible use of contour maps.
▪ Deadline: April 26, 2021
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Thank you for your attention.
Any Queries?
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