Topographic Maps Vocab

Topographic Maps Vocab.

Landform• A feature of the Earth’s surface • Examples: • Lake• stream• valley• canyon• hill• ridge• mountain.

Wetland• General term for an area characterized by a high

proportion of water and watery land. • Swamp • Marsh • Bog

Swamp• Area that has a high proportion of water but dominated

by trees surrounding the area.

Marsh• A wetland characterized by a high proportion of water

and watery land. An area that is dominated by grasses.

Topography • The shape of the land.

Contour lines • Lines that are drawn to connect all areas that are the same

height relative to sea level.

Contour interval• The height difference between two contour lines is the

interval or change in height.

Evidence

• Information gained by direct observation or from reliable sources that can be used to formulate ideas about the natural world or to inform decision-making.

Inference

• To conclude by reasoning from evidence.• A lot of people have shorts on today, it must be warm out.

Trade-off• A balancing of factors, all of which are not attainable at

the same time. Getting one thing at the cost of another. The trade-off is the aspect that is given up and can only be evaluated in the context of what it was exchanged for.

Observation• Any description or measurement gathered by the senses