Topography

Topography is the study of the shape and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area could refer to the surface shapes and features themselves, or a description (especially their depiction in maps).

Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary science and is concerned with local detail in general, including not only relief but also natural and artificial features, and even local history and culture. This meaning is less common in the United States, where topographic maps with elevation contours have made "topography" synonymous with relief.

Topography in a narrow sense involves the recording of relief or terrain, the three-dimensional quality of the surface, and the identification of specific landforms. This is also known as geomorphometry. In modern usage, this involves generation of elevation data in digital form (DEM). It is often considered to include the graphic representation of the landform on a map by a variety of techniques, including contour lines, hypsometric tints, and relief shading.

Types of topography

Topography has been divided into the following types:

• Physical topography is the type of topography that deals with the physical features of a particular region. This includes the mountains, rivers, vegetation, etc.
• Cultural topography is a type of topography that deals with the human-made or cultural aspects of a region. This includes roads, railways, buildings, etc.
• Urban topography is a type of topography that deals with the arrangement of buildings and streets in a city or town.
• Military topography is a type of topography that is used by the military to understand the terrain of a particular region.

History

The history of topography is closely related to the history of cartography, the making of maps. The first known maps come from ancient Babylon from the 17th century BC. The knowledge of the earth's shape and size was refined after the Greeks in the Hellenistic world created the science of geography in the 3rd century BC.

See also

• Geography
• Cartography
• Geology
• Geomorphology
• Hydrography
• Landscape
• Physical geography

External links

• Official website

Topography Resources
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