RELIEF AND HUMAN LANDSCAPE INTERPRETATION Understanding contours and its resulting landforms Human landscape

Relief Interpretation Use of contours Line on a map which joins all points having the same height above and below sea level Present shape, height and slope of an area Vertical difference in height between two adjacent contours – vertical interval (VI)

Types of slopes and their contour arrangements Steep Contours close together Gentle Contours widely spaced Concave Contours become closer as height increases Convex Contours become farther apart as height increases

Uniform Stepped Flat Spaces between contours remain the same Wide contour spacing alternates with narrow contour spacing Flat No contours

Note that the spacing of contour lines are far apart

Note that the contours are spaced closely to each other

Note that contour lines are closer at the top and gets wider as they move to lowland

Note that contours are far apart at the top but get closer at they move to the lowland region

Some common relief features that you need to know … Lowlands Highlands Hill Mountain Valley Ridge Plateau Floodplain Escarpment Spur

An example of a Cambodian lowland – note the gentle and relatively flat surface …

The Cammaroon Highlands in Bhutan – note the mountainous region with generally steep slopes

Note that the arrangement of contour lines are circular and is less than 600m

Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, England – note that it is less than 600m in height

The mountain contours is similar to hill, except that the values are above 600m – in this example, the contour is as high as 12000m

Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, Australia which is about 1500m above sea level

Note the arrangement of contour lines - arrowheads

The Tibet Valley which is also a river valley

Note the narrow and elongated alignment of the contour arrangement

The Big Beacon Ridge in Utah, USA, taken from the air.

Note the flat top (absence of contour lines and the steep sides

The Colorado Plateau in USA – note the steep sides and the flat top

Note that the contours of a floodplain needs to have a river running through it. Usually the contour value on each side of the river is the same

A floodplain along a river in Sussex, England

Note the difference in contour arrangement on each side of the landform

The Pak Sin Leng escarpment in Hong Kong – note the steepness of the slope on one side , while the other side is generally gentle sloping

Note the alternate arrowheads in the arrangement of contour lines, resulting in the landform interlocking with each other

Interlocking spurs at North Dorset, England

For relief related questions … Determine highland / lowland ; flat / mountainous – must state evidence based on contour values and spacing Identify any specific high points in the given area using relief symbols e.g. spot height, benchmark, trigonometrical station Identify any relief features based on contour arrangment e.g. hill, valley Refer to given handout : Map Reading Skills II

Example 6.1 (pg 31) Describe the relief of the area bounded by eastings 82 and 87, and northings 81 and 86 on Map 9 : Tamarin Important : In answering map reading questions, map evidence is required to support what you have described. Knowledge of grid references is very crucial

Human Landscape Interpretation Human environment a natural environment that has been changed by human activities a result of interaction between humans and the natural environment components include agriculture, industry, settlement and communications

Agriculture Cultivated areas influenced by Two main types soil fertility relief nearness to water supply Two main types Subsistence – small scale cultivation Plantation – large scale cultivation Generally map shows plantation of a single crop

Tea plantation commonly found on higher grounds

Sugar plantation in Hawaii

Subsistence farming in Bamboo village in China

Industry Three types of industries Primary e.g. mining Secondary e.g. factories processing raw materials to finished products Tertiary e.g. services such as tourism

Mining activity is a common resource extraction industry

How a quarry looks like – another example of a primary industry

An oil refinery, an example of a secondary industry

Factories in rural areas Factories in rural areas. Note that in topographic maps, there must be words such as “factory” or “mills” as evidence to show the existence of a secondary industry

Hotels are seen as evidence to show the presence of tertiary industry - tourism

Presence of a golf course in the area shows the emphasis on recreation, another form of a tertiary industry

Settlement and communication Function of the town – residential, commercial, educational, industrial Patterns – linear, clustered, dispersed Can be linked to communication and transportation network Presence of good transportation network promotes accessibility which also influences growth of towns

A commercial town – New York City, USA

A residential town – Pasir Ris, Singapore

Cambridge, a university town in England

Blairsville, a small industrial town in Pennsylvania, USA

Settlement patterns Linear Clustered Dispersed Arranged in a line along roads / a river Clustered Arranged close to each other ; highly concentrated Dispersed Arranged far away from each other Note that an area can have more than one pattern, hence it is important to identify the pattern and use references as evidence to support it

Note that houses are very far apart – a very common sight where there is abundant land supply and the main economic activity is agriculture

Note that the house is the only building in the area surrounded by large areas of vineyards on the highlands e.g. vineyards near Greve, Tuscany in Italy

Road Note that the houses are arranged along the road. This is usually to ensure greater accessibility (ease of movement from one place to another)

Settlements can also be found along the river e. g Settlements can also be found along the river e.g. photograph shows a village that is found along Nile River

Note that the buildings are found close to each other Note that the buildings are found close to each other. This is a common sight in main city areas where land is in high demand and limited. High concentration can also be found at the intersection of road junctions.

Note that the aerial view of New York City shows the high concentration of buildings to maximise the use of land

Settlement, communication and relief There is usually a direct relationship between settlement and communication as most settlements tend to be concentrated around lines of communication (transportation network) Settlement can also be influenced by relief Houses are usually built on flat land

A common sight as one travels along a highway A common sight as one travels along a highway. A good transport network connects one area / town to another

Note how each town is connected to another by a comprehensive transportation network

Note that the houses are concentrated at the foot of the mountain and not on the mountain itself as it is easier to built

Although settlements are influenced by relief of the area, why are houses built on this mountain ?

To describe the human landscape on a topographic map … Describe the settlement on the map Pattern, location, distribution (in relation to relief) Describe the human activities Types of industry Describe patterns of communications in relation to relief and settlement

Example 12.1 (pg 82) Describe the human landscape shown in Map 8 : Tanga Important : In answering map reading questions, map evidence is required to support what you have described. Knowledge of grid references is very crucial

Map Reading Test (Wed, 28/1) Topics to study Basic Map Reading Techniques (grid reference, direction, bearing, distance, average gradient) Relief and Human Landscape Interpretation On-line Revision ASKNLearn portal  Key in your password and Userid  Homepage  Geography O Level  Launch!  Theme : Can You Find Me ?  Map Reading