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

2. 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)

3. 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

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

5. Note that the spacing of contour lines are far apart

6. Note that the contours are spaced closely to each other

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16. Note the arrangement of contour lines - arrowheads

17. The Tibet Valley which is also a river valley

18. Note the narrow and elongated alignment of the contour arrangement

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

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

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

22. 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

23. A floodplain along a river in Sussex, England

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

25. 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

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

27. Interlocking spurs at North Dorset, England

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. Tea plantation commonly found on higher grounds

33. Sugar plantation in Hawaii

34. Subsistence farming in Bamboo village in China

35. 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

36. Mining activity is a common resource extraction industry

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

38. An oil refinery, an example of a secondary industry

39. 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

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

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

42. 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

43. A commercial town – New York City, USA

44. A residential town – Pasir Ris, Singapore

45. Cambridge, a university town in England

46. Blairsville, a small industrial town in Pennsylvania, USA

47. 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

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

49. 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

50. 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)

51. 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

52. 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.

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

54. 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

55. 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

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

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

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

59. 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

60. 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

61. 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
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