Topographic Map Worksheet – Contour Lines, Slopes and Vs

All 8 features on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 5 main features 5

Contour line A contour line: a line joining points of equal height. Walk along one and you neither climb nor drop.
Index contour Every fifth contour, drawn wider so heights are easier to count. On a real map it carries the height.
Hilltop The hilltop: the innermost closed loop is the highest ground.
Steep slope Where the contours are close together, the height changes fast.
Stream Where contours cross a valley they bend into a V. The V points upstream, uphill.

Other 3

Contour interval The difference in height between one contour and the next. It is the same across one map and is given in the key.
Gentle slope Where the contours are far apart, the ground rises slowly.
Depression A closed loop with short ticks (hachures) pointing inward. It marks ground lower than its surroundings, not a hill.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-27. (1) US Geological Survey, Topographic Map Symbols, https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/TopographicMapSymbols/topomapsymbols.pdf : contours are imaginary lines joining points of equal elevation; index contours are wider, with intermediate and supplementary contours between them; contours very close together show steep slopes, and widely spaced contours level or gently sloping ground; the vertical distance between lines is the contour interval; depression contours. (2) Wikipedia, Contour line, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contour_line : the contour interval is the elevation gap between adjacent lines and is the same across one map; the rule of Vs, sharp vees in stream valleys pointing upstream; the rule of Os, closed loops highest on the inside, the innermost loop the highest area; depressions marked with hachures pointing toward the low; close contours mean steep ground. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This topographic map worksheet is a practice map of one hill drawn with contour lines, with no numbers so it prints blank. Label it on screen, quiz yourself, or print it. Start with the 5 main features.

Read the full guide

Reading the lines

Each contour line joins points of the same height, and the contour interval is the height step between neighbouring lines. Every fifth line, the index contour, is drawn wider. Closed loops rise toward the middle, so the smallest loop is the hilltop.

Shape of the land

Lines close together mean a steep slope; lines far apart mean a gentle one. Where a stream cuts through, the lines bend into Vs that point upstream. A loop with ticks pointing in is a depression.

To tell which way a stream flows, look at the Vs where it crosses the contours: they point uphill, so water flows away from them.

Questions and answers

What is a contour interval?

The difference in height between two neighbouring contour lines. It stays the same across one map and is printed in the map's key, for example 10 or 20 feet.

How can you tell a steep slope on a topographic map?

Look at the spacing of the contour lines. Lines close together mean the height changes quickly, a steep slope; lines far apart mean gentle ground.

How is a depression shown on a topographic map?

With a closed contour loop that has short ticks, called hachures, pointing inward. The ticks show the ground inside is lower, not higher.