Class 11 Geography Chapter 25 Topographical Maps Notes

What a topographical map is, who prepares it, and the two series and five scales it comes in
How to read contours: what a contour interval is, and why the spacing between contours changes even when that interval does not
How to recognise a slope type and a landform purely from the way its contours are spaced and shaped
How to draw a cross-section (side profile) of the ground from a set of contours, step by step
How settlements, transport and land use are shown and read on a topographical sheet
How to interpret a topographical sheet under its five standard heads, and the procedure for doing it systematically

topographical mapcontourcontour intervalhorizontal equivalenthachurescross-sectionconventional signssurvey of india

1What Is a Topographical Map?

You already know that maps are classified by scale and by function. A topographical map is a general-purpose map: it is drawn at a relatively large scale and shows both the natural features of an area (relief, vegetation, water bodies) and the cultural features people have added to it (cultivated land, settlements, transport networks). Every country’s National Mapping Organisation prepares and publishes these maps; in India, that job belongs to the Survey of India.

Learn by heartDefinition 1

Topographic Map is a map of a small area drawn on a large scale, depicting detailed surface features, both natural and man-made. Relief on this map is shown by contours.

Topographical maps matter because they are base maps: almost every other special-purpose map (a soil map, a land-use map, a settlement map) is drawn on top of one. They are also published as a series, so that every sheet in the series shares the same reference point, scale, projection, conventional signs, symbols and colours.

1.1 The two series of Indian topographical maps

India and Adjacent Countries Series

Prepared by the Survey of India until the Delhi Survey Conference of 1937, after which coverage of neighbouring countries was dropped and India alone continued to be mapped, now to the specifications of the International Map Series. The old series’ numbering system and layout plan were kept for the new one, which is why the numbering looks older than the maps themselves.

International Map Series of the World

Designed to produce standardised topographical maps for the entire world, at a scale of 1 : 10,00,000 or 1 : 2,50,000.

1.2 The five scales, and what each sheet covers

Survey of India topographical maps are drawn at five fixed scales. A larger denominator means a smaller scale and a bigger area covered by one sheet, so the coverage in degrees and minutes shrinks as the scale gets larger (that is, as the denominator gets smaller).

Scale	Latitude × Longitude covered by one sheet
1 : 10,00,000	4° × 4°
1 : 2,50,000	1° × 1°
1 : 1,25,000	30′ × 30′
1 : 50,000	15′ × 15′
1 : 25,000	5′ × 7′30″

Exam Tip

Learn the table in order: as the scale becomes larger (a bigger fraction, smaller denominator), the area a single sheet covers becomes smaller, so the degree-and-minute coverage in the second column shrinks all the way down the table. This one sentence answers any “how are the scales related” question.

1.3 How a sheet gets its number

The numbering system is shown in the book’s Figure 5.1, the Reference Map of Topographical Sheets Published by Survey of India. Each 4° × 4° sheet (scale 1 : 10,00,000) has a number, such as 55 or 63. It is divided into 16 sheets of 1° × 1° (1 : 2,50,000), lettered A to P, running down each column from the north-west corner (A, B, C, D in the first column, E to H in the second, and so on); so one of them is sheet 63K. Each 1° × 1° sheet is in turn divided into 16 sheets of 15′ × 15′ (1 : 50,000), numbered 1 to 16 in the same column order; so one of them is sheet 63K/12, the sheet used in the book’s exercises. A sheet’s number therefore tells you where it lies inside the larger sheet above it.

Figure 1: How a Survey of India sheet gets its number (book Figure 5.1). A 4° × 4° sheet (here 63) is divided into 16 sheets of 1° × 1°, lettered A to P down the columns (63K); each of these is divided into 16 sheets of 15′ × 15′, numbered 1 to 16 down the columns (63K/12, the sheet used in the book's exercises). Schematic and not to scale: not a geographic map. — **Figure 1**: How a Survey of India sheet gets its number (book Figure 5.1). A 4° × 4° sheet (here 63) is divided into 16 sheets of 1° × 1°, lettered A to P down the columns (63K); each of these is divided into 16 sheets of 15′ × 15′, numbered 1 to 16 down the columns (63K/12, the sheet used in the book’s exercises). Schematic and not to scale: not a geographic map.

2Reading a Topographical Sheet

The study of a topographical map is straightforward once you know what to look for. First, orient yourself: find the north line and the scale, and turn the sheet (or yourself) so that north on the sheet matches north on the ground. Then get familiar with the legend, the conventional signs and the colours printed on the sheet, since these are what turn a page full of lines into readable information.

Did you know?

Conventional signs and symbols are internationally accepted. That means anyone, anywhere in the world, can read the cultural and physical features on a topographical sheet without knowing a single word of the local language, as long as they know the legend.

2.1 Methods of relief representation

Over the years, several methods have been used to show the relief (the elevations and depressions) of the earth’s surface on a map. A map that shows these features is itself called a relief map.

Methods of Relief Representation

HachuresShort lines drawn along the direction of maximum slope

Hill ShadingA shadow effect that suggests height and shape

Layer TintsBands of colour, one per height range

Bench Marks and Spot HeightsExact heights printed at fixed points

ContoursLines joining points of equal height

Exam Tip

Five methods are named, but only two are used predominantly on all topographical maps to depict relief: contours and spot heights. If a question asks which two, those are the answer, not the full list of five.

3Contours

Learn by heartDefinition 2

Contours are imaginary lines joining places having the same elevation above mean sea level. They are also called “level lines”. A map showing landform through contours is called a contour map.

Contours used to be drawn from ground survey and levelling. Aerial photography has now replaced those older methods, so most contours today are derived from photographs taken from the air.

3.1 Contour interval and horizontal equivalent

Definition 3: Contour Interval (V.I.)

Contour Interval = the vertical gap between two successive contours

Common values are 20 m, 50 m or 100 m. It is also called the Vertical Interval (V.I.), it is usually written in metres, and on any one map it is normally constant.

Definition 4: Horizontal Equivalent (H.E.)

Horizontal Equivalent = the horizontal ground distance between two successive contours

Unlike the contour interval, the H.E. changes from place to place on the same map: it is large where the slope is gentle and small where the slope is steep.

Common Mistake

Students mix up these two. The contour interval (the vertical gap) is fixed for a whole map. The horizontal equivalent (the gap you actually see between two contour lines on paper) changes constantly because it depends on the slope at that particular spot.

Figure 2: The vertical interval (V.I.) between successive contours is a constant 100 m, but the horizontal equivalent (H.E.) is large on the gentle part of the slope and small on the steep part, so the contours seen on the map (bottom strip) are far apart where the land is gentle and close together where it is steep. A generic hillside, not a real place. A schematic diagram, not a geographic map. — **Figure 2**: The vertical interval (V.I.) between successive contours is a constant 100 m, but the horizontal equivalent (H.E.) is large on the gentle part of the slope and small on the steep part, so the contours seen on the map (bottom strip) are far apart where the land is gentle and close together where it is steep. A generic hillside, not a real place. A schematic diagram, not a geographic map.

3.2 Five basic features of contour lines

The five facts every contour question comes back to

A contour line joins places of equal height, never places at different heights.
The shape and spacing of contours together show the height and the slope (gradient) of the land.
Closely spaced contours mean a steep slope; widely spaced contours mean a gentle slope.
Where two or more contours merge into one, the land is near-vertical: a cliff or a waterfall.
Two contours of different elevation almost never cross each other.

4Types of Slope

Slope can be described by the angle it makes, but on a contour sheet it is read from spacing alone. The book classifies slopes into five types: gentle, steep, concave, convex and irregular or undulating. The contours of each show a distinct spacing pattern; the book illustrates the first four.

4.1 Slope types, told apart by contour spacing

Figure 3: The four slope types the book illustrates, each drawn as plan-view contours above its profile (the book also names a fifth type, irregular or undulating, which it does not illustrate). Contours are close where the slope is steep and far apart where it is gentle: a concave slope is gentle below and steep above, a convex slope is gentle above and steep below. Generic slopes, not real places.

Concave Slope

Gentle gradient in the lower part
Steep gradient in the upper part
Contours: widely spaced low down, closely spaced up high

Convex Slope

Gentle gradient in the upper part
Steep gradient in the lower part
Contours: widely spaced up high, closely spaced low down

Memory Trick

Concave caves in at the top: steep near the summit.

A concave slope curves inward like the inside of a cave, and the cave’s steep part is near the top. A convex slope bulges outward, like the outside of a dome, and it is steepest right at the bottom where the bulge ends.

5Landforms and Their Contour Signature

Once you can read slope from spacing, whole landforms become recognisable from their contour pattern alone. Every diagram below is a generic, invented shape used purely to teach the pattern; it is not a real hill, valley or place.

5.1 Conical hill and plateau

Figure 4: A conical hill's contours are evenly spaced circles around a single high point; a plateau's contours crowd together only at the steep margin, leaving a wide gap around the flat top. Invented, generic patterns. — **Figure 4**: A conical hill’s contours are evenly spaced circles around a single high point; a plateau’s contours crowd together only at the steep margin, leaving a wide gap around the flat top. Invented, generic patterns.

5.2 V-shaped valley and U-shaped valley

Learn by heartDefinition 5

Valley is a low-lying stretch of land between two hills or ridges, formed by the lateral erosion of a river or a glacier.

Figure 5: In both valleys the lowest value sits on the innermost contour and the values rise outward at a uniform interval; the apex of each contour points up the valley, toward the higher ground. A V-shaped valley's innermost contour has a very small gap between its two sides, a U-shaped valley's a wide gap. Blue line: the river. Generic valleys, not real places. — **Figure 5**: In both valleys the lowest value sits on the innermost contour and the values rise outward at a uniform interval; the apex of each contour points up the valley, toward the higher ground. A V-shaped valley’s innermost contour has a very small gap between its two sides, a U-shaped valley’s a wide gap. Blue line: the river. Generic valleys, not real places.

5.3 Gorge and spur

Figure 6: A gorge is a deep, narrow valley, so its contours are packed very close together with only a small gap inside the innermost one; their apex, like any valley's, points up toward the higher ground. A spur is shown by V-shaped contours in the reverse manner: the arms of the V point to the higher ground and the apex to the lower ground. Generic shapes, not real places. — **Figure 6**: A gorge is a deep, narrow valley, so its contours are packed very close together with only a small gap inside the innermost one; their apex, like any valley’s, points up toward the higher ground. A spur is shown by V-shaped contours in the reverse manner: the arms of the V point to the higher ground and the apex to the lower ground. Generic shapes, not real places.

5.4 Cliff, waterfall and rapids

Figure 7: A cliff is shown by contours that run very close to one another and finally merge into one; a waterfall by contours that merge into one another where they cross the river, while rapids above or below it are shown by contours crossing the river relatively far apart. In each panel the profile below is drawn from the contours above. Generic places, not real ones.

Landform definitions, gathered together

Conical HillRises almost uniformly from the surrounding land; concentric, roughly regularly spaced contours

PlateauA widely stretched, flat-topped high land with steep margins; contours close at the margin, wide at the innermost (flat top)

‘V’-Shaped ValleyFound in mountainous areas; innermost contour has a very small gap between its two sides

‘U’-Shaped ValleyFormed by strong glacial erosion; flat wide bottom, steep sides; innermost contour has a wide gap

GorgeDeep, narrow, very steep-sided valley formed where vertical erosion dominates; very closely spaced contours

SpurA tongue of higher land projecting into lower ground; V-shaped contours but reversed, arms toward the higher ground

CliffA very steep, near-vertical face; contours run very close and merge into one

WaterfallA sudden, near-vertical fall of water; contours crossing the river merge at that point

RapidsA cascading stretch before or after a waterfall; shown by relatively distant contours crossing the river

6Drawing a Cross-Section

A cross-section (also called a profile) is a side view of the ground, cut along a straight line. Turning a set of contours into a cross-section is a fixed, eight-step procedure.

Learn by heartDefinition 6

Cross-section is a side view of the ground cut vertically along a straight line. It is also known as a section or a profile.

Step 1Draw a straight line across the contours on the map and label it AB.

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Step 2Take a strip of plain or graph paper and lay its edge along line AB.

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Step 3Mark the position and value of every contour that AB crosses.

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Step 4Choose a vertical scale (e.g. ½ cm = 100 m) and draw parallel horizontal lines, as long as AB, one for at least every contour crossed.

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Step 5Mark the contour values up the vertical axis, starting from the lowest value present.

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Step 6Lay the marked paper’s edge along the base of the cross-section so its AB matches the map’s AB, and transfer the contour points.

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Step 7From each point on AB, draw a perpendicular up to its own contour’s horizontal line.

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ResultJoin all the plotted points with a smooth curve: that curve is the cross-section.

Figure 8: Line AB crosses the 200, 300 and 400 m contours twice each (six points). Each point is dropped as a perpendicular to its own height line, and the points are joined smoothly; the summit is drawn at the 450 m spot height, not guessed. A generic hill, for the method only. — **Figure 8**: Line AB crosses the 200, 300 and 400 m contours twice each (six points). Each point is dropped as a perpendicular to its own height line, and the points are joined smoothly; the summit is drawn at the 450 m spot height, not guessed. A generic hill, for the method only.

7Cultural Features on a Topographical Sheet

Settlements, buildings, roads and railways are cultural features, shown through conventional signs, symbols and colours. Where these features sit, and how they are arranged, helps explain the area shown on the map.

7.1 Distribution and types of settlement

A settlement’s pattern is read from its site, its location pattern, its alignment and its density. Comparing a settlement map with the contour map of the same area is the standard way to understand why a settlement pattern took the shape it did.

Four Types of Rural Settlement

CompactHouses built close together

ScatteredHouses spread apart, isolated

LinearStrung out along a river, road, embankment or coast

CircularArranged in a ring shape

Urban centre type	What identifies it
Cross-road town	Fan-shaped, houses along the roads, main market at the crossing
Nodal point	Roads radiate outward from the centre in every direction
Manufacturing centre	With suburban villages or satellite towns around it
Market centre, hill station, coastal resort centre, port, capital town, religious centre	Named by the book as types of urban centre; it gives no separate map description for them

Exam Tip

Five factors decide where a settlement sits: source of water, provision of food, nature of relief, nature and character of occupation, and defence. All five together, not any one alone, is the complete answer to “what determines the site of a settlement”.

Settlement density is directly related to food supply. When villages line up along a river valley, a road, an embankment or a coastline, that alignment is called a linear settlement pattern.

7.2 Transport and communication pattern

The type and density of transport and communication in an area is closely tied to its relief, its population size and how developed its resources are. These are shown through conventional signs and symbols, and reading them tells you a great deal about the area even before you look at anything else.

8Interpreting a Topographical Sheet

Interpreting a sheet needs two things: knowledge of map language, and a sense of direction. Always check the north line and the scale first, and orient yourself accordingly, before reading anything else off the sheet. A topo-sheet is then read under five standard heads.

8.1 The five heads of interpretation

Marginal Information

The sheet number, its location, grid references, its extent in degrees and minutes, its scale, and the districts it covers.

Relief and Drainage

Plains, plateaus, hills or mountains with their peaks, ridges, spurs and slope direction; rivers, tributaries, valley type and drainage pattern (dendritic, radial, ring, trellis, internal).

Land Use

Natural vegetation and forest (density; reserved, protected, classified or unclassified), agricultural land, orchards, wasteland, industrial land, and facilities such as schools, hospitals, parks and airports.

Transport and Communication

National and state highways, district roads, cart and camel tracks, footpaths, railways, waterways, and post offices.

Human Settlement

Rural (compact, semi-compact, dispersed, linear) and urban (capital, administrative, religious, port, hill-station) settlements, plus the occupation the land use and settlement pattern together suggest.

Worked link: relief studied under four heads

Within head 2 above, relief itself is read under four further heads: Hill (concave, convex, steep or gentle, and its shape); Plateau (broad, narrow, flat, undulating or dissected); Plain (its type: alluvial, glacial, karst, coastal, marshy); Mountain (general elevation, peaks, passes).

8.2 The map interpretation procedure

Map interpretation studies the causal relationships between the features shown on a sheet: for example, natural vegetation and cultivated land are understood against the background of landform and drainage, and settlement patterns are understood against transport networks and topography.

Step 1Use the sheet’s own index number to find its location within the country, giving a sense of the region’s physiographic character; note the scale and contour interval for the area’s general extent and landform.

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Step 2Trace onto tracing sheets: (a) major landforms via contours, (b) drainage and water features, (c) land use, (d) settlement and transport pattern.

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Step 3Describe the distribution pattern of each feature separately, drawing attention to what matters most.

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Step 4Superimpose pairs of traced layers and note any relationship, for example placing a contour layer over a land-use layer to see how slope and land use relate.

Did you know?

Aerial photographs and satellite imagery of the same area and the same scale can also be compared with a topographical map, to check and update the information it carries.

9Conventional Signs and Symbols

A topographical sheet packs an enormous amount of information into a small area using standard signs and symbols rather than words, which is exactly what lets it be read internationally. The table below gives the main signs from Figure 5.2 of the book (Conventional Signs and Symbols), that is, how each feature is shown on a sheet.

Figure 9: The conventional signs asked for in the book's Exercise Q5, drawn in the shapes and colours of Figure 5.2 (Conventional Signs and Symbols): red for roads, footpaths, settlements and places of worship; black for boundaries and railways; blue for water and a canal bench mark. — **Figure 9**: The conventional signs asked for in the book’s Exercise Q5, drawn in the shapes and colours of Figure 5.2 (Conventional Signs and Symbols): red for roads, footpaths, settlements and places of worship; black for boundaries and railways; blue for water and a canal bench mark.

Feature	How Figure 5.2 of the book shows it
Metalled road	Red lines (double or single thick, according to importance); a distance stone shown by a number such as 20
Unmetalled road; cart-track; footpath with bridge	Red broken lines; a single red line for a cart-track; a red dotted line with a small bridge sign for a footpath
Railway, broad gauge	Black line of alternate black and white segments; RS marks a station
Railway, other gauges	Black line with short cross-ticks
Town or village	Inhabited: red built-up block symbol; deserted: red cross (×); fort: red outline
Places of worship	Small red symbols for a temple, chhatri, church (with a cross), mosque, idgah, tomb and graves
International boundary	Black line of long dashes separated by dots
Heights	Triangulated station: △200; point or approximate height: a dot with the value
Bench mark	Letters and height: BM 63.3 (geodetic), DM 63.3 (tertiary), a blue .63 (canal)
Post office; police station	PO; PS
Bungalows and rest houses	DB (dak bungalow), IB (inspection bungalow, e.g. Canal), RH (rest house, e.g. Forest); CH circuit house; CG camping ground
Forest	RF (reserved), PF (protected)

Category	Typical features shown
Roads and tracks	Metalled road, unmetalled road, cart track, camel track, footpath, milestones, bridges
Water features	River (dry, perennial, with islands, tidal), canal, nala, marsh, well, tank, dam, embankment
Railways and wires	Broad gauge, narrow gauge, single/double line, under construction, tramway, telegraph wire, tunnel
Relief marks	Contours, hachured cliffs, sand dunes, spot heights, bench marks, triangulation points
Settlements	Inhabited village or town, deserted settlement, fort, huts, towers, ancient monuments
Religious and welfare	Temple, church, mosque, idgah, tomb, graveyard, lighthouse, lightship, buoy
Land cover	Mines, scrub, grass, forest, palm and bamboo groves, other tree cover
Boundaries	International, state, district, tehsil, forest boundary, boundary pillar
Services	Post and telegraph office, dak bungalow, rest house, circuit house, police station

Exam Tip

The book’s own exercise asks you to draw the conventional signs for a short list of features (international boundary, bench mark, village, metalled road, footpath with bridge, places of worship, railway line). Practise drawing each sign small and clean, in the shape Figure 5.2 of the book gives it.

Quick Revision: read this the night before the exam

A topographical map is a base map, general-purpose, large scale, prepared by the Survey of India in India
Two series: India and Adjacent Countries Series (pre-1937 numbering, kept afterwards) and International Map Series of the World
Five scales, largest area to smallest: 1:10,00,000 (4°x4°), 1:2,50,000 (1°x1°), 1:1,25,000 (30’x30′), 1:50,000 (15’x15′), 1:25,000 (5’x7’30”)
Contour interval (V.I.) is constant on a map; horizontal equivalent (H.E.) varies with slope, wide on gentle slopes, narrow on steep ones
Closely spaced contours = steep; widely spaced = gentle; merging contours = a cliff or waterfall
Concave: gentle below, steep above. Convex: gentle above, steep below
V-valley: very small innermost gap. U-valley: wide innermost gap. Spur: a valley’s V reversed
Cross-section: 8 steps, from marking AB on the map to joining the plotted points into a smooth profile
Settlement: 4 rural types (compact, scattered, linear, circular), 9 urban types, 5 site factors (water, food, relief, occupation, defence)
Interpretation: 5 heads (marginal information, relief and drainage, land use, transport, settlement), read after orienting with the north line and scale

Multiple Choice Questions

1 markIn India, topographical maps are prepared and published by:
(a) The Geological Survey of India(b) The Survey of India(c) The Indian Meteorological Department(d) The Census of India
1 markA Survey of India sheet at scale 1 : 50,000 covers:
(a) 4° x 4°(b) 1° x 1°(c) 30′ x 30′(d) 15′ x 15′
1 markThe vertical gap between two successive contours is called the:
(a) Horizontal Equivalent(b) Contour Interval(c) Datum Line(d) Bench Mark
1 markWhich of these stays constant across a given map: the contour interval or the horizontal equivalent?
(a) Contour interval only(b) Horizontal equivalent only(c) Both(d) Neither
1 markWidely spaced contours on a map indicate:
(a) A cliff(b) A steep slope(c) A gentle slope(d) A waterfall
1 markA concave slope has:
(a) Gentle gradient below, steep above(b) Steep gradient below, gentle above(c) A uniform gradient throughout(d) No relationship between the two parts
1 markThe innermost contour of a ‘U’-shaped valley, compared with a ‘V’-shaped valley, has a:
(a) Smaller gap(b) Wider gap(c) Identical gap(d) No contour at all
1 markA spur is represented on a map by contours shaped like a:
(a) Circle(b) Straight line(c) ‘V’ pointing the reverse way to a valley(d) Square
1 markWhich of these is NOT one of the five heads under which a topographical sheet is interpreted?
(a) Marginal Information(b) Relief and Drainage(c) Population Census Data(d) Human Settlement
1 markA village strung out along a river bank or a road is an example of which rural settlement pattern?
(a) Compact(b) Scattered(c) Linear(d) Circular

Assertion and Reason

Assertion (A): Two contours of different elevation usually do not cross each other.
Reason (R): A contour represents one, and only one, fixed height above mean sea level, so two contours of different heights meeting at a point would mean that point had two heights at once.

Assertion (A): The contour interval on a topographical sheet changes from one part of the sheet to another, depending on the slope.
Reason (R): It is the horizontal equivalent, not the contour interval, that changes with slope; the contour interval is fixed for the whole map.

Assertion (A): A gorge and a ‘V’-shaped valley are represented by very similar contour patterns.
Reason (R): Both form where erosion cuts a narrow, steep-sided channel, so both show closely spaced contours with a small innermost gap; a gorge is simply the more extreme case, cut mainly by vertical erosion.

Very Short Answer Questions (1-2 marks each)

1 markName the organisation that prepares topographical maps of India.
1 markDefine a contour.
2 marksWhat does the spacing of contours indicate about slope?
1 markWhat is a conventional sign?
2 marksName the two series in which topographical maps of India are prepared.
1 markWhich two methods of relief representation are used predominantly on all topographical maps?
2 marksDistinguish briefly between contour interval and horizontal equivalent.

Short Answer Questions (3 marks each)

3 marksWrite a short note on contours, covering their definition, how they are drawn today, and the contour interval.
3 marksWrite a short note on the “Marginal Information” given on a topographical sheet.
3 marksWrite a short note on the Survey of India: what it does, and the two series of maps it has prepared.
3 marksDistinguish between a ‘V’-shaped valley and a ‘U’-shaped valley, with reference to how their contours differ.
3 marksDescribe the five basic features of contour lines.
3 marksName and briefly explain the five factors that determine the site of a settlement.

Long Answer Questions (5 marks each)

5 marksExplain what is meant by “map interpretation” and describe the procedure followed to interpret a topographical sheet.
5 marksIf you were interpreting the cultural features shown on a topographical sheet, what information would you look for, and how would you go about finding it? Answer with suitable examples.
5 marksDescribe, with the help of labelled sketches, how the contour pattern differs for a conical hill, a plateau, and a gorge.
5 marksDescribe the eight steps used to draw a cross-section of the ground from a contour map.

Case Study: reading an invented topographical sheet

A fictional topographical sheet, invented for this exercise and not based on any real Survey of India sheet, is drawn at scale 1 : 50,000. It shows a river flowing from the north-west corner of the sheet toward the south-east corner. Along the river’s right bank sit four small villages, spaced fairly evenly apart, each with its own post office. A patch of dense forest, marked in green, covers the northern third of the sheet, and a network of unmetalled roads connects the villages to a single metalled road running east-west across the middle of the sheet.

1 markWhat is the ground distance represented by 1 cm on this sheet?
1 markWhat is the general direction of flow of the river described?
1 markWhat rural settlement pattern do the four villages, spaced along the river’s bank, show?
1 markWhich facility in each village would be marked on the sheet by the letters PO?
2 marksWhat does the green patch most likely represent, and where does it sit on the sheet?

Answer Key

MCQ 1-10(b) Survey of India · (d) 15′ x 15′ · (b) Contour Interval · (a) Contour interval only · (c) A gentle slope · (a) Gentle below, steep above · (b) Wider gap · (c) ‘V’ pointing the reverse way to a valley · (c) Population Census Data · (c) Linear

A-R 1(a) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A

A-R 2(d) A is false: it is the horizontal equivalent that changes with slope, the contour interval stays fixed for the whole map; R is true

A-R 3(a) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A

Case study 1-5500 m (since 1 : 50,000 means 1 cm = 50,000 cm = 500 m) · North-west to south-east · Linear settlement · Its post office (PO is the conventional sign for a post office) · Forest, occupying the northern third of the sheet