Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
ally, cartographers seek to minimize map distortion. In the case of cartograms, however,
distortion is the purpose of the exercise.
Contour lines
Contour lines
connectpointsofequalelevation.Insodoing,theyconveytheshape(hence,“contour”)
of the land they depict. Near the top of Figure 5-3b is a thin line labeled “50,” which connects points
that are 50 feet above sea level. Farther inland is a line labeled 100, which connects points that are
100 feet above sea level. Thus, a walk from the water's edge to a point on the second line involves a
100-foot gain in elevation.
Shading
Colors and gray tones may also be used to indicate elevation above sea level. On color maps, deep
green is usually used to depict low-lying coastal land. Light green and yellow are used for progress-
ively higher lands, followed by light brown and dark brown. The peaks of really high mountains are
often shown in white.
