Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Choosing the Best Contours
Using GeoMapApp's interactive elevation base map, experiment to find the best contours for sensibly displaying topography in different landscape regions. Young scholars use contours in different landscape regions to find contour...
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments: Jason: Topographic Maps What Can They Tell Us?
Rainforests at the Crossroads: Explore the topographic map of Barro Colorado Island (BCI); find the elevations of different locations and how far apart they are. Also determine the steepness of the land by observing the contour lines on...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Topographical Maps, Contour Lines and Profiles
For this mapping field lab students determine the elevation of a given object in a designated area on the school campus using cartography tools. Then they use of these tools to create a contour map of the area.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Map Projections
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How to use topographic, bathymetric, and geologic maps.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Maps
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How to use topographic, bathymetric, and geologic maps.
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Topographic Map Activity
An activity to practice interpreting contours.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Let Them Eat Cake! Topography Lesson
Contour lines on topographic maps require visual processing to read and interpret. This hands-on activity helps give a tasty mental image.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Visualizing Topography
This module helps learners learn to identify terrain features on topographic maps. Students manipulate animations of hills, valleys, and cliffs to see the terrain from various angles. The module also provides instruction on how to read...
National Association of Geoscience Teachers
Serc: Mapping Potato Island
In this hands-on activity, students make a topographic map to describe the shape of a potato. They will gain an understanding of how contour lines are used to describe the shape of the land surface.
Math Science Nucleus
Math Science Nucleus: Topographic Maps
For a picture of a topographical map, go to this page. There is some information to help you understand what they are.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Topography of Fruit
This is an attempt to help students understand contour lines in map-making through the vector of digital photography. This hands-on activity will create an art piece out of fruit that will be analyzed to create topographic maps.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Visualizing Topography
Explore the topography of a hill, a valley, and a cliff in this interactive activity featuring visualizations of three-dimensional topography in two dimensions. Adapted from Stephen Reynolds' "Visualizing Topography."
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Getting to the Point
In this lesson, learners learn how to determine location by triangulation. We describe the process of triangulation and practice finding your location on a worksheet, in the classroom, and outdoors.