GE186-Lecture 3-CONTOURING

Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
GE 186:
Engineering Surveying
Lecture 3:
Contouring
Samuel Osah (Ph.D.)
Department of Geomatic Engineering
College of Engineering, KNUST 1
Learning Outcomes
• Upon completion of this Unit, students should be able to:
1. Define Contour lines, spot heights, Contour or vertical interval, horizontal equivalent,
contour gradient
2. Explain the characteristics of contour lines.
3. Explain the factors underlying to choosing of a contour interval

4. List and explain the applications of contour maps
5. Describe the methods of contouring

6. Interpolate and draw contours
2 www.knust.edu.gh
2
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
CONTOURING: Definitions,
Characteristics, Examples, Applications, Methods
of Contouring, Contour interpolation & Drawing
3
Contouring: Definitions 1/8
• Contour is by far the most extensively used method of showing relief

features on a flat sheet of paper.
• This is because both the height and shape of the land surface can be
specifically shown
1. Contours or contour lines are lines drawn on maps to join places of

equal heights above or below sea level
4
2. A Contour is defined as an imaginary line of constant elevation on
the ground surface.
3. A Contour line may be defined as an imaginary line passing

through the points of equal elevations/heights.
4. A contour is a line on a map or plan joining points of the same
height above or below a specified datum.
5. It can also be defined as the line of intersection of a level surface
with the ground surface.
• For example, the line of intersection of the water surface of a still lake or
pond with the surrounding ground represents a contour line.
5
❖A line joining points of equal elevations is called a contour line. It

facilitates depiction of the relief of terrain in a two dimensional plan
or map.
❖When the contours are drawn underwater, they are termed as

Submarine Contours, Fathoms or Bathymetric Curves.
❖This is the best method of representation of features such as hills,

depressions, underwater etc. on a two dimensional paper.
6
• The difference in height between successive contours is known as the
contour or vertical interval or it is the vertical distance between
consecutive contour lines.
• This interval dictates the accuracy to which the ground is represented
• The value chosen for any application depends on:
• The intended use of the plan
▪ For projects such as Highways & Railways = 2.0 m
▪ For Earth Works, Building Sites, Dams, City Survey = 0.5 m
▪ Geological Surveys = 6 – 15 m
• The scale of the plan (large scale = small contour interval)
• The costs involved
• The nature of the terrain to be surveyed, that is, is it hilly or flat?
7
• Contour intervals for the flat country are generally small, e.g. 0.25m,
0.5m, 0.75 m, etc. For a steep slope in a hilly area is greater, e.g. 5m,
10m, 15 m, etc.
• Again, for a small-scale map, the interval may be 1m,2m,3m, etc. and
for large-scale map, it may be 0.25m,0.50m,0.75m, etc.
• It should be remembered that the contour interval for a particular
map is constant
8
• Typical contour intervals for general purpose engineering surveys
are given in the Table below
• In hilly or irregular terrain and at small scales, a larger contour interval is

used.
• Very often, a compromise has to be reached on the value chosen, since a
smaller interval requires more fieldwork, which in turn increases the cost
of the survey. 9
• The Horizontal distance between consecutive contours is termed as

horizontal equivalent.
• It is not a constant value and varies from point to point depending upon
the steepness of the ground.
▪ Steeper the ground, lesser is the horizontal equivalent.
• A line lying on the ground surface throughout and maintaining a

constant inclination to the horizontal surface is termed as contour
gradient.
10
• The gradient of the ground between two points is given by:
𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐥
𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 =
𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭
▪For example, the gradient of the ground between the points A and C is:
𝐀𝐁 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐥
𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐂 = =
𝐁𝐂 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭
• Ghat Tracer : It is an instrument used for locating points on a given

contour gradient
• Grade Contours : The lines having equal gradient along a slope are
called grade contours.
• The difference in elevation of two points of grade contours divided by the
distance between them is always a constant gradient.
11
•The process of locating these contour lines on the surface

of the earth is known as contouring.
• Contours are obtained from spot heights (also

sometimes referred to as spot levels) measured at
existing detail or at points on open ground such as
obvious changes in ground slope.
•A spot height is simply a point on the ground surface at a

known height relative to some datum.
13
Characteristics of contour lines 1/3
• All points on a contour line have the same elevation.
• The knowledge of contour characteristics helps in identifying the
natural features of the area.
• No two contour lines intersect with each other.
• Contour lines always form a closed circuit and these lines may be
within or outside the limit of the map.
• Uniformly spaced contour lines indicate a uniform slope.
• The closer the contour lines are to one another the steeper the slope.
• Series of closed contour lines always indicates a depression or
summit.
• Contour lines meeting at a point indicate a cliff.
• Contour lines are continuous lines and cannot meet or cross any other
contour line nor can any line split or join any other line, except in cases of
cliff.
• Characteristically, contours are indicated by brown curved lines on maps.

• Every fifth contour line is thickened to facilitate easy reading.
•
• The interval between two contours, i.e. vertical interval (VI), is constant
on the same map.
• Widely spaced contours indicate a gentle slope. Contours which are
closer together indicate steep slopes and contours which are evenly
spaced indicate uniform slope.
15
Merits:
• shows accurate heights of places;
• shows the form or shape of the
land;
Demerits:
• exact heights between two
contours cannot be determined
accurately;
• laborious and costly to undertake
Sometimes not intuitive to the
untrained eye
Contour Patterns…
• Contour lines close together show steep slopes
• Contour lines far apart show gentle slopes
• Contour lines evenly spaced show uniform slope
• If the spacing decreases when going from high to
low, the slope is convex
• If the spacing increases when going from high to
low, the slope is concave
17
3-D Models, much better for visualization
18
Interpreting contours cont.
Note: best method = (a)

19
Interpreting contours cont.
Spur
• mountain ridge
• a ridge that
projects outward
from a mountain
range and
descends toward a
valley floor
20
Spur
21
21
Selected terrain features
• Hill
22
Saddle
23
Saddle cont.
24
Valley
25
Ridge
26
Depression
27
Cliff
28
Spur
A spur is a lateral ridge or tongue of land

descending from a hill, mountain or main
crest of a ridge
29
Knoll
Two elongated, flattish

Small knoll Steep hill, circular
knolls along a long,
- roughly circular
generally flat ridge
A Knoll is a low isolated hill which is shown on a

contour map with a ring contour pattern.
30
Sullivan's Knoll in Hawaii
31
Cut and fill
32
Cut and fill cont.
33
Land Features…
• Representation of height
• Bench mark, trig station, spot
height
• Physical features
• Knoll
• Saddle
• Spur, ridge
• Valley, gorge
• Escarpment
• Re-entrant
• Crest
• Plateau
34
Terrain Features
35
More
examples
36
Self text
Match the contours on

the left with the terrain
on the right.
37
Applications of Contour Maps 1/2
• Since a contour map is a three dimensional representation of the
earths surface, it furnished a lot of information.
a. Determination of Inter- Visibility : From a contour map it can
be ascertain whether any two points are inter-visible or not.
b. Drainage Area : The extent of a drainage area may be estimated
on a contours may be locating the ridge line around the
watershed.
c. Capacity of Reservoir : A contour map very useful to study the
possible location of a dam and the volume of water to be
confined.
Applications of Contour Maps 2/2
d. Site of structure: The most economical and suitable site for
structures such as buildings, bridges etc. can be found from large
scale contour maps.
e. Contours are shown so that the relief (topography) of an area can be
interpreted, a factor greatly used in civil works and construction.
f. They can also be used to provide approximate longitudinal and
cross-sectional information.
g. Earthwork Estimates.
h. Route Location.
Methods of contouring: 1/3
• Contours can be drawn, if the horizontal or vertical measurements of the
properly selected points are known. There are basically 2 methods of
•
contouring:
• Direct Method and
• Indirect Method.
1. Direct Method of Contouring :
• High degree of precision is required for large-scale maps with small
contour interval. In the Direct Method of contouring, the reduced
level of various selected points on a contour line are obtained and
their positions are located. The contours are then drawn by joining
these points. It is very accurate method but is very tedious and time
consuming.
1. Direct Method of Contouring :
• By level and Staff : In this a series of points having the same staff
readings and thus the same elevations are plotted and joined by a
smooth curve.
• By hand level/Abney level : In this method the instrument may stands
over the bench mark and the staff man is moved to a point on the
contour which has to be plotted.
• As soon as the instrument may observes the required staff reading
for a particular contour, he instructs the staff man to stop and
locates the position of the point.
2. Indirect Method of Contouring :

• In this method, the spot levels of selected guide points are taken
with a level and their levels are computed. The horizontal
positions of these points are measured or computed and the
points are plotted on the plan. The contours are then drawn by a
process called interpolation of contours from the levels of the
guide points.
• It is suitable for undulated ground and hilly areas. In this the

points are selected at random.

• The positions and elevations of which are not necessarily located
on a contour line.
• Tracing contour is the process in which the position and reduced
level of all such points is then determined. The contours are then
drawn by the interpolation method.
• The following are the indirect methods commonly used for
locating contours.
1. Tacheometric Method
2. Plane Table Method

• The following are the indirect methods commonly used for
locating contours.
1. Tacheometric Method
2. Plane Table Method
3. Squares or Grid method
4. Cross section method

1. Tacheometric Method: This is practically suitable for hilly areas

and all places where plane table surveying is impractical. The
elevations and distances are calculated from the observed data
and contours are interpolated.
2. Plane Table Method: In this, the distance and elevation of the staff
point is reduced by trigonometric relations. The observer scales the
computed distance along the plotted line to locate the point and
writes the computed elevation in such a way that the plotted position
of the point coincides with the decimal point of the elevation value.
3. Squares/Grid Method:
• This is also called a coordinate method of locating contours. The
entire area is divided into a series of squares or rectangles forming a
grid.
• The grid size may vary from 5 m x 5 m to 25 m x 25 m depending
upon the nature of the terrain, the contour interval required and
the scale of the map desired.
• Also, the grids may not be of the same size throughout but may
vary depending upon the requirement and field conditions.
• The grid corners are marked on the ground and spot levels of
these corners are determined by levelling.
• The grid is plotted to the scale of the map and the spot levels of
the grid corners are entered.
• The contours of desired values are then located by interpolation.

• Special care should be taken to give the spot levels to the salient
features of the ground such as hilltops, deepest points of the
depressions, and their measurements from respective corners of
the grids, for the correct depiction of the features.
• This method is very suitable for a small open area where
contours are required at a loose vertical interval.
• This is also suitable for large-scale mapping and at average
precision.

• This is also called a coordinate method of locating contours. The
entire area is divided into squares or rectangles forming a grid. The
elevations of corners are determined and the required contours are
interpolated.
• This method is very suitable for a small open area where contours are
required at a loose vertical interval. This is also suitable for large-scale
mapping.
❖ Methods of Interpolating contours
• The process of locating the contours proportionately between the
plotted points is termed interpolation.
• Interpolation may be done by:
1. Mathematical/Arithmetical calculation
2. Graphical method
• With the mathematical method, the positions of the contours are
interpolated mathematically from the reduced level by simple
proportions.
• The height difference between each spot height is calculated and
used with the horizontal distance between them to calculate the
position on the line joining the spot heights at which the required
contour is located.
• When interpolating contours it is assumed that the surface of the
ground slopes uniformly between spot heights
• This requires careful selection of spot height locations on the site if

accurate contours are to be produced.
• Example:
• Let A and B be two corners of the squares. The RL of A is 98.75 m,
and that of B 100.75 m. the horizontal distance between A and B is
10m.
• Horizontal distance between A and B = 10m
• Vertical difference A and B = 100.75-98.75=2m
• Let a contour of 99.00 m be required. Then,
• Example:
• Difference of level between A and 99.00m contour = 99.00-
98.75=0.25m
• Therefore, distance of 99.00 m contour line form A= 10/2 *0.25=1.25m
• This calculated distance is plotted to the same scale in which the
skeleton was plotted to obtain a point of RL of 99.00 m.
• Summary of interpolation:
𝐸𝑥 − 𝐸𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑋=𝐷∗
𝐸𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝐸𝑚𝑖𝑛
∆𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 =
𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Drawing Contours 1/2
58
Drawing Contours 2/2
59
4. Cross section Method:
• In these sections, a base line, centre line or profile line is
considered.
• Cross sections are taken perpendicular to this line at regular
intervals. After this points are marked along the cross sections at
regular intervals.
• A temporary bench mark is set up near the site. Staff readings are
taken along the base line and the cross sections.
• The readings are entered in the level book the base line and the
cross sections should also be mentioned. The RL of each of the
points calculated.
• Then the base line and cross sections are plotted to a suitable
scale.
• Subsequently the RLs of the respective points are noted on the
map, after which the required contour line is drawn by
interpolation
• This method is suitable for route survey (road, railway and canal
survey), when cross sections are taken transverse to the
longitudinal section
Steps for drawing a cross-section
• Choose a line along AB, and join up these two points on the map
with a straight line.
• Then lay the edge of a strip of paper along the line AB.
• Mark on the edge of the strip the exact places where each
contour, stream, and hilltop crosses this line. The strip will look
like figure 10.2b.
63
Steps for drawing a cross-section cont.
• If a graph is not available, construct a scaled grid of parallel lines
marked of according to the VI as in figure 10.2c.
• Construct the horizontal line for your section of the same length as
your section (unless a different horizontal scale is to be used for the
section).
• Label these lines with the correct elevations. Thus, the side represents
a kind of graphic scale.
• Place the edge of the strip of paper with the labelled contour lines at
the bottom of the section base line.
64
Steps for drawing a cross-section cont
• Project each contour and feature to the horizontal line of the same
elevation. Put a small dot at the intersection of these two lines.
• Then join up the small dots with a smooth line, taking care to round
the tops of the hills and floors of the valleys as in figure 10.2d. This
line gives the section along AB
• Connect all of the points with a smooth line being careful to show all
hilltops at the proper height and all valleys and depressions at their
correct approximate values.
65
66
67
68
69
Thank You
70

GE186-Lecture 3-CONTOURING

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

GE186-Lecture 3-CONTOURING

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

GE186-Lecture 3-CONTOURING

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Kwame Nkrumah University of

Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

3. Explain the factors underlying to choosing of a contour interval

5. Describe the methods of contouring

• Contour is by far the most extensively used method of showing relief

1. Contours or contour lines are lines drawn on maps to join places of

3. A Contour line may be defined as an imaginary line passing

❖A line joining points of equal elevations is called a contour line. It

❖When the contours are drawn underwater, they are termed as

❖This is the best method of representation of features such as hills,

• In hilly or irregular terrain and at small scales, a larger contour interval is

• The Horizontal distance between consecutive contours is termed as

• A line lying on the ground surface throughout and maintaining a

• Ghat Tracer : It is an instrument used for locating points on a given

•The process of locating these contour lines on the surface

• Contours are obtained from spot heights (also

•A spot height is simply a point on the ground surface at a

• Characteristically, contours are indicated by brown curved lines on maps.

Note: best method = (a)

A spur is a lateral ridge or tongue of land

Two elongated, flattish

A Knoll is a low isolated hill which is shown on a

Match the contours on

2. Indirect Method of Contouring :

• It is suitable for undulated ground and hilly areas. In this the

2. Indirect Method of Contouring :

2. Indirect Method of Contouring :

3. Squares or Grid method

4. Cross section method

2. Indirect Method of Contouring :

1. Tacheometric Method: This is practically suitable for hilly areas

• The contours of desired values are then located by interpolation.

2. Indirect Method of Contouring :

• This requires careful selection of spot height locations on the site if

You might also like