what are contour lines?

Answer 1

"Contours, which are lines drawn through points the same height above sea-level, allow both the direction and gradient (steepness, see page 18) of slopes to be determined from the map with much greater accuracy than either of the above techniques" [Hachures is the only other technique I can see.] "Contours are included on almost all modern topographic maps. The vertical distance between two adjacent contour-lines is known as the vertical interval (V.I.). A V.I. of 20 metres is often used on modern metric maps. On older pre-metric editions a V.I. of 50 feet was widely used.
"When contours are close together, slopes are steep, merging when the gradient (steepness, see page 18) approaches verticality, whereas on gentle slopes the contour-lines are well spaced (Figure 5). Where slopes are even, the contours on a map are evenly spaced, while on irregular slopes the distance between contours varies widely."
Map Reading by Patrick Armstrong, Publishied in Australia by Rigby Limited 1980, p15.
ISBN 0 7270 0999 0

I cannot reproduce Figure 5, nor will I explain gradient from p18. Note that it is an OLD book, published 26 years ago, so when it says modern, it does not mean modern today.

Answer 2

A contour map shows lines that indicate elevation. The closer the lines are together, the steeper the terrain. If you see a lot of lines close together and then a little circle in the middle of it all, that is indicating the peak of a mountain.

Answer 3

the lines on a map that show the elevation

Answer 4

If you are referring to them on a map they are lines to indicate the features of a landscape, mainly hills and valleys. They usually have numbers to indicate their heights above and below sea level.

Answer 5

what i understand is that when you mark something in a line way using darker color.
example: contour for lips,mean to markthe lips by a color which could be differetn color.

Answer 6

lines

Answer 7

http://raider.muc.edu/~mcnaugma/Topographic%20Maps/contour.htm