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Terrain (from Latin: terra 'earth'), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientation of terrain features. Terrain affects surface water flow and distribution.
Terrain cartography or relief mapping is the depiction of the shape of the surface of the Earth on a map, using one or more of several techniques that have been developed. Terrain or relief is an essential aspect of physical geography , and as such its portrayal presents a central problem in cartographic design , and more recently geographic ...
In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historically using a variety of methods.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary science and is concerned with local detail in general, including not only relief, but also natural, artificial, and cultural features such as roads, land boundaries, and buildings. [1]
Peneplain – Low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion; Peninsula – Landform surrounded more than half but not entirely by water; Pingo – Mound of earth-covered ice; Pit crater – Depression formed by a sinking or collapse of the surface lying above a void or empty chamber; Plain – Expanse of land that is mostly flat and treeless
A topographic profile or topographic cut or elevation profile is a representation of the relief of the terrain that is obtained by cutting transversely the lines of a topographic map. Each contour line can be defined as a closed line joining relief points at equal height above sea level. [1]
Hachure representation of relief was standardized by the Austrian topographer Johann Georg Lehmann in 1799. [1] Hachures may be combined with other ways of representing relief, such as shades, the result being a shaded hachure map; an example of such a map is the Dufour Map of Switzerland . [ 2 ]
The relief is represented by a set of heights (elevations or depths) that refer to some height reference surface, often the mean sea level or the geoid. Global relief models are used for a variety of applications including geovisualization, geologic, geomorphologic and geophysical analyses, gravity field modelling as well as geo-statistics.