Land features and how to read a topographic map
Grade 6 Science Worksheet

Circle the best answer.
with four thinner lines between them. Index lines labeled 100 m and 200 m have four thinner lines between them. What is the contour interval, Ari?
- 100 m
- 5 m
- 25 m
- 20 m
The interval is 20 m. Point P sits three lines above the 200 m line. What is P's elevation, Jun?
Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 20 m. A line labeled 200 m; point P on the third line uphill from it. Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 20 m. A line labeled 200 m; point P on the third line uphill from it. Key brown lines are contours blue line is a stream Contour interval 20 m 200 m P model data, not to scale - 260 m
- 60 m
- 203 m
- 140 m
model data, not to scale. The interval is 5 m. Point S sits four lines above the 30 m line. What is S's elevation, Kira?
Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 5 m. A line labeled 30 m; point S on the fourth line uphill from it. Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 5 m. A line labeled 30 m; point S on the fourth line uphill from it. Contour map Key brown lines are contours blue line is a stream Contour interval 5 m 30 m S - 34 m
- 20 m
- 50 m
- 10 m
model data, not to scale. A hill whose top loop is labeled 340 m; no 360 m line is drawn. On Luz's map, a hill's highest loop is 340 m and the interval is 20 m. How high is the hilltop inside that loop?
Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 20 m. A hill whose top loop is labeled 340 m; no 360 m line is drawn. Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 20 m. A hill whose top loop is labeled 340 m; no 360 m line is drawn. 340 m Key brown lines are contours blue line is a stream Contour interval 20 m - Between 340 m and 360 m
- Between 320 m and 340 m
- 360 m or more
- Exactly 320 m
Read this first
Use this
Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 20 m. Closed loops around one hilltop: 100 m (labeled), 120 m, 140 m, 160 m (labeled, at the top). Lines are close on side A (east) and far apart on side B (west).
Which side view matches Milo's hill map?
- Steep on the east, gentle on the west
- A flat top with cliffs on each side
- Steep on the west, gentle on the east
- Gentle and the same on both sides
Use this
Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 20 m. Lines from 100 m at A to 200 m at B, close together and evenly spaced.
Along the line from A to B, the contour lines are close and evenly spaced. Which side view matches, Noah?
- One steady, steep slope
- A deep dip in the middle
- A level path
- One steady, gentle slope
Which side view matches Pia's map of two hilltops?
Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 20 m. Two hilltops, each inside a loop labeled 180 m, with a 140 m line wrapping both and a low gap between them. Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. Contour interval 20 m. Two hilltops, each inside a loop labeled 180 m, with a 140 m line wrapping both and a low gap between them. Key brown lines blue line Contour interval 20 m 140 m 180 m 180 m stream - A valley with a stream along its floor
- One single peak
- A flat plain
- Two peaks with a dip between them
The V's where a stream crosses the contours point north. Which way does the stream flow, Ren?
Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. A stream crosses the contour lines. Where it crosses, each line bends into a V whose point aims north. Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. A stream crosses the contour lines. Where it crosses, each line bends into a V whose point aims north. Contour map north Key (model data, not to scale) brown lines are contours blue line is a stream - Uphill to the hilltop
- Both ways at once
- South, away from the V points
- North, toward the V points
Use this
Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. A stream flows west and crosses three contour lines. Each line bends into a V where the stream crosses.
A stream on Tala's map flows west. Which way do the contour V's around it point?
- West, downstream
- They make closed circles
- East, upstream
- North, across the stream
Use this
Contour map with a key (model data, not to scale). Key: brown lines are contours; blue line is a stream. A stream crosses the contour lines. Where it crosses, each line bends into a V whose point aims south.
V-shaped contours cross a blue stream on Zee's map. Is the land there a valley or a ridge?
- A valley: streams run in valleys
- A plateau with no slope
- A ridge, as V's mark ridgetops
- A plain with no lines