Introduction to GIS

BEG113GGE

4. Conventional Signs and Symbols, Lettering of Topographic

maps, Direction, Representation of relief and heights
 Symbols

Types:
 Point symbols

 Line symbols

 Area symbols
Point Symbols:

 To display the location, identity or characteristic of small area or point

data, symbol is used
 Extent of point symbol to be displayed depend on the scale. For example:
in a small scale map say 1:10,00,000 a city have to be shown as a point
but in a large scale map of 1:1000, same city is shown in a whole map
face.
 But there are some point symbol which cannot be changed in size and
shape with respect to the scale like bench marks, taps, monuments .
Point Symbols:
 3 Types based upon their construction
 Geometric
 Pictorial
 Textual

 Geometric point symbol

 Simple geometrical shapes such as circle, square, rectangle etc.
 Advantage
 Covers relatively small area on map
 Accurately shows the location of the object
 Geometric point symbol
- Disadvantage
 No direct visual relationship to the object represented

 Pictorial point symbol

 Uses pictorial shapes close to the objects being represented
 Advantage
 Map users can easily recognize
 Disadvantage
 Difficult to find exact location of the object being represented
 Occupy relatively more space
 Textual symbol
 Abbreviation of the feature category
 e.g. H for helipad, Fe for location of iron ore etc.
 Advantage
 Easy to understand
 Disadvantage
 Doesn’t show exact location
 Mixing up with the map text
 Occupy more space
Line Symbols:
 Line symbol is used to show linear features like roads,
rivers, railway, transmission line and boundaries of
aerial features like boundaries of political division, sea
coast, lines.
 It is dependent on scale of map that in a small scale
map say topographical map road of some extent is
shown as a line whereas in large scale map say cadastral
map it is shown as area.
Area Symbols:
 Represents features having some area at given scale
 e.g. administrative unit, lake, ponds, reservoir, etc.
Visual Variables:
 Purpose is to diversify the symbols
 Commonly used visual variables
 Orientation
 Color
 Value
 Texture
 Size
 Combination of visual variables
 Visual variable orientation
Orientation refers to the direction of a symbol

Point Line Area

 Visual variable color
by the use of different colors

Point Line Area

 Visual variable value
Value refers to the relative brightness or darkness of a
symbol

Point Line Area

 Visual variable texture
Texture refers to the coarseness of the graphic elements
within a symbol

Point Line Area

 Visual variable size
Size refers to the dimension of a symbol

Point Line Area

 Combination of different visual variables

e.g. color + orientation

e.g. size + color
etc.
For more symbols, visit the website:
http://geokov.com/education/topo-map-sym
bols-legend.aspx
 Lettering

 The process of selecting a type face design, preparing

the names, and placing them in position is collectively
called “Lettering the Map”
 When there are considerable number or variety of
names, it is among the more complex and time-
consuming parts of the map making process.
 Computers have brought new efficiency to preparing
and placing type. But these computer methods still
require some intervention by the map maker.
 Map lettering evolved from Freehand Lettering to Stick-
up or Press-on type to mechanical lettering.
History of Lettering

 Free hand lettering during 15th century

 Slow method
 Requires more calligraphic skill

 This method continued until 19th century

 Need of low cost, speed and standardization
resulted in two major developments during 20th
century
1. Stick up or Press on type process
- Type were printed on thin clear plastic which
was wax backed for adhesion
 - Pre –printed type were then affixed to
the map at proper location
2. Mechanical lettering
- Tools with drafting pens used to letter
directly of map sheet
 Photographic type setting devices introduced
 A template is stored for each type size and
style within a type face family
 Limited opportunity to adjust type design
axes (spacing, width, size)
 Electronic form of type setting devices
dominates now
 Flexible lettering
 Adjustable type design axes
 Functions of lettering

 Functions:
1. Literal symbol
individual letters arrayed together gives the
names of the features
2. Locative symbol
It helps to indicate the location of points, such as cities,
villages.
Its spacing may show linear or areal extent, as of
mountains and national parks.
 3. Nominal symbol
Using design attributes (font, color)
cartographers can arrange type to show nominal
classes to which features belongs
 For example, all the hydrographic features are
shown in blue, forest in green, cultivable land in
yellow, and so on.
 4. Ordinal symbol
By varying size, form, uppercase/lowercase,
boldness type can also serve ordinal symbol
showing hierarchy of geographic phenomena or
features

 Such as; KATHMANDU is bigger in size and

extended to a greater extent in map than New
Baneshwor.
Typography

 Typography is the art and technique of Name

Placement on Map.
 Should make map legible, readable, appealing
when displayed
 When names are put on the map, they become an
important component of the visual display.
 They catch our attention, and obscure (dominate
over) other symbols.
 As a matter of fact, the graphic quality of the
map depends heavily on the design and
placement of the names.
Guidelines for lettering of
map
 Letteringmust be oriented to match the
orientation of map
 Typeshould not be curved unless it is
necessary
 Disoriented lettering should never be set
along straight line but should have a
slight curve
 Names should be letter spaced as little as
possible
 Lettering should never be upside down
 Point features
Prioritize the position of point feature labels: 1)
above and to the right, then 2) below and to the
right, then 3) above and to the left, then 4) below
and to the left. Positioning directly above, below, or
to the sides is not preferred

 Linear features
 Should be placed alongside or parallel to the
feature
 Should be placed above the feature
  Names along river should be repeated
occasionally
 Lettering should never be separated from
linear feature by another symbol
 Iflinear feature is curved, lettering should also
be curved
 Area features
 Confined within the boundary
 Letter spaced across the area
 Short names for bigger area must be repeated
https://www.axismaps.com/guide/general/labelin
g/
Direction

 For determining the direction, four cardinal

points East, West, North and South are used.
 North is given prominence and used as
reference to determine the other cardinal
points.
 The north line of maps usually correspond to
the northern edge of the area represented,
unless explicitly stated otherwise or landmarks
(recognizable natural or artificial features) are
considered more useful for that territory than
specific directions.
 True North
 Earth rotates about its axis, and the ends of
the axes are True North and South poles
 True North is the direction of a line of
longitude that converges at North pole

 Grid North
 Map consists of horizontal and vertical lines
 The direction of every vertical lines indicates
Grid North
 Therefore for every point on the map, the
vertical line that passes through that point,
points towards the Grid North

 However this is not the true North because it

does not point towards the North pole. Since
maps are representations of a rounded earth
on a flat paper, they always contain
distortions
 Magnetic North
 Direction indicated by the magnetic compass
 The Magnetic North pole is currently located
in Baffin island region of Canada
 The angular difference between True North
and Magnetic North is called Magnetic
declination
Relief Representation

 Variation in the nature of the land surface

 Shape of hills, valleys, streams, or terrain features

on the earth’s surface

 Continuous feature which cannot be represented

entirely on a plane as it is three dimensional

 Consists of two elements:

 Elevation
 Slope
 Relief can be represented on maps in six ways
which either help to derive the geometrical values
of elevation from the map or distinguish relative
height from the map or obtain three dimensional
impression of the terrain
 Contours
 Spot heights
 Layer tints
 Hill shading
 Rock drawing
 Hachures
Contour

 Standard method of relief representation

 Most commonly used to portray reliefs
 Contours are Imaginary lines on the ground, above
or below sea level
 It can be defined as imaginary lines that connect
points of equal elevation on the ground surface
above a reference level(usually Mean Sea Level).
 Contour lines are lines drawn on a map connecting
points of equal elevation on the ground surface.
 Gives absolute as well as relative information
 They are useful because they illustrate the shape
of the land surface – its topography on the map.
Contour
Contour
 The process of tracing contour lines on the surface
of earth is called contouring.
 Vertical distance between two consecutive contour
lines is called contour interval (C.I). It is always
constant for a map. And usually noted on the map.
Factors to determine the contour interval are
 1. Importance of the Work (Accuracy)
 2. Time and Expense of Field and Office Work
 3. Nature of the Ground
 4. Scale of the map
1. Importance of the Work (Accuracy)
 Accuracy need of surveying work also decide the
contour interval.
 Surveying for detailed work or for earthwork(cut
and fill) calculation demands high accuracy and
thus a small contour interval is used.
 But in case of location surveys where desired
accuracy is less, higher contour interval should be
used
2. Time and Expense of Field and Office
Work
 If the contour interval is small, greater time and
funds will be required in the field survey, in
reduction and in plotting the map.
 If the time and funds available are limited, the
contour interval may be kept large.
3. Nature of the Ground
 The contour interval depends upon the nature of
the terrain.
 For flat ground, a small contour interval is chosen
whereas for undulating and broken ground,
greater contour interval is adopted.
4. Scale of the map
 The contour interval normally varies inversely to
the scale of the map i.e., if the scale of map is
large, the contour interval is considered to be
small and vice versa
 The horizontal distance between between two
consecutive contours is called horizontal
equivalent
-It will vary from point to point in a
given map depending upon the steepness
of the ground
-The steeper the ground, the lesser will
be the horizontal equivalent
Types of Contour

Index Contour
 To make topographic maps easier to read,
repeated at multiple contour lines
 Because it’s impractical to mark the elevation of
every contour line on the map, the index contour
lines are the only one labeled
 The index contour are a darker or wider line in
comparison to the regular contour lines.
 We can see the elevations marked on the index
contour lines only.
Intermediate contour
 Contour lines (thinner lines) between index
contours are called intermediate contour lines.
Supplementary Contour
 In some situations, the elevation and terrain relief can not
be shown with enough details using index and
intermediate contours using the standard contour interval.
 This is more often seen in very flat areas with minimal
change in elevation where the spacing between contour
lines become very wide.
 In such cases supplementary contour lines in the form of
dashed lines are used to provide more information about
the topography and help detecting small changes in
elevation.
 The contour interval for supplementary contours is usually
half the regular contour interval.
Depression Contour
 Depression is a low point or sinkhole, surrounded
in all direction by higher ground. e.g.: volcanic
craters, sinkholes, pit craters.
 A depression is represented by a series of
concentric closed contours with the inner contours
having lower elevation than their outer
surrounding. There are small tick marks or
hachures on these contour lines pointing towards
lower elevation.
 Such contours are called hachured contour lines
or depression contour lines.
Characteristics of Contours

 Contour lines connect points of equal elevation

 Contour lines never intersect. However for steep
cliff or overhanging cliff, they may appear to
overlap as they are superimposed to one another
 Slopes:
 Evenly spaced contours indicate a uniform
slope
 Closely spaced contours indicate steep slope
 Widely spaced contours indicate gentle slope
 Unevenly spaced contours indicate variable
slope
 Contour lines never split
 A contour line always rejoins or closes upon itself
to form a loop, although it may not be possible
within the map area
 Contour lines cross ridge or stream(valley) at right
angles. They form U-shape curved with concave
side of the curve upward for ridge and downward
for the stream
Spot height

 Simplest representation of relief

 Spot height is represented by small point symbol
with a number beside it indicating elevation
 On topographic map spot heights are used for
monumenting/establishing benchmarks, hilltops
etc.
 They do not show graphic effect nor they show
value between the spots. Because of this
limitation the map viewer cannot easily visualize
the characteristics of the surface being displayed
Layer tinting

 Uses different tints for different height zones,

each tint sometimes separated by contours
 Color scale usually runs from green tint through
yellow, brown and red brown to dark brown for
the highest regions.
 Relative height of the terrain can be derived at a
glance but geometrical value of height
representation is not possible
Hill Shading

 It is a method for representing relief on maps in a

natural manner that use the combination of contours
and shadow.
 It simulates how the terrain looks with the interaction
between the sunlight and surface features.
 A mountain slope directly facing incoming light will be
very bright and a slope opposite to the light will be dark.
 Hill shading helps viewers recognize the shape of
landform features.
 It is the most successful combination of quantitative or
relative relief representation.
Hill shading
Rock drawing

 The representation of cliffs and rocks on

topographic maps is a very difficult task.
 Frequently used to give a more realistic
appearance of very steep or perpendicular
features such as cliffs, rock faces or mountains.
 Aerial photography is often used as an aid to
drawing these features to give realism.
Hachures

 Hachures are short strokes, thick at one end and

thin at the other.
 The thick part (may be rounded) of the stroke is
towards the higher ground.
 One of the oldest method of depicting relief,
popular on maps made in 19th and 20th centuries.
 Now a days, used to depict very steep features
such as embankments and cuttings on railways or
roads.