Changes in elevation can be graphed.
Topographic maps detail the elevation changes over the area mapped. A series of lines are drawn denoting the contours of hills and mountainsides at each elevation. Some maps also include a color change so you can easily pick out the highest and lowest points in the area. Graphing elevation change means picking a line or section to specifically study. You often do this to plan a trip for hiking, biking or backpacking.
Instructions
1. Lay your ruler out over the area you wish to graph on the topographic map. This helps you to form a straight line to begin graphing from. As you become more skilled, you can work with marked trails as well, but starting with a single line teaches you the basic skills.
2. Draw a line along the edge of the ruler, lightly with your pencil. This is the gives you the edge of where to place the paper.
3. Line the paper up with your pencil line and begin marking each elevation line with a small line on the paper edge. At each tick mark, denote the elevation the line represents.
4. Label your graph paper with the distance across the bottom of the page or x-axis and elevation up the side of the page otherwise known as the y-axis. It helps to make the distances on the x-axis match the scale of the map such that if 1 inch equals 1 mile, 1 inch of graph paper also equals 1 mile. This allows that every tenth of a mile will be a line on standard graph paper. Check the number of squares that make 1 inch on the front of the graph paper package.
5. Measure the distance between each of the elevation hash marks you have made on your plain white paper. Write these distances between each so you can easily reference the number.
6. Start at the point where the x- and y-axis intersect. Mark the first elevation on the y-axis itself with a point. Continue to mark all the elevations at the proper distance on the x-axis and the corresponding elevation on the y-axis.
7. Use the ruler to draw straight lines between all the points once you have finished marking every elevation. This completes the graph of the elevation profile along the line you have drawn.
Tags: graph paper, each elevation, between each, elevation line, elevation y-axis