contour lines may be so close that they create an impassable cliff line). Very challenging, or impossible walking (i.e. Steep: Contour lines showing a uniform, steep slope on a map will be evenly spaced, but close together.Gentle: Contour lines showing a uniform, gentle slope will be evenly spaced and wide apart.Totally flat ground has no contour lines.įour types of slopes that concern bushwalkers are gentle, steep, concave, and convex. This slope can be determined from the map by studying the contour lines-the closer the contour lines, the steeper the slope the farther apart the contour lines, the gentler the slope. The speed at which a bushwalking group can move is affected by the slope of the ground or terrain features. The rate of rise or fall of a terrain feature is known as its slope. On 1:25,000 maps usually used by bushwalkers, contours are either 10 or 20 m apart.įor measuring between contour lines see here. The ‘contour interval’ – the elevation between contours – is the vertical distance between adjacent contour lines. Elevation and slope are the two elements that determine how landforms physically appear and connect.
