Question

Under which heads is a topographical sheet interpreted? Explain each in short.

Answer 1

A topographic sheet is usually interpreted under the following way:

• Marginal Information: It includes the topographical sheet number, its location, grid references, its extent in degrees and minutes, scale, the districts covered, etc.
• Relief of the Area: The general topography of the area is studied to identify different landforms along with peaks, ridges, spur and the general direction of the slope.
• Drainage of the Area: We also need to interpret the important rivers and their tributaries and the type and extent of valleys formed by them, the types of drainage pattern, i.e. dendritic, radial, ring, trellis, internal, etc.
• Land Use: It includes the use of land under different categories like Natural vegetation and forest which part of the area is forested, whether it is dense forest or thin, and the categories of the forest found there like Reserved, Protected, Classified / Unclassified.
• Transport and Communication: The means of transportation include national or state highways, districts roads, cart tracks, camel tracks, footpaths, railways, waterways, major communication lines, post offices, etc. topographical sheet presents each of these.
• Settlement: Settlements are studied under rural settlements and urban settlements.
• Occupation: The general occupation of the people of the area may be identified with the help of land use and the type of settlement.