How Do You Read A USGS Topographic Map?
To get local topography information, the U.S. Department of the Interior, has United States Geological Survey USGS maps available for most any area in the U.S. If you are looking to topographic information to go hunting, hiking, fishing, biking or for development or engineering work, USGS quadrangle maps are a great place to start collecting data. If you are new to USGS maps, this article will help get you started learning to read and decipher information contained on the topographic maps. Review the key located in the bottom right corner of the map. Road types are shown by different graphics. The map location in relation to the entire state is shown. The location title is shown along with the coordinate point of the bottom right corner of the map. The original map data along with any revision data are also listed. Locate the map scale at the bottom center of the USGS topographic map. For a 7.5 minute series topographic map 1″ typically equals 2000 feet. Find wooded areas on the map by
