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How to Test Landform Map Skills

Common landforms include such natural features as mountain peaks, ridges, valleys, hills, plateaus, peninsulas, islands, cliffs and mesas. Many can be identified by photographs or drawings. Recognizing them in person is important, but being able to identify them on a contour map requires basic to intermediate map-reading skills that can be tested by having the student identify the formations on a contour map or requiring the student to draw a map that includes several landforms.

Things You'll Need

USGS quadrant topographical map
Copy machine
Highlighter

Instructions

Contour Drawings
- 1
  Have the person to be tested draw various landforms using contour lines. Contour lines, the building blocks of topographical maps, are concentric circles, each of which is set at specific elevation. The elevation differential between lines is predetermined, such as 100 feet. For example, if an island has an elevation of 465 feet and you draw contour lines at 100-foot intervals, you need five sets of lines to draw this island. The first contour line will be drawn at sea level and the last will be drawn at 400 feet. In between there will be contours drawn at 100, 200 and 300 feet. Each contour line will be continuous, resulting in an irregular shape such as a oval.
- 2
  Ask the student to make drawings of landforms. Require her to assign a series of elevations to the contour lines. The numerical values of the contour lines should be evenly distributed, but the spaces between them will almost always differ. The landforms to be drawn might include mountains, hills, ridges with steep cliffs, mountain streams and mountain ridges with multiple peaks.
- 3
  Require the student to provide a written explanation of each landform and why the contour lines have the shape that they do.
- 4
  Evaluate the results.
Recognizing Landforms on a Topographical Map
- 5
  Obtain a 7.5-minute USGS Topographical Map and locate several landforms on it.
- 6
  Circle a prominent landform on the map, then fold the map so that the area with the circled landform can be placed face down on the copier.
- 7
  Place the appropriate section of map in a copy machine and make as many copies as needed.
- 8
  Highlight each concentric set of contour lines with a highlighter pen and have the student identify what type of landform it is. Most topographical maps will display changes of elevation that identify hills, valleys, cliffs, streams, lakes and rivers. When testing a student on hills and mountains, have the student specify elevation of the summit. When a stream or river is identified, downhill direction should be indicated.
- 9
  Evaluate the results.

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