Hobbies And Interests
Physical Maps
As their name suggests, physical maps display the land masses and water bodies that make up a country, region or continent. These maps usually don't show borders of countries or states or mark roadways. They do, however, highlight elevation across a region, often with different colors. Blue notes waterways; green usually indicates lowlands while browns mark the higher elevations of hills and mountains.
Raised Relief Maps
Raised relief maps are designed to show elevation levels in an area. These three-dimensional maps often boast mountain-range areas that stand as high as 2 to 3 inches above the rest of the map. They often use shading, too, to highlight areas of high elevation. These maps are often made of plastic or vinyl because they need to be sturdy to support the raised areas.
Orthophoto Maps
Orthophoto maps use high resolution, color-enhanced photographs to show various land features of an area. The photos of orthophoto maps also accurately depicts areas of very low elevation, such as plains or large swaths of desert. These maps, because of their usually well-crafted photos, are often kept on display by their owners or are featured prominently in city halls and local museums.
Topographic Maps
Topographic maps show raised elevations in a two-dimensional manner. They do this using topographic lines, curving lines that designate raised and elevated areas from flat lands. Topographic lines that are bunched closely together indicate that an area features high elevation, while those that are spread apart indicate areas that are mostly flat.