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Year 7 · Geography · Map skills for secondary · Lesson 3

Contours, relief and map symbols

Reading relief on maps: contour lines, steep and gentle slopes, spot heights, triangulation pillars and layer colouring, plus using a map key.

Whiteboard video lesson: Contours, relief and map symbols

16-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

Watch free for a month

What your child will learn

  • Explain what contour lines show
  • Identify steep and gentle slopes
  • Read spot heights
  • Use the map key

The method

  1. Contour heights.
  2. Hill or valley.
  3. Steep or gentle.
  4. Spot heights.

Key words: relief, contour line, spot height, triangulation pillar, slope, key.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

What colour are contour lines on OS maps?

  1. Step 1: Earth

Answer: brown (orange)

Question 2

What do contour lines join?

  1. Step 1: Height

Answer: places of the same height

Question 3

Close contours show a ... slope.

  1. Step 1: S...

Answer: steep