Abstract
A NEW method of showing surface relief on a topographical map is described by Prof. T. Kitiro in the Geographical Journal for March. The inventor claims this to be a natural, in contrast to a conventional, method, since it is based on the principle of shading, and gives the reader the appearance of the land rather than detached information of heights. The method makes use of what Prof. Kitirô calls the ‘inclined contour’. This is defined as the projection upon a datum plane of the outline of the intersection of the ground surface with an inclined plane. By contrast, the ordinary contour, which is distinguished as the horizontal contour, is the projection upon a datum plane of the intersection line of the ground surface with a horizontal plane. The inclination of the inclined plane is assumed to be 45°. The effect of these inclined contours is to give a shaded map of relief features with a southern illumination on the specimen of a Japanese map which is reproduced. The thickness of the inclined contours is constant, and after experiment it was found most useful to have between thirty and seventy lines to the centimetre. The method of drawing these contours from the ordinary contoured map is fully described. One obvious disadvantage is that they give a dark map, but this might be overcome by drawing the contours in grey or buff. The finished map certainly gives a striking picture of relief where the slopes are steep.
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Orthographical Relief. Nature 129, 683–684 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/129683d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/129683d0