CONTOURING

Contouring is the survey exercise that is meant to establish contours either on the ground
or map.

TERMS
1. Contour – Is an imaginary line passing through points of equal elevations on the
surface of the earth. Contour lines provide important information for purposes of
designing layout of roads, railways, drainage systems and other engineering and
building operations. Topographical maps with contour lines show topographical
features like hills, valleys, ridges etc and give the elevations of these points.
2. Vertical interval – This is the difference in height between successive contour
lines and it is constant on any one drawing. The contour interval used on a map
will depend on:-
(i) The scale of the plan
(ii) The purpose for which the plan has been prepared
(iii) Nature of the ground

3. Horizontal equivalent – This is the least/shortest horizontal distance between

successive contour lines. It is different for different contour lines and is dependent
on the slope of the ground surface. It is comparatively less in the hills than in the
plains.
4. Spot heights/spot levels - This refers to points distributed randomly over a site
and whose elevations have been determined.
5. Gradient – This is the slope of the ground which is expressed by the ratio of the
height risen in a given horizontal distance traveled.

Characteristics of contours.
Important features of an area of land can easily be seen from contours. The following are
contour characteristics which should be kept in view in map reading and plotting.
(i) Contour lines which are closer together indicate a steep slope.
(ii) Contour lines which are widely spaced indicate a gentle slope.
(iii) The direction of the steepest slope is always at right angle to the contour lines
i.e. contour line at any point is perpendicular to the line of the steepest slope at
that point.
(iv) A set of ring contours or contour island with higher values inside depict a hill
while a set of ring contours with lower values inside depict a pond or
depression.
(v) A contour line must close back to itself though not necessarily on any one
map.
(vi) Contour lines can never cross each other and do not have sharp turnings.
(vii) Contour lines must be continuous. A single contour cannot split into two lines
each having the same value.
(viii) Contour lines of different elevations do not join except in the case of a vertical
cliff.
(ix) V – shaped contour depict either a valley or a ridge..
 (x) A peak or a summit will be indicated by a small dot with the relevant spot
height alongside.

METHODS OF CONTOURING.
Various methods of contouring can be classified into two main classes:-
(i) Direct method
(ii) Indirect method

Direct method
In direct method, two major steps are involved:-
- Tracing/chasing/locating the contour on the ground
- Picking and plotting the contour

Tracing/chasing/locating the contour on the ground.

This is done by use of a level and a staff. The height of collimation method is applied.
With the height of collimation known, staff readings for a certain contour can be
determined. All points that give that particular staff readings can be marked on the
ground with a peg or any other suitable marker.

Picking and plotting the contour.

After contours are marked and traced on the ground, they can be picked using any one set
of equipments listed below:-
- Theodolite and tape
- Theodolite and EDM.
- Theodolite and a staff (tacheometric)
- Plane table

Indirect method
Also known as contouring by spot levels. In this method elevations are determined for
points whose planimetric positions are known. In some cases determination of elevations
and planimetric positions are done concurrently e.g. in tacheometric surveying. The three
widely used methods of indirect contouring are:-
(i) Square grid method
(ii) Cross section method
(iii) Tacheometric method

Square grid method – In this method, the area to be contoured is divided into a series of
square grids (sometimes rectangular grid can be used). The size of the grids will depend
on the slope of the ground, extend of the area and purpose of contouring. The nodes of
the grid are then leveled in order to determine their elevations. The grids are then plotted
on a drawing and contours generated by interpolation method. Interpolation is done by
use of the elevations of the nodes.

Cross section method – Suitable for long narrow sites e.g. roads, railway lines, canals or
pipelines. Cross section lines are established at certain intervals perpendicular to the
centerline. Elevations are determined at certain intervals say 5m, along the cross section
lines. Cross section lines are then plotted and contours generated by interpolation.

Tacheometric method – In this method, spot heights are established randomly over the
site. This points are plotted on the drawing and contours generated by interpolation.

Contour interpolation
Interpolation is a mathematical method of locating contours from spot heights or other
contours. The assumption made here is that from one spot height to the next, the ground
maintains a constant gradient. No matter which ground methods are adopted, the ground
points are plotted on the plan in their correct positions and the elevations written
alongside each point.

PHOTO - CONTROL.
This is the process of providing controls (both horizontal and vertical) in a
photogrammetric project. The control survey is carried out before or after photography is
done. This ensures that the selected photo control images are sharp, well defined and
clearly identifiable on the photo and on the ground.
Points selected as photo control points should be:-
(i) Clearly identifiable on the photo and on the ground
(ii) Accessible on the ground.
(iii) Properly marked in the field.
(iv) Such that images of the point must appear on the overlapping photographs.

NB: Natural targets are usually selected after photography has been done e.g. road
intersections, water course intersection, rock outcrops etc.

The purpose of photo control is to provide means for orienting or relating aerial
photographs to the ground.

Pre – marking
Is the process of establishing pre – marked points prior to the photography to ensure a
photo control network. The photography should be done immediately after photo control
survey to avoid damaging/disturbance of the pre marked control points.
The pre marked points should be in such a position that it does not fall on shaded areas.
Post marking
This is done when natural and pre marked points are lacking in certain critical areas of a
project. In post marking, the control point is marked after the photography has been done,
processed and examined. A camera (normally smaller), is carried over the area in an
aircraft at an altitude comparable with the scale of the aerial photography. The post
marked points are photographed again with the camera held vertical. After processing,
the post marked points are then transferred to the aerial photograph by means of a point
transfer instrument.

Applications
Photo control is applied both in horizontal and vertical control

Horizontal controls
Horizontal controls provide the position of a point with respect to a horizontal datum.
Surveys for establishing horizontal control normally originate from monuments of the
national geodetic network. Based upon measurements from these stations, positions of
new control points are determined. Horizontal control points are used for orientating the
photographs horizontally (horizontal plane).
Horizontal control surveys for photo control may be conducted using any of the
following methods:-
- Traversing.
- Triangulation.
- Trilateration.
- Satellite positioning

Vertical control
Vertical control provides the elevation of a point with respect to a vertical datum. The
most commonly adopted vertical datum is the mean sea level, although on some projects,
arbitrary datum has been used. The provision of vertical controls is mostly done by spirit
leveling method.