Topography is a discipline that specializes in the detailed description of the surface of a terrain.. In the meantime, to do so, he deals with studying in detail the set of principles and procedures that facilitate the graphic representation of the forms and details that a surface in question presents, whether they are natural or artificial.
Discipline that specializes in detailing the surfaces of terrestrial terrain in order to facilitate its graphic representation
This type of representation is carried out on surfaces with flat characteristics, limited to small extensions of land, larger areas are dealt with by the Geodesy.
utility and applications
The discipline of topography turns out to be of enormous utility for sciences such as architecture, agronomy, geography and engineering. For example, the application of geometry’s own concepts for the description of physical reality turn out to be of enormous importance at the instances of agricultural activity and in the construction of buildings.
Meanwhile, the topography will demand a work in two dimensions, because in the first instance it will be necessary to visit the land in question in order to analyze it with the appropriate instruments; and then, in a next stage of the work, it will be essential to transfer the data obtained in first person on the spot, to an office or laboratory to be interpreted and later to be able to dump them on the maps.
The surveyors, who are those professionals who deal with topography, work normally with two-dimensional systems about the x and y axesMeanwhile, the height supposes a third dimension. The elevation of the terrain in the topographic maps is reflected through lines that connect with a reference plane and are known as contour lines.
On her side, the total station It is a device that allows the measurement of horizontal and vertical angles and distances. Once the coordinates of the place where the station is installed are known, the three-dimensional coordinates of any point that is measured can be determined. Once the coordinates are already processed, the surveyor can begin to graphically represent the details of the surface.
Particular characteristics of a land
On the other hand, the concept is used to name the series of particular characteristics that a terrain presents in its superficial configuration.
This sense of the concept is normally also denominated with the concept of relief.
Types of relief and how they are formed
The relief is the characteristic irregularity of a given terrestrial surface and that can be manifested through mountains, valleys, plains, among other types.
The knowledge of the reliefs has a tremendous relevance for the practice of some activities since, for example, the primary production will depend a lot on the conditions of the soil and the climate of a given area in order to be able to exploit it accordingly.
Our planet boasts a wide variety of forms that make it very rich in different landscapes that in themselves constitute a unique and unrepeatable visual spectacle.
The formations that we mentioned before were known to be generated from different geological processes that our planet suffered opportunely.
Mountains are the result of the collision of tectonic plates.
The plateaus for their part begin as mountains but erosion removes those sharp peaks that are very characteristic of mountains, leaving the elevation, but rather flat.
In the case of the valleys there is also a link with the mountains since it is the space that arises between them.
And the plains are possible due to the absence of the tectonic force that precisely does not act in the area in which they are formed and that is why the land remains flat. Also added to this is the continuous erosion that leaves sediments that are transported by the waters or by the winds.
Our planet does not have the same appearance today as it did millions of years ago. Even today’s continents did not exist before.
It has been the clash of the various tectonic plates that generated the separation and appearance of the continents.
Topography proposes explanations and analysis of all this and more, which later, as we have already said, helps in the development of economies, in the establishment of infrastructures, among others.
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