Identify Topographic Symbols on a Military Map

Task 071-329-1000

Conditions

Given a standard 1:50,000-scale military map.

Standards

Correctly identify the topographic symbols, colors, and marginal information on a military map.

Training/Evaluation

Training Information Outline

1. Topographic Symbols

  a. The ideal situation would be that every feature on that portion of the earth being mapped could be shown on the map in its true shape and size. Unfortunately, that is not possible.

  b. The amount of detail shown on a map increase or decreases, depending on its scale; therefore, a map with a scale of 1:50,000 will show more detail than a map of 1:250,000 scale.

  c. Details are shown by topographic symbols. Those symbols are shown using six basic colors:

    (1) Black - for cultural (man-made) other than roads.

    (2) Blue - for water.

    (3) Brown - for all relief features (usually shown as contour lines) on old maps, or cultivated land on red-light readable maps.

    (4) Green - for vegitation.

    (5) Red - for major roads, built-up areas, and special fetures on old maps.

    (6) Red-Brown - all relief fetures and main roads on red-light readable maps.

2. Topographic symbols are grouped by category.

  a. Drainage features (Blue). These symbols include lakes, streams, rivers, marshes, and coastal waters.

  b. Relief features (Brown). These features are normally shown by contour lines, intermediate contour lines, and form lines. In addition to contour lines, there are relief symbols to show cuts, fills, sand, sand dunes, ice fields, strip mines, and glaciers.

  c. Vegitation features (Green). These symbols include woods, scrub, orchard, vineyard, tropical grass, mangrove and marshy areas or tundra.

  d. Roads (Red, Black, or Red-Brown). These symbols show hard-surface, heavy-duty roads, hard-surface, medium-duty roads, improved light-duty roads, unimproved dirt roads, and trails. On foreign road maps, symbols may differ slightly; check the map legend for proper identification of roads.

  e. Railroads (Black). These symbols show single-track railroads in operation; single-track railroads not in operation; double- or multiple-track railroads in operation; double- or multiple-track railroads in not operation; and railroad sidings, yards, or snowsheds.

  f. Buildings (Black) and populated places (Yellow/Red/Pink). These symbols show built-up areas, schools, churches, ruins, lighthouses, windmills, and cemetaries.

3. Use and understand topographic symbols.

  a. The shape of an object on the map will usually tell what it is - for example, a black, solid square is a building or a house, a round or irregular blue item is a lake or pond.

  b. Logic and what the color means must work together in determining a map feature. For example, blue is water. You see a sumbol that is blue and has what looks like clumps of grass. What is wet with grass? A swamp.

  c. The size of the symbol shows the approximate size of an object. Most symbols are enlarged 6 to 10 times so that you can see them under dim light, but relative size will still show.

  d. Remember to use the legend. It will have most of the symbols used on the map.

4. Identify and use marginal information.

  a. Marginal information at the top of the map sheet.

    (1) In the top left corner will be given the geographic location of the map area and the scale of the map.

    (2) In the top center is the name of the map sheet.

    (3) The top right corner contains the map edition, map series, and the map sheet number.

  b. Marginal information is at the bottom of the map sheet.

    (1) The legend is in the lower left hand corner of the map. as are the agency that prepared the map, the map sheet number, and the map sheet name.

    (2) In the bottem center are the bar scales in meters, yards, miles, and nautical miles; the contour interval of the contour lines; the grid referance box; and the declination diagram.

    (3) In the lower right hand corner are the elevation guide; the adjoining map sheet diagram; and the boundaries box, which shows any boundaries that may be on the map.

Evaluation Preparation

Setup: On a 1:50,000-scale topographic map, circle an example of each marginal information found on the map as listed in the standards. Randomly letter the circled items A through I. Circle an item or feature shown on the map by color. Randomly number each colored item 1 through 5. Have a sheet of paper and two pencils available for the tested soldier. For each soldier tested, provide a duplicate set of map and paper and pencils.

Brief Soldier: Tell the soldier to letter the paper A to I and 1 through 5. Tell the soldier to write down the name of the item contained in each lettered and numbered circle on the map.

Evaluation Guide



Identify Topographic Symbols on a Military Map--071-329-1000
Performance Measures Results
The following requirements must be met to
perform Identify topographic symbols on a Military Map.
1.Identifies the sheet name. P F
2.Identifies the sheet number. P F
3.Identifies the contour interval. P F
4.Identifies the G-M angle(mils or degrees). P F
5.Identifies the legend. P F
6.Identifies the bar scales. P F
7.Identifies the declination diagram. P F
8.Identifies the grid reference box. P F
9.Identifies the adjoining sheet box. P F
10.Identifies the black, man-made features; for example shcool, church. P F
11.Identifies the water(blue). P F
12.Identifies the vegitation(geeen). P F
13.Identifies the red or red-brown man-made features; for example, main road or built-up area. P F
14.Identifies the brown or red-brown contour lines brown. P F


Feedback


Score the soldier a GO if all steps are passed (P).
Score the soldier a NO-GO if any step(s) are failed (F).
If the soldier fails any step(s), show what was done wrong and how to do it correctly.


References

FM 21-26
FM 21-31



NAVIGATION SECTION

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