Topographic Maps
Read contour lines to find hills, valleys and the way a river runs.
Topographic Maps teaches children to read the squiggly lines on a map. The first questions are simple: which point is the highest, and which is the lowest? From a bird's eye view of rings and curves, children learn that closed loops usually mean a hill and that the inner ring is higher. Then they read the elevation of a point that sits on a contour line.
Next the game asks which side of a hill is steeper, using the spacing of the lines, and what the contour interval of a map is. A hiker walks a dashed path from A to B, and children count the contour lines crossed and say whether the walk goes up or down. The last level follows a blue river downhill.
What children practice
- Find the highest and lowest points on a contour map
- Read the elevation of a point from its contour line
- Tell steep from gentle slopes by how close lines are
- Work out the contour interval from labeled lines
- Count contour lines to find a change in elevation
- Use contour lines to tell which way a river flows
Levels
- Level 1: Highest and lowest
- Level 2: Read an elevation
- Level 3: Steep or gentle
- Level 4: Interval and counting lines
- Level 5: Elevation change and rivers
How it works
- Five levels go from highest and lowest to elevation change and rivers.
- Your child needs five right answers and the practice timer to move up.
- A wrong answer shows try again, and the same map stays on screen.
- Questions can be read aloud with the speaker button, and a short explanation appears after a correct answer.
Best for: A good fit for grades 5 to 8 when a class is learning map skills or a family is planning a hike and wants to read a trail map.
Tip for parents: Before your next hike, look at a trail map together and ask where the path climbs fast and where it is gentle. Matching the lines to the real hill makes the idea clear.
Questions parents ask
Does the game use meters or feet?
The elevations are written in meters. Questions give the contour interval on the map, which children use to count up or down from one line to another when the point sits on or between lines.
What does the contour interval level teach?
Level 4 shows a map with bold lines every fifth line and asks for the contour interval. It also has children count the contour lines a hiker crosses, which they can multiply by the interval to find the climb.
Are the maps of real places?
No, they are drawn maps made for practice, with points marked A and B and sometimes a blue river. This keeps the focus on the skill of reading lines instead of memorizing any place.
Ready to try it?
Topographic Maps is free with a parent account. A parent adds a child profile, and the child's progress is saved.