How to Read a Topo Map 

About 40 years ago, pre-cell phones, pre-internet, I learned how to read a map and compass. The compass was a lot harder to figure out. I still need to refresh those skills every so often, but topo map reading sank pretty well into my brain. Learning how to use these are valuable, but true orienteering skills, often from experience; being able to tell direction and read the terrain are the most valuable skills of all when it comes to wilderness navigation.

Just heard about a tragedy in California involving a family that died of heat exhaustion due to being rookie hikers and not being able to read a topographical map. Thanks for teaching me and everyone be safe out there.

Anyone here for your Sciene class?

I'm here from my science teacher. were doing work on topographic maps

Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 0:18 Overview 1:56 Scale 2:47 Reading the legend 3:35 Endcard

finally a video that made this content not sound so incredibly dull!

What other video explained in 20 minutes, u explained it in 3.47minutes. Awesome, thank you

SO HELPFUL!! I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING UNTIL THIS VIDEO!!!

Very helpful - just what I was looking for . Thank-you!

POV: ur trying to learn about topographic maps for science bc u still don’t understand it

Great video. I never take a hike without a map. Almost as important as water. No matter how well traversed the trial, it just seems necessary to align yourself, your real presence, with the map. Where I hike, hear near the big city of San Francisco, most hiking areas make available free maps of the trails, maps of excellent quality with plenty of detail.

i love the bootleg "story of my life" playing in the background

Thanks for protecting your workers REI from Covid. Nice to support REI

A very detailed and concise explanation.. Thanks

My my teacher tells me to watch this is so helpful

Thank you for making this video! Short, well explained, and the details of the added drawings and visuals are fantastic. Thank you! Great narration too!

Thankyou so much you just saved my life 😍 BTW attending practicals for Bsc Geography tomorrow 😄🙌

Great explanation! I learned a lot.

Because topograpic map would useful to army personal when construction a bridge during a war

👌 excelent video I understand everything even though I am from Mexico, Its super well explained, congratulations!!!👏👏👏

awasome video .it help me many time. thanks for sharing it.

Very nic explanation . Plz make vdeo on how to read grid reference on topo map

Today was finally the day I got tired of looking and not knowing what it meant. Now I'm educated! A little bit lol

Excellent! Thank you!

Great Vid REI!

Sorts out the information worth keeping: thank you!

Try reading contour lines on a map in Florida. You might find 20 miles between lines, if that. :P

thank you. well explained

wow. nice video!

AMAZING!

Spends all day talking about the map. Winds up following the river

love REI

Thank you Thank you Thank you team

Here to learn how to find the best place for me to build my future tiny house 😇

Great vidoe

Awesome video

Well explained. Who is the narrator?

Excellent 👌👌👌

Amazing video

amazing!

POV you are here because your geology class had you read the REI article and this video about topical graphs.

useful 👍

Villa kids where you at

What color is steep on this type of map?

thank u

What are the parts of topographic map

good

I'm learning for better fishing lol 🤣

ENT 113 sent me here

❤❤❤

1:38 In Fairness I think you mean most maps in the USA. Otherwise most maps use meters, not feet. In any case helpful video, thanks!

Anyone here for your Geography class?

Here 25 minutes before my geography test

Great

Mona chin I see you

Rough liver sausage let’s hippie it

Tornados and garages 3

👍🏻🙏🏻

This was really helpful! Don't forget Township & Range! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MrSYkVi5tNA.html

Brown Jennifer Miller Helen Walker Eric

👏

POV: your doing IXL BB1

Moore Sarah Anderson Kevin Lee Deborah

Y’all we are all here for science class it’s so anoyying

Alyssa malyssa

who here for geology class

White Patricia Moore Ruth Thomas Anna

Yeah I’m still failing science lol

HOW THE HECK

Yizo♥️🩶

pov: your teacher makes no since

Main points and settlement with red dots and blue and brown dots are not define and other points . You are dislike in this video

great video anyone know the background music?

A very good intro to maps, however when using the scale to measure distance use the edge of a piece of paper, never string. You can mark the paper to get a precise measurement of distance along a non-linier trail (crocked) by putting tick marks on the papers edge as you cover the route, then measuring against the scale. A piece of string stretches' and in wholly imperfect for use. In a pinch you can use the margined areas of your maps border to attain your piece of paper.

very helpful and easy to understand!

Thanks REI this is great!

Am I the only one watching this so I can independently backpack/road trip and hike without worrying about getting lost? I hike quite frequently but it’s always somewhere with clearly defined trails and paint colors on the tree so you know which trail you’re on and then you can hike back to your car and go home, and I’m getting bored of that. I wanna take a serious trip and connect with nature and myself on a deeper level, but I need to be able to confidently read maps to make sure I never get lost in the wilderness.

Here for geosystems 🤦🏾‍♂️

Very nice video --but the description of different scales from at about 2:20 is backwards. The narrator incorrectly says "But the important thing, is that the map with the smaller scale will show a smaller area but with more detail". Instead, it's the LARGER scale map that shows less area but with more detail. Think of scale as a fraction: 1:12,000 is 1/12,000; 1:50,000 is 1/50,000. So, 1:12,000 is larger than 1:50,000, and 1:12,000 shows a smaller area with more detail.

2:22 hey geographer here! a large scale map actually shows a smaller area in more detail while a small scale map shows a larger area in less detail, think about how the fraction 1/2 is larger than 1/3. In the same way, a scale of 1:500 on a map is larger and more detailed than 1:2000

A good video with lots of info. Thanks!

Does anyone know? Is geological history of all maps same like older rock formation under marine condition after tectonic activities?? please help🥰

I know it is a weird question, but what is the background music in the beginning? I have heard it in a few RU-vid videos, but the creators never say what the song is and it isn't in the comments either. :(

Anyone here for earth science?

tf am i gonna do with this information tbh i wanna slap whoever thought it was ok for to learn this

this video is really cool!! it gives idea.

great video it helped me

Small scale maps actually show less detail over a larger area.

Thanks,help me

GREAT VIDEO HELPFUL

Williams Anthony Davis Angela Walker Linda

Rodriguez Karen Jackson Jason Lee Paul

why do people change the pronunciation of the first "o" in topographic from short to long in "topo" ?

Is anyone else here because they're trying to restart a dead local tradition

Davis Frank Davis Susan Harris Patricia

man the imperial system is really tiresome if you aren't used to it. i find metric to be much more intuitive being decimal and all

I miss so much learning geography in school

This is a super useful information. Thank you very much for this.

Here for hsie class 😢

Take a tub or large bowl and put a large rock in it. Pour water in it until it is 1 inch deep. Draw a marker line around (on) the rock where water is touching rock. Put another 1 inch deep of water, mark rock. Repeat until you are at top of rock. There you go!