Ebiz247.com Guide To Topographic Maps

Maps.com is a leading provider of mapping products and solutions to business, education and consumer markets. Founded in 1991 as Magellan Geographix, Maps.com is privately held with three primary business divisions.

As industry leaders in the e-commerce marketplace, Maps.com has earned status of The Largest Online US Map Store (Alexa ranking February 2006). The Map & Travel Store offers thousands of products including Wall Maps, Globes, Atlases, Online Mapping Tools and much more.

For Topographic Maps use Maps.com to search for the U.S. States Gazetteers and National Geographic TOPO! which can be loaded on your computer.

Topographic maps, also called contour maps, topo maps or topo quads (for quadrangles), are maps that show topography, or land contours, by means of contour lines. Contour lines are curves that connect contiguous points of the same altitude. In other words, every point on the marked line of 100 m elevation is 100 m above mean sea level.

Topographic maps are helpful to hikers, campers and outdoor professions because they can show elevation changes along a trail. Government agencies like the US Geological Survey (USGS) produce these maps that are often based on satellite data or aerial photography. National Geographic creates many innovative TOPO! products based on USGS maps.

Additional sources of Topographic maps:
Delorme - Topo USA for computers and GPS units.
Garmin MapSource - Currently only available for PC's.
MapTech Terrain Navigator - USGS topo maps & software for computers & GPS.
Comparison Chart by GPSNOW.com