ContoursLines of equal height, and what they say.Civil EngineeringThe spacing gives slope; the shape gives landform.Rules they obeyA contour never splits or crosses anotherIt closes on itself or leaves the sheetClose spacing means a steep slopeWide spacing means gentle groundEvery fifth line is usually indexedShapes to readA V pointing uphill is a valleyA V pointing downhill is a ridge or spurConcentric closed rings are a hillRings with hachures are a hollowStraight parallel lines mean earthworksEducational reference. Contour interval and survey accuracy limit howmuch detail a plan can honestly claim.Contourslearnposters.com
Contours — printable engineering wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Contours poster

10 entries in 2 groups.

The spacing gives slope; the shape gives landform.

Educational reference. Contour interval and survey accuracy limit how much detail a plan can honestly claim.

Questions about the Contours poster

What’s on the Contours poster?
10 entries in 2 groups. The spacing gives slope; the shape gives landform. Rules they obey: A contour never splits or crosses another, It closes on itself or le…; Shapes to read: A V pointing uphill is a valley, A V pointing downhill is a ridge or…. Educational reference. Contour interval and survey accuracy limit how much detail a plan can honestly claim.
Who is the Contours poster for?
Contours belongs to the Civil Engineering section rather than to a school year, because engineering is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning surveying can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Contours poster?
Reading a topographic survey before designing anything on it. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Contours belongs on the wall where that engineering work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Contours?
Areas & Volumes, Bearings and Setting Out a Curve sit alongside Contours in the Civil Engineering section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Areas & VolumesBearingsSetting Out a Curve
Is the Contours poster free to download and print?
Yes. Contours downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Civil Engineering section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Contours poster print at?
Contours is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Contours loses nothing.Printing guide

Related posters

Charts that sit alongside Contours on the same wall.

Browse every Civil Engineering poster, or start from the full catalogue.