Complexities of designing terrain maps illustrated with horizontal hachures

TLDR: In this article, a classification scheme for terrain maps based on four principal elements of design: layer tinting, shading, texturing, and form lines is proposed, which illustrates how the latter three elements meet at a critical design juncture where location, orientation, derived attributes and the use of visual variables to symbolize the terrain intersect.

Abstract: Designing maps involves numerous decisions on the part of the cartographer, while designing terrain maps adds unique complexities. Terrain is often conceptualized as varying in a smooth and continuous manner, leading to data being stored with field-based models, often using raster datasets. The focus of many map design books and other literature, however, is on symbolizing object-based models. Vector layers such as contours and hachures can be derived from grids, but are conceptually abstract and require special consideration for three-dimensional display. We propose a classification scheme for terrain maps based on four principal elements of design: layer tinting, shading, texturing and form lines. We also propose a new method for automating horizontal hachures that illustrates how the latter three elements meet at a critical design juncture where location, orientation, derived attributes and the use of visual variables to symbolize the terrain intersect. Horizontal hachures combine multiple desi...