The Collaborative International Dictionary
Contour \Con*tour"\, n. [F. contour, fr. contourner to mark the outlines; con- + tourner to turn. See Turn.]
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The outline of a figure or body, or the line or lines representing such an outline; the line that bounds; periphery.
Titian's coloring and contours.
--A. Drummond. -
(Mil.) The outline of a horizontal section of the ground, or of works of fortification.
Contour feathers (Zo["o]l.), those feathers that form the general covering of a bird.
Contour of ground (Surv.), the outline of the surface of ground with respect to its undulation, etc.
Contour line (Topographical Suv.), the line in which a horizontal plane intersects a portion of ground, or the corresponding line in a map or chart. [1913 Webster] ||
Wiktionary
n. (context geography English) A line on a map through points of equal elevation, often height above sea level.
WordNet
n. a line drawn on a map connecting points of equal height [syn: contour]
Wikipedia
A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, or isarithm) of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value. It is a cross-section of the three-dimensional graph of the function f(x, y) parallel to the x, y plane. In cartography, a contour line (often just called a "contour") joins points of equal elevation (height) above a given level, such as mean sea level. A contour map is a map illustrated with contour lines, for example a topographic map, which thus shows valleys and hills, and the steepness of slopes. The contour interval of a contour map is the difference in elevation between successive contour lines.
More generally, a contour line for a function of two variables is a curve connecting points where the function has the same particular value. The gradient of the function is always perpendicular to the contour lines. When the lines are close together the magnitude of the gradient is large: the variation is steep. A level set is a generalization of a contour line for functions of any number of variables.
Contour lines are curved, straight or a mixture of both lines on a map describing the intersection of a real or hypothetical surface with one or more horizontal planes. The configuration of these contours allows map readers to infer relative gradient of a parameter and estimate that parameter at specific places. Contour lines may be either traced on a visible three-dimensional model of the surface, as when a photogrammetrist viewing a stereo-model plots elevation contours, or interpolated from estimated surface elevations, as when a computer program threads contours through a network of observation points of area centroids. In the latter case, the method of interpolation affects the reliability of individual isolines and their portrayal of slope, pits and peaks.
Usage examples of "contour line".
A single contour line was interrupted by a printed number in microscopic type.
But for one who found himself in its vicinity, on a contour line of altered time, the readings of the galactic clock lost all meaning.
He drew a rough sketch of the B-29 and a long, uneven contour line representing the seafloor that stretched across the board's surface and ended with a sudden rise that was Soseki Island.
There's always some intriguing landmark just over the next contour line.
As soon as it gets daylight tomorrow the National Park Service plans to use a helicopter to patrol the sea-level contour line in a effort to locate Tommy's VW van and his camp, and we can organize our ground search from there.
Since they'd laid out that wagon trace along a contour line, Lord love 'em, the soft soggy soil on his seaward side lay almost a yard lower than the roadway, and better yet, the salt grass he'd been rolling through rose well above his prone form.
So he found a seat on the rear platform and lit up as they followed the tracks away to the north from Crow Creek, hugging a contour line of the now not so distant Laramies, a sort of orphan range running in line with but apart from the main thrust of the Rockies.