What is the purpose of doing a contour survey in civil engineering?

Explanation:

• A contour survey, also known as a topographic survey or contour mapping, is a type of land surveying technique used to map and represent the three-dimensional shape and elevation of the Earth's surface.
• This survey method is particularly valuable for a variety of purposes, including engineering, construction, land development, environmental assessment, and landscape design.

Purposes of Contouring

Contours are very important in the field of surveying, there are some important purposes of contouring mentioned below:

• Construct longitudinal sections and cross-sections for initial investigation
• Compute volumes
• Construct route lines of constant gradient.
• Delineate the limits of constructed dams, roads, railways, tunnels, etc.
• Delineate and measure drainage areas.

 Additional InformationHorizontal Equivalent

• The horizontal distance between two points on two consecutive contour lines for a given slope is understood as the horizontal equivalent.
• It depends upon the slope of the ground and required grade for construction of a road, canal, and contour interval.