Geomorphological Fieldwork with the Aid of Ordnance Survey Maps

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The geomorphologist MUST necessarily depend for much of his factual information upon the published maps of offlcial survey agencies. Such maps are not however designed expressly for his benefit, and even the best cannot provide more than a partial definition of the ground, or one more accurate than its scale will permit. This applies particularly to the portrayal of ground-relief, the aspect with which the geomorphologist is primarily concerned. Even in so well-mapped a country as Great Britain, it is only for the reconnaissance phases of landscape study, or for generalized analysis of wide areas, that such maps alone will suffice. For any more detailed or exact work, the data they afford must be supplemented by direct observation; measurement on the ground is normally essential, although to-day aerial photographs provide a partial substitute. This paper discusses briefly a few simple techniques that the writer has found useful for such fieldwork. As they are based on the fullest utilization of the data already provided on the offlcial maps, some notes on the latter precede the description.