What is a Physical Map? What Do Its Colors Mean?
- Işık Arda Yardımsever
- Oct 7, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 27, 2025
This article is for those interested in what a physical map is. We all love color; colors in movies, books, and other visual materials capture our attention. The same applies to maps, as we understand nothing from blank or undistinguished maps. However, when it comes to physical maps, things are a bit different, as these colors have special meanings. Without further ado, let's take a detailed look at what a physical map is, what its colors mean, and what the physical map features are!
Contents
What is a Physical Map?
A physical map depicts Earth's various natural features, such as mountains, bodies of water, deserts, and other recognizable landforms. These maps also provide information about the shape, elevation, and depth of these natural features. Geographic features and their elevations within the depicted areas are identified through special coloration.
What Does a Physical Map Show?
Physical maps show the physical features and elevation of a specific area or region. They use contour lines to represent elevation and shape changes. Terrain features such as mountains, valleys, and plateaus are represented in distinct colors. In short, the question "What does a physical map show?" is:
Mountains
Rivers
Lakes
The seas
Oceans
Elevation and relief
Deserts
Forests
Plateaus
Plains
Valleys
Canyons
Glaciers
Ice sheets
How to Draw a Physical Map?
Physical mapmaking begins with creating a base map using satellite imagery, aerial photography, or existing two-dimensional maps. Geographic features such as roads, cities, and landmarks are then added, and elevation information is reflected on the map using contour lines, shading, or digital elevation models.
Additionally, models that represent topography in three dimensions can be produced using 3D printing or molding techniques. Digital physical maps are also created using geographic information systems (GIS), where scale, projection, symbols, and colors are selected and layers such as landforms, soil, and water bodies are superimposed.
Physical Map Features
The shortest answer to the question "What are the physical map features?" is:
Shows landforms such as mountains, plains, valleys
Indicates elevations and depressions with colors
Isohypse (contour) curves are used
Reflects the real terrain structure
Shows water sources such as rivers and lakes
Natural elements are at the forefront, human elements are generally absent
Height differences are noticeable through color transitions.
Provides topographic information
Usually provides an overview of large areas
Physical Map Colors
When you examine any physical map, you can easily notice color gradients. Each color indicates the elevation of the area you're examining above sea level. While these colors don't necessarily indicate the exact elevation, they do indicate a range. The generally accepted meanings of physical map colors are as follows:
Colour | Altitude Range (meters) | What Does It Indicate? |
Dark Blue | -1,000 and below | Deepest water bodies |
Blue | -500 - 0 | Deep water bodies |
Light Blue | Sea level | Water bodies |
Dark Green | 0 – 200 | Lowlands, plains, coastal areas |
Light green | 200-500 | Gentle hills, low elevations |
Yellow / Light Brown | 500 – 1,000 | Mid-height hills |
Brown | 1,000 – 2,000 | Mountains (medium-high) |
Dark Brown / Red Brown | 2,000 – 3,000 | High mountains |
White | Over 3,000 | Peaks, snow and glaciers |
How to Interpret a Physical Map?
First, the colors and isohypses on the map are carefully examined. Colors indicate the elevation of the terrain, and isohypses connect points of the same elevation. Dense lines indicate a steep slope, while sparse lines indicate a gentle slope. This allows us to identify landforms such as mountains, valleys, and plateaus. Using the map key, the symbols are deciphered, and actual distances are calculated from the scale.
Professionals analyze these interpretations to understand geographic landforms, and they perform these analyses for applications such as land-use planning, construction, and environmental management. In other words, a physical map is not merely an image; it is interpreted to understand the natural landscape and shape human activities accordingly. Therefore, accurately interpreting map details is crucial for both acquiring geographic knowledge and making practical decisions.
Türkiye Physical Map
When you look at the physical map of Türkiye, the Marmara region is the region closest to sea level, followed by the Aegean, Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, Black Sea, Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia.
The regions of Türkiye can be ranked from low to high above sea level as follows:
Marmara Region: 100–200 meters
Aegean Region: 200–300 meters
Mediterranean Region: 200–400 meters
Black Sea Region: 500–1000 meters
Southeastern Anatolia Region: 500–1500 meters
Central Anatolia Region: 900–1100 meters
Eastern Anatolia Region: 1500–2000 meters
World Physical Map
When you look at the physical map of the world, Europe and Australia are the continents with average elevations closest to sea level; they are followed by Africa, South America, North America, Asia and Antarctica with the highest elevations.
The world's continents can be ranked from lowest to highest above sea level as follows:
Europe: Medium elevation of 200-300 meters with wide plains and mountainous regions.
Australia: Generally relatively low, with some high points at an average elevation of 300-500 meters .
Africa: Large deserts and plains, as well as the high plateaus of East Africa, with an average elevation of 300-600 meters .
North America: High mountains such as the Rocky Mountains and wide plains, with an average elevation of 500-1000 meters .
South America: The Amazon plains are very low, with an elevation of between 400 and 1500 meters , along with the Andes Mountains to the west.
Asia: Very high elevations ranging from 500-2000+ meters , with some of the world's highest areas such as the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau.
Antarctica: Very high elevation of 2000-3000+ meters with high plateaus and mountains under ice sheets.
