Look for hills, valleys, rocks, and clues left by glaciers. A topographic map uses contour lines to show the shape of the land.
Showing 7 of 7 resources
statewide · 2000s
Study the sand, gravel, and other materials near the ground surface.
Where might moving ice have left different materials?
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
statewide · 2000s
A shaded relief layer makes high and low land easier to spot.
How does western Massachusetts look different from Cape Cod?
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
statewide · 1900s
Explore older coastal maps alongside present-day map layers.
What has changed along the same shoreline?
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
regional · 2000s
Follow trails and elevation clues around Massachusetts’ highest mountain.
Which route climbs most directly toward the summit?
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
Vineyard · 1900s
Read contour lines, settlements, roads, and water on an island topographic map.
Where are the hills and where is the land flatter?
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
statewide · 1800s
Compare colored rock regions in a nineteenth-century geology map.
Do rock boundaries follow town boundaries?
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
Choose a Massachusetts location and compare topographic map editions.
What changed between the oldest and newest editions?
Open the official map resource ↗Sources checked September 23, 2026. Open the source for current programs, hours, access, and map updates. Historical maps may contain outdated language or incomplete representations of Native homelands.