There’s a lot more to topographic maps than first meets the eye. Upon inspection, a user can determine the directions which creeks flow, the depth of a water course, how likely a gully is to contain water, and so on. These can all prove useful for navigating along a track, route finding, figuring out good places to camp, collecting water and so on.
Topographic maps convey natural 3D formations in a 2D format and show how other features match to these formations. Topographic maps depict four main types of features:
Landforms: hills, valleys, gullies, ridges…
Water courses: rivers, swamps, coastal…
Vegetation: national parks, farmland, plantations…
Constructed: buildings, roads, property boundaries, political boundaries…