Hypsometry

Hypsometry is the measurement and analysis of land elevations, especially the distribution of elevations across a region. It describes how much area lies above or below specified elevations.

Hypsometric curve: A graph showing the fraction of a region’s area lying above each elevation. It turns the region’s elevation distribution into a curve that can be compared across landscapes.
Drainage basin: An area of land from which water drains to a common outlet. Basin-wide hypsometry relates relief distribution to the form and development of a drainage system.
Topographic relief: The difference in elevation between high and low points in a landscape. Relief measures an elevation range, whereas hypsometry describes how area is distributed through that range.
Himalayas: A mountain range in Asia containing the world’s highest peaks. Its high-relief terrain provides a distinct regional elevation distribution.
Digital elevation model: A digital representation of ground-surface elevations arranged as a grid or other spatial data structure. It supplies the elevation values from which regional distributions are calculated.
Geomorphology: The study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Hypsometry is used to describe and compare landscape form within geomorphology.
Bathymetry: The measurement and mapping of underwater depths. Bathymetry concerns depth below water surfaces rather than land elevation above a datum.
Mississippi River basin: The drainage basin of the Mississippi River and its tributaries in North America. Its vast basin illustrates hypsometry across a broad, varied drainage region.
Contour line: A map line connecting points of equal elevation. Contours show the elevation structure that hypsometric measurements summarize.
Erosion: The removal and transport of soil or rock by water, wind, ice, or gravity. Erosion reshapes relief and can alter a region’s elevation distribution.

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