%0 Journal Article
%T Chasing the line: Hutton¡¯s contribution to the invention of contours
%A K. Rann
%A R. S. Johnson
%J Journal of Maps
%D 2019
%R https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2019.1582439
%X ABSTRACT This article describes one aspect of the history, invention and use of contour lines. We present a case that Charles Hutton ¨C working for the Greenwich Royal Observatory ¨C might have created one of the first accurate and useful contour maps, based on a survey of Schiehallion in Perthshire, Scotland. Hutton¡¯s description of this map and his calculations (used to determine the density of the Earth) were published by the Royal Society in 1778. The map is missing; however, this paper provides all the information, based on the surveyors¡¯ measurements, to create a fairly accurate contour map of Schiehallion. Our collaboration, between mathematician and artist, led to a visual reinterpretation of the data based on the original calculations in Hutton¡¯s paper, and his other maps. In this article, we document our re-creation of the map of Schiehallion and subsequent and corresponding three-dimensional contour models of the mountain
%U https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17445647.2019.1582439