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Orienteering Map Symbols

Orienteering maps are highly detailed topographic maps designed specifically for the sport. Understanding map symbols is essential for successful navigation. This guide covers the main symbols you'll encounter.

Map Colors

Orienteering maps use a standardized color scheme:

Color	Meaning
Brown	Landforms - contours, hills, depressions, earthbanks
Blue	Water features - lakes, rivers, streams, marshes
Black	Man-made features - buildings, roads, paths, rocks, cliffs
White	Open runnable forest
Light Green	Slow run forest (light vegetation)
Medium Green	Walk forest (dense vegetation)
Dark Green	Fight/impassable vegetation
Yellow	Open land - fields, clearings
Purple/Magenta	Course markings - start, controls, finish, routes

Landforms (Brown)

Contour Lines: Lines connecting points of equal elevation. Closer lines = steeper terrain
Index Contours: Every 5th contour line, drawn thicker for easier reading
Form Lines: Dashed brown lines showing small terrain features between contours
Depression: Contour with ticks pointing inward (toward lower ground)
Knoll: Small hill shown as a closed contour or dot
Pit: Small depression, shown with ticks pointing inward
Earth Bank: Steep earth slope with barbs on downhill side

Water Features (Blue)

Lake: Solid blue area
Pond: Small solid blue circle
River/Stream: Blue line (thickness varies with size)
Marsh: Horizontal blue lines (walkable) or solid blue stripes (impassable)
Well/Spring: Blue circle

Man-Made Features (Black)

Building: Black rectangle or shape
Road: Black parallel lines (width indicates road type)
Path: Black dashed line
Wall: Black line with dots on one side
Fence: Black line with short perpendicular lines
Power Line: Black line with small circles

Rock Features (Black)

Cliff: Black lines with barbs (barbs point downhill)
Boulder: Black filled triangle
Boulder Field: Area filled with small triangles
Bare Rock: Black dotted area

Course Symbols (Purple/Magenta)

            △ Start: Triangle pointing in the direction of the first control
◯ Control: Circle centered on the control location
◎ Finish: Double circle
— Line: Connecting controls in sequence
Numbers: Control sequence (31, 32, 33...)

        

Map Standards

International orienteering maps follow these standards:

ISOM: International Specification for Orienteering Maps (forest)
ISSprOM: International Specification for Sprint Orienteering Maps (urban)
Scale: Usually 1:10,000 or 1:15,000 (1:4,000 or 1:5,000 for sprint)
Contour Interval: Usually 5 meters (2.5m for sprint)

🎮 Practice Reading Maps!

Apply your map symbol knowledge in our free orienteering simulator.

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