Computer storage of contour-map data

Contour maps have many engineering applications. Besides the common use of contour maps to represent elevation of a geographic region, they are frequently used to represent different types of weather information. Examples are isobars to connect points of equal pressure and isotherms to connect points of equal temperature in a geographic region. An example of using a contour map to represent a variable that is a function of something other than geographic position is a plot of equalloudness curves as a function of intensity and frequency of an audible tone. Contour maps are also used to represent data defined by an equation. In such cases the contour map facilitates visualization of the data. An example of this is a plot of the equipotential lines around an electric dipole.