1. parallel lines drawn close together on maps to show slopes and elevations of hills and mountains
Usage: cartography; technical

Examples

• The topographic map used hachures to indicate the steep mountainside.
• Cartographers drew hachures perpendicular to contour lines to show slope direction.
• The closer together the hachures, the steeper the terrain appears on the map.
• Modern maps often use shading instead of traditional hachures for elevation.
• Students learned to read hachures to identify valleys and ridges on the survey map.
• The 19th-century military map featured detailed hachures marking every hill.