Hypsographic Curve

a curve on rectangular coordinates that shows the distribution of different elevations (on land) and depths (at sea) on the earth. This curve is obtained when the elevations (upward from the beginning of the coordinates) and depths (downward from the beginning of the coordinates) are laid out along the ordinate axis and the areas covered by the designated elevations and depths are laid out along the abscissa (x-axis). The hypsographic curve shows that 80 percent of the earth’s relief belongs to the ocean bottom, the low plains on land and on the continental shelf, and high level surfaces. The part of the curve that reflects the cross section of the ocean bottom is called the bathygraphic curve. The first hypsographic curves were constructed in 1883 by A. de Lapparent and refined in 1933 by E. Kossina. In 1959, V. N. Stepanov recomputed the data for the bathy-graphic curve, which introduced major changes in previous calculations.