Topography affects the rate of weathering because if you have rough steep slopes, there is more area expose to rain, wind… Therefore, because of what we have learned from surface area, we know that steeper slopes with weather faster than a flat area. Topographic maps as a way to visualize the surface of the Earth. Topographic maps show the three-dimensional shape of the landscape by representing equal elevation with lines on a two-dimensional map; they are in essence a type of contour map (also used in meteorology and oceanography).