The topography of the land is interesting for many reasons. For meteorologists, elevation influences temperature, and the slope of the land can make the difference between rising air and clouds, or sinking air and clear skies.

If you're interested in some excellent topographic maps, check out this web site which maintains a Color Landform Atlas of the United States:

fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/states.html

At this site, maintained by Johns Hopkins University, you'll find color-coded relief maps of all the states, and also specialized maps such as this view of Chesapeake Bay and vicinity. You'll also find satellite images that show landforms and vegetation patterns, and some old-time maps from more than 100 years ago.