Which color represents cultural features on standard maps?

• A. Black
• B. Red
• C. Blue
• D. Green

Answer: (A)

Cultural features, meaning human-made elements like roads, buildings, and boundaries, are drawn in black on standard maps. This color choice provides strong contrast against other colors used for natural features—blue for water, green for vegetation, and brown for contours—so these man-made features stand out clearly and labels remain readable. While water and vegetation have their own conventional colors, and some map series use red for certain features, black is the typical color used to represent cultural features across standard reference maps.