Data obtained from twenty-five topographic maps of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scotland, and Kenya show that the local relief H increases with increasing diameter L of the reference area in a non-linear manner which is well described by log H = f (log L). In fluvially dissected regions, the shape of this curve is mainly controlled by the shape of the longitudinal profiles of interfluves and major valleys. A standardization of the relief curves leads to the identification of the characteristic logarithmic relief/length ratio, here called "characteristic logarithmic slope," for each map. The numerical value of this parameter seems to have an upper limit of about 0.8.--Modified journal