The ArcGIS Experience

It comes as little surprise that the program used by the United States Geological Survey to create map-centric maps, is a complex program. Just as Professor Shin explained, ArcGIS has a steep learning curve, and I am thankful I was not the guy who shows up at his office frustrated to tears. Although there were some parts where I was tempted to shed a few frustration tears, I was able to do without. I can liken my first experience with ArcGIS to trying to edit a photo in Photoshop with absolutely no tutorial. A program as advanced as ArcGIS is inevitable complex, but with good reason.

ArcGIS is a map-centric interface that is far more involved that my previous maps software experience with Google's "My Maps" user-centric interface. ArcGIS is, as previously stated, a map-centric software. Map-centric maps cannot be editted by the general public for the general public like Google Maps, thus increasing the the validity of ArcGIS maps. ArcGIS, too, is a more professional system of surveying land and categorizing regions. The devices that were used just in this lab show the power ArcGIS has. The system allows the user to gather pertinent information like what schools, residences and businesses are within the noise contour of an airport. It also allowed the user to understand population densities and even create a new route to and from an Airport.

ArgGIS is a professional system that is trusted in the geographic community. Besides the dificulty trying to remote access a PC through a MAC computer, the only real pitfall is the program's complexity. With the utility of the ArcTutorial, however, the program was explained to the point where a person who is not very technologically savvy, such as myself, was able to create maps and graphics of regions. Even though the program requires a decent amount of trial and error, it is still user friendly.

After this lab, I feel comfortable with ArcGIS. It only required a few journeys through the ArcTutorial for me to understand the uses of ArcGIS and how they pertained to Geography 7. Unfortunately, there were still a couple areas that my computer would simply not let me preform. The two areas that caused confusion came with the population density and the last red box that was to cover the airport area on the county map. Besides those two struggles, my experience with ArcGIS was successful and has given me a greater knowledge and appreciation of geographic systems.

Neogeography Mash-up

With the utility of Google Maps, the hometowns for each defensive player on the San Diego Chargers can be viewed on this mash-up. View the actual "Where Are the Chargers From" mashup here.

Neogeography, which literally means new geography, is defined as a commonly applied usage of geographic tools and techniques used for personal and community services or for utilization by a non expert group of users. GIS, or Graphic Information Systems, has been used professionally as the mainframe for the United States government's mapping industry. USGS topographic maps are used professionally for reference.

Neogeography, however, has opened the doors to the public. Neogeographic maps, such as Google Maps have moved maps into the public sector. Now it is possible for civilians and amateurs to use maps for personal interests. Neogeography mash-ups do bring controversy, however. Problems such as accuracy arise. Since the vast majority of mash-up users are amateurs the validity of certain maps can come into question. USGS maps are classified as map-centric which means they are used strictly for geographic information. Mash-ups, however, are user-centric which means anyone and everyone can create a map for personal interests. For my example, there is no governing source to see if the towns listed are in fact actually accurate.

Neogeography is relatively new and is quite useful. Though it is not necessarily on the professional standard, its uses can even be more practical than USGS maps in many cases. Neogeography is still budding and making its technological advances. Thus, making new mapping techniques more user friendly.

Quadrangle- Beverly Hills

1. What is the name of the quadrangle?

Beverly Hills Quadrangle

2. What are the names of the adjacent quadrangles?

Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, and Inglewood.

3. When was the quadrangle first created?

1966

4. What datum was used to create your map?

North American Datum of 1927 and North American Datum of 1983

5. What is the scale of the map?

1:24,000

6. At the above scale, answer the following:

a) 5 centimeters on the map is equivalent to how many meters on the ground?

1200 m

b) 5 inches on the map is equivalent to how many miles on the ground?

1.89 mi

c) one mile on the ground is equivalent to how many inches on the map?

2.64 in

d) three kilometers on the ground is equivalent to how many centimeters on the map?

12.5 cm

7. What is the contour interval on your map?

20 ft

8. What are the approximate geographic coordinates in both degrees/minutes/seconds and decimal degrees of:

a) the Public Affairs Building; Lat- 34 deg 4'24" N (34.073 deg N) Lon- 118 deg 25'52" W (118.065 deg W)

b) the tip of Santa Monica pier; Lat- 34 deg 0'30" N (34.0083 deg N) Lon- 118 deg 29'50" W (118.5251 W)

c) the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir; Lat- 34 deg 7'10" N (34.0091 deg N) Lon- 118 deg 24'28" (118.4178 W)

9. What is the approximate elevation in both feet and meters of:

a) Greystone Mansion (in Greystone Park); 581 ft/177 m

b) Woodlawn Cemetery; 98 ft/ 30 m

c) Crestwood Hills Park; 636 ft/ 194 ft

10. What is the UTM zone of the map? UTM Zone 11

11. What are the UTM coordinates for the lower left corner of your map? 3763 and 362

12. How many square meters are contained within each cell (square) of the UTM gridlines? 1,000,000 square meters

13. Obtain elevation measurements, from west to east along the UTM northing 3771000, where the eastings of the

UTM grid intersect the northing. Create an elevation profile using these measurements in Excel (hint: create a line

chart). Figure out how to label the elevation values to the two measurements on campus. Insert your elevation profile as a graphic in your blog.

.

14. What is the magnetic declination of the map?

14 degrees East

15. In which direction does water flow in the intermittent stream between the 405 freeway and Stone Canyon

Reservoir?

North to South

16. Crop out (i.e., cut and paste) UCLA from the map and include it as a graphic on your blog.

Station Fire Map

This map shows the affected areas of the California Station Fire only a few days after it first started. The image was mapped by the USDA Forest Service MODIS Active Fire Mapping System. The enormous smoke cloud that the fire emitted was visible from almost any spot in the Southern California area. This map helps visualize just how far the fire reached and what was causing the enormous smoke cloud that was visible from space.

McDonald's Across America

This map shows all of the 13,000 McDonald's fast food restaurants in the Continental United States. This map was created by Stephen Von Worley at weathersealed.com. Each light represents one McDonald's restaurant and the glowing area shows the client base each one reaches. According to the map, the farthest point anyone in the United States could be away from a McDonald's is 150 miles. Another interesting aspect of the map is you can clearly see the outline of the United States, you can clearly identify where the major cities are, and even identify heavily travelled roads, because of the density of the lights.

Orange County Surf Spots

This map represents some of the highest rated surf spots along the Orange County coastline. This surf-spot map comes from thesurfingsite.com which is a site devoted to spreading the knowledge of surfing to beginners. The convenience of this map is the fact that it shows where the surf-spots are located. The names of surf spots are rarely the actual beach name, so a map that shows the surf-spot's names is really convenient for the surf enthusiast.