Final Project

LA County DEM Elevation Model

Zoom to Station Fire Area

The Station Fire is a very interesting natural phenomena, which presumably gained mass attention by its close proximity to one of our nations largest urban areas, Los Angeles. The fire was located just Northeast of the urban area of LA. The fire was a brush/shrub fire, and was primarily found to be in the mountains and hills, where fires flourish due to the changing altitudes. Lucky for us, LA is a very important area, and has multiple GIS databases available to the public.

The first two maps shown here depict the steep rise in elevation from the urban area of LA county to the mountain area. I included the full extent of LA county to illustrate the dramatic rise of the mountains in comparison to the flatter area. The zoomed in extent focuses on the area where the Station Fire took place - nestled in the steep mountains. It really is quite impressive just how dramatic the elevation changes are. I figured this would give us a good look at the terrain, aside from the usual 2d feature data.

The third map is a view of the Station Fire and surrounding areas. The blue shape marks the area of the fire as of August 29th, while the lime green shape depicts the fire on the last day of the data: September 2nd. This gives us a good idea of just how fast the fire spread and the amount of area it encompassed. The dull green shape covering most of the map shows the area of National Forest, which is occupied by the fire. There are many different color coded land use areas, displaying data such as cemeteries, to sports complexes. Out of these, the most affected by the fire are the regional parks and gardens. I also included significant ecological areas which are depicted in yellow. Most of these areas are unaffected by the fire, however the smoke and pollution caused by the fire might've caused complication in the areas. Also included on this map are scenic highways, major highways, and hospitals. I created this map to show just what kind of land use areas are directly affected from the Station Fire.

The last map relates directly to recreation. I am a Recreation Management Major so it interests me to see and display what types of recreation areas were affected. Again, in this map we have the two biggest differences in fire size, the areas of the fire on the first day and last day of the data. I have included Parks and Recreation trails on the map, some of which pass directly through the fire area. Trail access points are also shown as dots in lime green. A master bike plan of 2012 is included with trails in bright blue, and might be used to tell differences in appearance and vegetation as corresponded on the map. I have vaguely included rivers and bodies of water, as some people may frequent these areas without using a documented trail or road. Again, I have included the scenic highway due to the fact that many people use their recreation and leisure time to go sightseeing and exploring. I am sure the locations shown in the map have been less frequented in recreational pursuits due to the Station Fire. Recreation is a growing industry in business and importance, and I thought it was a great idea to illustrate just how the fire has impacted recreation in the area.

There are many more patterns and trends that one could show with the data provided. I'm sure a more complex picture could be shown with increased knowledge of ArcMap and ArcScene. It will certainly be interesting to learn about such techniques in further GIS classes. However, this project is a great way to practice data comprehension, ArcMap skills, and creativity. As a future GIS geographer, I'm sure I will be completing many more projects similar to this.

Complimentary video of Station Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD-DgvO_9-0

References

(2013) Los Angeles County GIS Data Portal, Retrieved                                                                                 from:http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/

All Station Fire Perimeters (as of September 2, 07:02) – Complete set. (2 September 2009) Angeles             County Enterprise GIS, Retrieved                                                                                                             from: http://egis3.lacounty.gov/eGIS/2009/09/02/all-station-fire-perimiters-as-of-september-2-                 0702-complete-ste/

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. (2012) 2012 County of Los Angeles Bicycle Master      Plan. Department of Public Works, Retrieved                                                                                            from:http://dpw.lacounty.gov/general/spatiallibrary/metadata.cfm?                                                            path=BikeMasterPlanMeta.htm&zip=BikePlan.zip

Los Angeles County Major Parks. (2006) Mapshare: UCLA's Spatial Data Repository, Retrieved from:       http://gis.ats.ucla.edu//Mapshare/Default.cfm

National Forest. (13 November 2012) Angeles County GIS Data Portal,                     Retrieved from:         http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/2012/11/13/national-forest/

Station Fire 2009 Big Tujunga Canyon [Video File]. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?       v=sD-DgvO_9-0

Lab #6

The first map, "Contiguous U.S. Black Population Map" is a simple map constructed of four different classes of population. This map has a North America Lambert Conformal Conic coordinate system. It shows the black population across the contiguous United States. The second map "Population in 2000 in Contiguous United States" is a general population map. This  map has 6 classes of population and has the same coordinate system as the Black Population map. The map "Some Other Race Alone Population" sports a NAD 1983 coordinate system and five classes of population. The race of this map is unknown, however it seems to be Hispanic. The final map "Asian Population in Alaska and Contiguous United States" boasts an Alaska Albert Equal Area Conic coordinate system and has four classes of population. I did not include a direction arrow due to the position the projection placed the data in. This was a very worthwhile exercise, and I can now use the skills learned to produce other population or density maps. I have a much better understanding of how to use ArcMap than I started with, and this serves as a great foundation to continue further projects. GIS is a very useful resource, and I have learned how it can be used (and is used) in many more applications than I previously thought. The world of GIS is absolutely immense. GIS can be a very powerful tool and extremely helpful if used in the right context.

Lab #5

Lab #5

The area I selected was Mt. Rainier. I tried to get the data for Mt. Edgecumbe (the volcano in my home town), Mt. McKinley, Mt. Baker but it wasn't working out so I resorted to Mt. Rainier. I wanted to get a mountain, so that I could see the elevation difference. The left extent is: -122.0016666667, top extent: 47.0016666666641, bottom extent: 45.99833333333, and right extent: -120.998333333366. The geographic coordinate system for this map is: GCS_North_American_1983. I found this assignment pretty interesting due to the different maps we had to make, especially the shaded relief and 3D map. 

Lab Assignment #4 Projections

Map projections are confusing by nature. Before this class I did not realize that all the maps I had seen up until this point in my life have just been projections - and not completely accurate. Before knowing this, I would've thought that all standard maps are the same, they are just different in terms of point of focus. Realizing that there are many different projections adds an interesting step to the mapping process. Most of the time it seems like we aren't even sure (or don't spend the time to find out) what map projection we are actually using.

It is definitely apparent that different map projections are used to dramatize specific areas. This is why there are map projections for specific countries and regions. Some map projections are so far out there it makes other countries look ridiculously small or large {see the Africa Lambert Conformal Conic Projection). Other projections appear to be somewhat 3D, but remain 2D (US National Atlas Equal Area Projection). It is clearly evident that the most important country/area displayed in a projection (Africa, US, etc..) is shown in the middle of the map - probably because that is the eye's main point of focus.

When fiddling through the different ways to measure, it was apparent that the distance fluctuated greatly. However when I changed the graticule from about 2,3 to 30,30 it didn't change the distance at all. My guess to this would be changing the graticules doesn't change the projection, it just changes the size of the map? Therefore the distance would remain the same.

Similar to my experience, it is easy to form a misconception by looking at a single projection for a long period of time, without the knowledge that there are different projections. This may cause confusion about the nature of new projections. Indeed, some are pretty ridiculous, one in particular is the Bonne projection shown above. One wouldn't normally think of the world in a heart shape, nor care to view a map this way. But this is just one way someone (I'm assuming Bonne) chose to view the 3D world in 2D.

ArcMap Tutorial

This was my first in depth experience with ArcMap and it was challenging to say the least. At first, I was really excited to be working with ArcMap. It is an extremely useful tool, however it is intricate and somewhat tedious. I would say the hardest part for me was not ArcMap itself, but navigating through Virtual Labs and using a USB drive from home. The trickiest part is saving your map in same location as the data, due to the fact that if you don't, your map will come up pretty empty. This doesn't seem like a very difficult thing to do, but when you are using NetStorage and a USB drive, it can be quite confusing.

Perhaps it is because I am new to ArcMap, but it seems like one must do a thousand things to get the desired result - for instance a new road. Naturally, tutorials are confusing, however it felt like a lot of prep work had to be done to add a new feature or display data correctly. It was also confusing to be working with a tutorial for an older version of ArcMap, and more than once I had to look up on the internet how the differences played out. My skills with ArcMap are a work in progress, but I can see where there might disadvantage with having software that is not-so user friendly.

As stated in one of the readings provided for this class, privacy is a huge issue with GIS. With so much mapping technology and images available, one can wonder to what extent is my privacy inflicted upon? Or is it? Although GIS has been around for a little while now, and most companies and agencies use it, being able to map out trends and habits of people can seem to be an unfair disadvantage. Today, populations are being mapped out due to habits, opinions, and personal information. Maybe you don't want to be a part of that population being mapped out? Unless you're willing to do the research and digging to find such maps, you probably will never know how much of a statistic you are.

Another downfall to GIS is the ever evolving technology it uses. This can cost thousands for businesses to train and retrain their employees, but also a hassle for the employees themselves. Although the evolution can be positive, it can also be negative in this aspect. You may learn one version of a program and get to be fluent with it, and then have a new version come out that is mandatory to your line of work. Hopefully, the software and programs have base similarities, so it is not hard to learn new software.

Now that I have gotten my feet wet with ArcMap, it will be interesting to see what other perspectives and visions are possible to create.

Lab Three Assignment

Here is the link to My Map.

http://goo.gl/maps/DI8Ei

Like we discussed in class, maps are definitely opinionated and biased. Neogeography takes this bias to a whole different level. Because there are no rules or written guidelines for Neogeographers to follow, their maps can be completely personal, and may not assist others in what they are trying to find. This makes Neogeography not as trustworthy as say Rand McNally for instance. Its as simple as this: would you rather use a vacation guide published by Rand McNally, or a unpublished stranger's My Map from Google to guide your vacation, that ultimately might not be correct or portray what you want to see?

Neogeography is very creative, I will give it that. It is also very individualized and personal. It seems that its use is directed towards for example: sharing your My Maps with your friends after a backpacking trip in Europe to show them where you have gone. However, maybe it is only a matter of time before Neogeograpy blows up and more popular and accurate.

Maps that involve pictures and videos may also be deceiving towards those hoping to see the same thing. As the earth's surface is constantly evolving and changing, it is a good bet that you are not going to see the same portrait you saw in 1950 that you are seeing now. This can cause problems for those that rely solely on Neogeography for their navigation across the globe.

Assignment One

Assignment One




http://www.pbs.org/harriman/century/gazette.html

This is a map showing the estimates of bear population between the years 1986 and 1992. I obtained this map through pbs.org. The map was part of a moderately sized basic overview of Alaska. The map shows all of Alaska (and a little bit of Canada and Russia) and is color coded by the populations of brown bears across the state. The heaviest density of brown bears are found in Southeast Alaska, Kodiak Island, and the Alaska Peninsula. Most of the brown bears are concentrated in the southern parts of Alaska. This map is interesting to me because I am from Southeast Alaska and we have a very high concentration of brown bears. We are always on the look out for these bears, because run-ins have been dangerous and somewhat frequent.




 

http://www.oregonwild.org/about/blog/sharing-the-siuslaw-with-the-tongass



This map shows the range of the Tongass National Rainforest. This map originated from an Oregon visitation website, which provides information on Oregon. Since, the Tongass National Rainforest is not part of Oregon, I believe it is on the site to provide comparative value. The map describes the area and range of the TNR, which spans from Northern Southeast Alaska to Southern Southeast Alaska. The map also indicates major cities and towns that fall within the rainforest's boundary. This map is especially interesting to me because I live right in the middle of the TNR in Sitka. This rainforest is my favorite place on earth (thus far) and is remarkably beautiful.

http://science.kqed.org/quest/2012/03/16/gigantic-journey-humpback-migration/

This map is found on the National Science Foundation website titled "Quest." This map depicts the migration habits of humpback whales. The map shows that during the summer, the whales are found in colder waters near Russia, Alaska, Canada and the West coast of the U.S. During the winter, the whales migrate and can be found in Southeast Asia, Hawaii, and off the West coast of Mexico. It is neatly shown that the whales tend to migrate to the closest warmest waters, yet there are some that make longer treks. This map is interesting to me because living in Southeast Alaska, we see humpback whales frequently. It is astounding that they travel such far distances twice a year.