Lab 8

The first map is the total percent of population that is Black. The population becomes more dense as the colors fade from black to white. This map is a clear reflection that the Southern and Eastern part of the United States has a significant black population. The black population seems to be concentrated in one large area that begins in the south and sweeps up the east coast. This interconnectedness of dense black populations shows that the blacks had an original point of origin and have been ever expanding from that point.

The second map is a look at population densities of “some other race alone”. The lightly populated counties are shown in light blue and as the populations get more dense the blues get darker. The high concentrations of “some other race”, which appears to be Hispanic due to location, is like a mirror image of the black population densities. The populations begin in the Southwest and sweep up the west coast. These densities show that these populations have been moving up through Mexico into the United States.

The third map is the population densities of Asians in the United States. The highly dense areas are shown in blue, orange, green, respectively. The populations are the most dense on the west coast but there is no real trend like in the other races. The reason is that Asians did not stem from a single point of origin but rather came to the United Sates in all different places. Thus their population is spread through out the United States.

These maps are a reflection of specific racial populations across the continental United States. The populations are shown through percentages of the total population of the county. Each color reflects a different range of the total percent of that specific population per total population of the county. Using colors to reflect these ranges allows for a simple visual assessment of certain population densities. This analysis can be useful when you are looking to assess population trends. This analysis is only truly possible through the power of GIS. The GIS program has a substantial amount of potential and can be truly useful to anyone who takes the time to learn the program. Also GIS allows the user to explore new elements of maps that are not easily seen unless you are creating them. Learn and exploring with GIS has been a pleasant experience but the program can be very frustrating at times.

Lab 7

Southern California is has a dry climate which in combination with heavy amounts of top layer brush leads to a high risk of wildfire. These wildfires are seen as a “major environmental hazard” and they have hit California hard “costing over 800 million dollars” (5). The extensive damage from these fires arises first from their frequency. California suffers from two kinds of wildfires, natural and unnatural. A natural wildfire can be helpful for the environment, burning away excess plant layers to give way to new life. Unfortunately, these natural wildfires are out weighted by unnatural wildfires caused by humans. Once a fire has begun the geography of California increases the risk of the fire spreading. The dry climate encourages burning and the winds of California spread the fire throughout a large area. The California Station Fire which raged from August 26 to October 16 2009 was a perfect example of the high risk that wildfires have in California. The most serious risk these fires present, as the Station fire did, is the encroachment of the fire into major cities risking the property and more importantly the lives of California citizens.

The Station Fire “forced thousands of evacuations and threatened thousands of structures “ (3) and really spread fear throughout southern California. In reference to the map, cities such as La Crescenta, Altadena, Montrose, Sierra Madre were severely threaten by the fire. As the fire approached these cities there became a greater cause for concern as these cities hold a rather significant population. In addition to the danger of the burning, the air quality in these cities became very poor due to the high amounts of smoke and ash in the air. However, the rapid spread of this fire into these areas is what made the fire so dangerous. This rapid burning had is related to the land cover of the area.

In regards to the aspects of the Station Fire a critical element of analyze is the land cover of California. This land cover analysis can help indentify key areas that are high risk to wildfires (4). The Station Fire took place in a very dry area that had mass to be burned. These perfect conditions for a fire lead to the massive expansion of the fire. The cities that were endangered were located in these conditions of dry land cover which almost in a way guided the fire towards them. The Station Fire presented California with a very dangerous situation and really pushed the issue of wildfire prevention.

California, in response to the danger of the Station Fire and many other wildfires, has created a strong prevention program to help protect the citizens of California. These prevention organizations, such as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, describe the situation ““The ever-increasing number of structures and people in California create an ever-growing need for fire prevention and planning for inevitable fires that will occur in the state.” (2). This same prevention program was in place when during the Station Fire but the fire was so large and spread so quickly there was almost nothing they could do about. Thus the goal of these preventions is not to stop wildfires but learn how to control them effectively so they can preserve lives.

Southern California is always at risk of wildfires and these dangers are something that all citizens should recognize (1). The Station Fire in 2009 served as a reminder to California the serious danger that wildfires impose on communities and lives. The fire, led by near perfect wildfire conditions, swept across Los Angeles County and placed many citizens of major cities in danger. Also these dangers reminded California to focus on its wildfire prevention programs and hopefully someday this large risk of wildfires can be reduced by advancements in wildfire prevention


Sources

1. Asbury, John. "California Fire News." Web log post. "Fire, Flood, Earthquake California Disaster Information". Web. 17 May 2010. .
2. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Web. 17 May 2010. .
3. Einhorn, Harold. “Angry Fire Roars across 100,000 California Acres." CNN. 31 Apr. 2009. Web. 17 May 2010.
4. "Landfire Analysis and Use." Landfire. Web. 17 May 2010. .
5. Wienstein, Josh T. "Global Warming and California Wildfires." Union of Concerned Scientist (2008). Web. 17 May 2010. .

Lab 5: Map Projections

Map projection has become a useful tool in geography because this as allowed people to recreate the spherical shape of the Earth in two dimensions. However, this process is not as simple as it seems. There are many different methods to map projection and each one distorts one aspect of the real world. Based on these distortions, map projections can be classified into three primary groups, conformal, equal area, and equidistant.

Conformal map projections are ones that maintain angular relationships and accurate shapes over small areas. This is important when angular relationships need to be maintained. The two examples used here are the Mercantor and Gall Stereographic. The Mercantor projection severely distorts size as you approach the poles. The Gall Stereographic is an improved version of the Mercantor projection which attempts to correct this distortion.

An equal area projection maintains accurate relative sizes which allows for accurate area calculations. This becomes important for maps that show distributions because the area needs to be accurate. The two examples used here are the Hammer projection and the Cylindrical Equal-Area projection. Both are variations of an equal area projection but are united in that they both preserve the area of the continents.

An equidistant map projection maintain accurate distances from the center of the projection or other points. The two examples here are the equidistant conic and sinusoidal projections. The conic projection has consistent spacement which creates a scale that is the same along all meridians. The sinusoidal projection is accurate across the Equator and the prime meridian.

Lab 4: ArcGIS

ArcGIS is a complex and sophisticated software that appears to have unlimited poetical. In my first encounter with the program, I was overwhelmed at the amount of information that was available. There seemed to be endless tabs and commands which can be a little intimating. However, this complexity is a reflection of the control that exists in ArcGIS. This powerful software allows the user to use what seems like limitless controls to express their ideas. Thus ArcGIS really provides the tools for map makers to express their information in a unique and creative manner.

            Another powerful tool that really reflects the poetical of ArcGIS is the amount of data that can be accesses through the program. ArcGIS has a huge interface that allows for the exchange of large sets of data. This allows map makers to seamlessly interface large data pools with map making devices and thus creating productive and informative maps. However, these devices seem to be extremely complex so I did not get a full chance to see its benefits.         

              These two ideas seem to support the greatest asset of ArcGIS and that is its applicability. ArcGIS has so many different functions that the program really can benefit anyone. The ability to express information clear and coherently on a map can be used to supplement almost any industry. These benefits could be for capital gains, such as mapping out areas of high demand for a product, or environmental, using maps to identify areas of endangered species. These benefits are clear even to a new user of the program.

            It is hard to discuss the pitfalls of ArcGIS because of limited interaction with the program. Most of my frustrations that arose with ArcGIS, probably stemmed from my lack of experience with the software. However, just because ArcGIS is a powerful information system doesn’t mean the material being produced is always factual. Thus the one pitfall I would see in using ArcGIS, is human bias and error. The users interacting with the software can use its powerful imagery to construct diligent maps of USELESS information! ArcGIS is still at the mercy of the user and can only be as productive and useful as the person who is commanding the software. 

Lab 3

My Map

View Gyms and Yoga Studios for UCLA Students in a larger map

Neogeography allows you to share your personal interpretations of the space around you. This allows for unique personalized visions of the same geographical space. These interpretations are easily reflected with the ever expanding neogeopgrahy technology. This new technology has made it both easy and entertaining to create personalized maps. Also these maps have become very engaging which makes for a great learning experience. As the space becomes more and more personalized, or more and more maps are made of the same area, the mapping begins to take on more meaning. The layers of personalized maps add a social interpretation of the geographical space and in construct these maps actually map out as much socially as they do geographically. However, this broad information source does contain some risk and poetical downfalls depending on how the information is interpreted and used.
Neogeography allows for a powerful exchange of ever enhancing personal information. As this information becomes more and more readily available the dangers associated with this exchange become more apparent. Personalized information, such as political alliance or sexual orientation, becomes readily available for a wide array of users. This combined with geographical location means that people can be poetically be targeted and located for extortion and crimes. This introduces the idea of “too much information” in that these maps can be seen as a threat to privacy and sercurity. If this problem is exaggerated to the highest level, than the picture of the infamous Big Brother begins to form. The only way to hedge yourself from this danger is controlling the amount of information you include on your map. The problem truly lies in how the information is used which, unfortunately for us, is almost impossible to control.

Lab 2

1.      1. Beverly Hills Quadrangle

2.      2. Topanga (East),  Hollywood (West),  Van Nuys (North), Venic e (South)

3.      3. The mapping of the United States by the USGS began in 1879.

4.      4.  National Geodetic Vertical  Datum of 1929.

5.      5. 1: 24,000. Representing that one inch on the map is 24,00 inches in real world.

6.      6.

a.       1200 meters

b.      1.89 miles

c.       2.64 inches

d.      125 cm

7.  

7    7. The Contour interval is 20 feet

8.      
8. 

a.                      a. 118° 26’ Longitude and 34° 4’ 30’’ Latitude 

                             i.      118.43° and  34.075°

b.      118° 30’ and 34° 00’ 30’’

                             i.      118.5° and 34.008°

c.       118° 24’ 40’’ and 34° 6’

                             i.      118. 41° and 34.1°

9    9. 

a.       560 feet

b.      40 feet

c.       800 feet

1   10. TM zone 11

1.  11. 3,763,000 feet northing/3,620,000 feet easting.  

     12. 1,000,000 m2 in each UTM square.

     13.     

  

     










  
1    14. The magnetic declination of the map is 14° E

15. The stream between the 405 Fwy. and Stone Canyon Reservoir 

16. 

Week 1 Lab 1

The first map is from benfry.com, another geography blog.  This is a map of the average distance to the nearest road.  The different road densities are highlighted by using different colors. This makes the map not only look good but also very practical. The interesting part about this map is that the longer you look at it, the more conclusions you can draw from it. By highlighting the densities, you can begin to indentify major landmarks across the United States such as cities and national parks. Also this information could be used to draw conclusions about the population across the U.S. which makes this map even more interesting.

 

The next map is a screenshot from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association of real-time flights over North America. Each white dot on the map represents a plane that was en route.  Unlike the map above, this map offers really no ascetic qualities but it is still interesting. Air traffic is not something that usually comes to mind because you can’t really see it. This map offers a quick summary of air traffic and to people who actually know something about air traffic (not me of course), it could be of some use. I think it is interesting to think that there are that many planes in the sky and yet no one really knows they are there.

The last map, which juxtaposes the last two, is the United States Flower Map which (I had no idea) was copy righted in 1911 and actually has some historical significance.  Every state is engraved with an image of their state flower. This map is easily the most beautiful of the three but really has no practical function like the other two. This map cannot be used to draw conclusions about the geography of the United States but that does not mean that it doesn’t serve a purpose. The most interesting part of this map is that it was created as a piece of artwork which exemplifies the multifaceted nature of maps.