Cumberland Gap, NHP

A simple GPS tool for the phone

September 5, 2022 by cartography Leave a Comment

If you visit this site often, you likely have a favorite map app on your phone. I certainly do and I have installed dozens of apps over the years. Most focus on placing your location as a dot on the map.

The dot

Any map app that shows your location as a dot on the map fosters a dependence on your exact location. We end up saying, "I am here" instead of asking "Where am I?"

To build strong spatial awareness, we should look at the dot after studying the plain map and doing an exercise in terrain association. Can we orient the map (best done with a paper map, folks) so that map north aligns with observed north? Can we then identify features on the map and estimate their distance from us?

These are questions in topograhic map reading. If you carefully observe your environment and compare its representation on the map, you will not need the dot.

When there was no dot

Let’s say the early 1990s. Before that time, we used paper maps. Soon after, handheld GPS units became popular and only showed coordinates for your position and maybe some other location statistics like speed, elevation, distance & bearing to next waypoint. They were often used with a paper map that had a grid (with linear units on a flat space) or a graticule (angular units on a curved space) that helped a user measure their location.

Using coordinates, we looked at the paper map’s margin for marks that pointed you to a general location. To find the exact location, we looked up and asked, "Where am I?" and compared the map with what we saw. We built a mental map of our surroundings. There was no dot.

An app without a dot?

So, we thought we would kick it back to the 90s and make a browser app that mimics these early devices. Because our maps have detailed graticules and mile markers for the Sheltowee Trace, this app should compliment your journey into topography and map reading. This app is designed for mobile devices and below is a screen capture of a use on an iPhone.

Screen Capture of control panel

GPS app can be loaded here: https://outrageGIS.com/gps

This app is free, open source, doesn’t need to be installed, and won’t collect any information from you.

Happy adventures!

Filed Under: All Hikes, Big South Fork, NRRA, Cave Run Lake, DBNF, Cumberland Gap, NHP, homepage, Maps, News, Red River Gorge, Sheltowee Trace

New images and data from GOES-16

December 29, 2018 by cartography Leave a Comment

Visit the page to view and download imagery

Over Christmas break, it was time to automate collecting and displaying the incredibly detailed imagery from the GOES-16 Advanced Baseline Imager. A problem that plagued previous efforts was not accessing the raw data, a netCDF formatted file for the contiguous U.S. which can be downloaded freely from a variety of cloud data hosts. With the raw data, one can project, modify and use it in web mapping libraries like Leaflet.

This page offers a slippy map of grayscale and color imagery and is updated every 15 minutes. You can download GeoTIFFs of rendered layers that can be used in GIS applications.

Filed Under: Big South Fork, NRRA, Cave Run Lake, DBNF, Cumberland Gap, NHP, Free Maps, Great Smoky Mountains, homepage, Maps, News, Red River Gorge, Sheltowee Trace, Weather

Maps at the Woodland Art Fair, August 19-20

August 18, 2017 by cartography Leave a Comment

2016 Cumberland Gap trail map, hiking information

2016 Cumberland Gap trail mapÂ andÂ hiking information

The update to our Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is now available. Much like the old map, our 2017 version is aÂ 1 inch to 1/2 mile scale mapÂ withÂ 50-foot contours, trail elevation profiles, and Â GPS-mapped trails shown in vivid full-color printing. This year we addedÂ a layer that shows the density ofÂ canopy coverage and GPS-mapped Caldwell Gap Trail.Â TheÂ size of the park has increased since our last update, so we’ve included most of the additional land.

Gap weather page using Dark Sky weather data

Weather Station

We also have updated our weather page for the high mountain elevations for Cumberland Gap using hourly forecast information and time-lapse satellite photography. This will help plan your latest adventure to unique mountain environment of Cumberland Gap. You can find the weather station here: https://outrageGIS.com/weather/gap.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cumberland Gap, NHP, homepage, News

Cumberland Gap weather station

August 10, 2017 by cartography Leave a Comment

Gap weather page using Dark Sky weather data

We’ve updated our Cumberland Gap National Historical Park weather station! With the release of our 2017 trail map for the Gap, we decided to go in a new direction for our weather station. Our stations for the Daniel Boone and Great Smokies pull data and images from the National Weather Service. We then use ImageMagick and other UNIXÂ utilities toÂ process the data. It is kinda old-school, but it has worked well for years.

With the Gap weather station, we decided to go with theÂ Dark Sky team. They made a big impact a few years ago with their weather maps so we decided to try theirÂ extremely detailed point location forecast data.Their API is well documented and we use mostly Javascript to build the weather page. We focused on weather conditions at the top of theÂ mountain since the park has over 2000 vertical feet of elevation relief. We couldn’t the same detail from the NWS. As we explore the mountains we’ll compare the relative advantages of both of these data sources.

You can find the mountain top weather page here: https://outrageGIS.com/weather/gap

Filed Under: Cumberland Gap, NHP, homepage, News, Weather

Cumberland Gap NHP interactive map

November 22, 2016 by cartography Leave a Comment

Interactive 3d map using Leaflet

A bird’s eye view map of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park created in conjunction with our 2016 new release of the park map. This map is not georeferenced to real-world coordinates and uses a javascript mapping library, Leaflet, to generate the interactivity. We think of the developing project as aÂ gateway for multimedia about the park’s environment and history that we want to share.

https://outrageGIS.com/gap/3d

Filed Under: Cumberland Gap, NHP, homepage, News, Pine Mountain, Weather

Cumberland Gap trail map at Woodland Art Fair, August 20-21

August 17, 2016 by cartography Leave a Comment

2016 Cumberland Gap trail mapÂ andÂ hiking information

The update to our Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is almost complete. Much like the old map, our 2016 version is aÂ 1 inch to 1/2 mile scale mapÂ withÂ 50-foot contours, trail elevation profiles, and Â GPS-mapped trails shown in vivid full-color printing. This year we addedÂ a layer that shows density ofÂ canopy coverage and GPS-mapped Caldwell Gap Trail.Â TheÂ size of the park has increased since our last update, so we’ve included most of the additional land. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cumberland Gap, NHP, homepage, News

Audio driving tour on SoundCloud

June 28, 2016 by cartography Leave a Comment

Listen to audio

We’ve added our audio driving tour for Cumberland Gap and Pine Mountain to SoundCloud. This self-guided tourÂ will show youÂ over ancient buffalo traces and Native American trails that frontier settlers cut into roads seeking the fertile lands of Kentucky. You will walk through Cumberland Gap where the Wilderness Road and the Warrior’s Path meet and look out upon America’s First Frontier. Along the Kingdom Come Scenic Parkway, you will hear the rushing headwaters of the mighty Cumberland River.

https://soundcloud.com/boydx

Download audio and maps:Â http://www.firstfrontier.org/tour/FirstFrontier-Audio196kbps.zip

Filed Under: Cumberland Gap, NHP, News, Pine Mountain

Pine Mountain Canopy Tour

November 1, 2015 by cartography Leave a Comment

Canopy zipline tour mapping assignment

What wild weekend and mapping task! Boyd ledÂ an undergraduate GIS class at the University of Kentucky and endeavored to map and analyze environmental tourism assets on Pine Mountain. During discussions with Pine Mountain State Resort Park, we discovered a canopy zipline tour, one of the first in the state, was being installed in the park. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cumberland Gap, NHP, Free Maps, homepage, Maps, Pine Mountain

Topography and Hemlock Habitat

February 19, 2015 by cartography Leave a Comment

Elevation range in feet within an area 164-foot square

Sheltered coves and north-facing cliffs are hemlock habitats in Eastern Kentucky. This map shows range of elevation change within a 164-foot square area. Red areas indicate the highest relief, which are mountain slopes in the coal fields, and cliffs along the Pottsville Escarpment and Pine and Cumberland Mountains fault. Since most cliff is sandstone, areas indicated as cliffs would presumably have sandy soils, which is a conditionÂ for other evergreen species habitats, e.g., mountain laurel and rhododendron.

This is first-run test. Further analysis would includeÂ adding aspect, evergreen canopy cover, and soils to better refine predicting hemlock habitat.

Filed Under: Cumberland Gap, NHP, Maps, News, Pine Mountain, Red River Gorge, Sheltowee Trace, Weather

Kentucky transitions into fall

November 17, 2013 by cartography Leave a Comment

MODIS images of changing seasons in Kentucky, 2013

These satellite images are from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on two satellites, Aqua and Terra. MODIS captures 36 electromagnetic wavelength bands to measure atmospheric water vapor, ozone, aerosols, land fire, surface temperature, and many other important variables of global climate. These images are visible light and clearly show the change in deciduous canopy cover within roughly a month of time. Spatial resolutions are between 250 m to 1 km.

Filed Under: Big South Fork, NRRA, Cave Run Lake, DBNF, Cumberland Gap, NHP, Great Smoky Mountains, News, NP, Pine Mountain, Red River Gorge, Sheltowee Trace, Weather

El Niño to make the mountains colder and drier this winter

October 18, 2009 by cartography Leave a Comment

Predicting climate in the old days relied upon observing cues in nature. The Farmersâ€™ Almanac finds that people looked at woolly worms in late summer in get a sense of winter. The more black hairs on the worm, the colder and wetter the winter. Of course woolly worms come in all configurations of black and orange colorings so how could a worm’s coat predict winter? It can as an analogy;Â you look at the forecast to decide which coat you’re going to wear before leaving home. I think you would want to wear a black coat as opposed to a white coat on a very cold and sunny day to maximize the amount of solar energy you could absorb. Woolly worms just plan far ahead.

Today we track global changes in wind patterns and sea surface temperatures to predict weather conditions. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has issued a climate forecast for this winter based on the El NiÃ±o pattern emerging in the Pacific Ocean.

Below are winter predictions for the U.S. indicating greater or lesser chances for departures in average winter temperatures and precipitation.

El NiÃ±o is a departure from average sea surface temperatures created by a change in the intensity and direction of equatorial winds. In a normal period, strong easterly trade winds blow across the Pacific and upwell cold, nutrient rich waters on the west coast of South America. These same winds also pile up water in the western Pacific so that the sea surface is about 2 feet higher at Indonesia than at Ecuador.

In an El NiÃ±o cycle, the winds are not as intense and warmer sea surface temperatures extend further to east. This change has a global impact on weather with increased precipitation on the west coast of South America and the south & east coasts of North America. Warmer than normal conditions also occur at higher latitudes in North America and over the Pacific ocean.

El NiÃ±o Sea Surface Temperatures in Â°C

Filed Under: Big South Fork, NRRA, Cave Run Lake, DBNF, Cumberland Gap, NHP, Great Smoky Mountains, News, Red River Gorge, Sheltowee Trace, Weather

Rainy May: on track to be the wettest May ever

May 8, 2009 by cartography

Spring is typically a wet month. However over the past week, Eastern Kentucky has experienced unusual rainfall amounts. The record for the month is 10.78 inches in 2004; and no other year has been above 10 inches for May. The only year that saw over 9 inches of rainfall for May was in 1995. May during 1983 and 1984 were the only times over 7 inches of rainfall.

From the National Weather Service in Jackson, Kentucky:

"2 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY DURING THE
MONTH OF MAY. THIS IS OF INTEREST...SINCE WE ARE ONLY ABOUT ONE
QUARTER OF THE WAY THROUGH THE MONTH. HEAVY RAINFALL IS VERY
POSSIBLE AS WE HEAD INTO MOTHERS DAY WEEKEND AND COULD PUSH RAINFALL
AMOUNTS UP ANOTHER INCH OR TWO.

THE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH OF MAY AT THE JACKSON
WEATHER OFFICE IS 4.92 INCHES. WE HAVE ALL READY RECORDED 4.12
INCHES OF RAINFALL AS OF THIS MORNING AT 7AM. IT IS TOO EARLY TO TELL
...BUT WE ARE CERTAINLY ON TRACK TO HAVE ONE OF THE RAINIEST MAYS
EVER. THE RAINIEST MAY OCCURRED IN 2004 WHEN THE JACKSON WEATHER
OFFICE RECORDED 10.78 INCHES FOR THE MONTH. THIS WAS THE ONLY MONTH
OF MAY THAT OVER TEN INCHES OF RAIN FELL. MAY OF 1995 HAD 9.91
INCHES AND WAS THE ONLY MONTH WITH OVER 9 INCHES RECORDED. THE NEXT
HIGHEST TOTALS WERE OVER 7 INCHES AND THAT OCCURRED IN ONLY TWO
YEARS...1983 AND 1984.

HERE ARE RAINFALL TOTALS FROM EASTERN KENTUCKY COOPERATIVE WEATHER
STATIONS AND AUTOMATED SURFACE OBSERVING SYSTEMS AS OF 7 AM
EDT...FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2009.


LOCATIONÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  /Â Â  COUNTYÂ Â Â Â  /Â Â Â Â  PRECIPITATION


BARBOURVILLEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  KNOXÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.38Â  INCHES
BAXTERÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  HARLANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.85Â  INCHES
BEATTYVILLE 4NÂ Â Â Â Â Â  LEEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.68Â  INCHES
BIG SHELBYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  PIKEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.01Â  INCHES
BOONEVILLE 1SEÂ Â Â Â Â Â  OWSLEYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.49Â  INCHES
BUCKHORN LAKEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â  PERRYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.80Â  INCHES
CARR CREEK LAKEÂ Â Â Â Â  KNOTTÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.73Â  INCHES
CAVE RUN LAKEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â  ROWANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.28Â  INCHES
CLAY CITY 1WNWÂ Â Â Â Â Â  POWELLÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.77Â  INCHES
CLOSPLINT 4ESEÂ Â Â Â Â Â  HARLANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.55Â  INCHES
COLOÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  PULASKIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.98Â  INCHES
CRESSYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  ESTILLÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.59Â  INCHES
DRAFFINÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  PIKEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.54Â  INCHES
EZELÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  MORGANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.31Â  INCHES
GIMLETÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  ELLIOTTÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.60Â  INCHES
HARLAN 1SÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  HARLANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.80Â  INCHES
HARLAN STATE POLICEÂ  HARLANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.95Â  INCHES
HAZARD WATERÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  PERRYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.71Â  INCHES
HAZARDÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  PERRYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.70Â  INCHES
HAZARD STATE POLICEÂ  PERRYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.95Â  INCHES
HEIDELBERG 2NÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â  LEEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.05Â  INCHES
BAXTERÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  HARLANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.85Â  INCHES
INEZ 2EÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  MARTINÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.78Â  INCHES
ISLAND CITYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  OWSLEYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  5.16Â  INCHES
IVELÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  FLOYDÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.27Â  INCHES
NWS JACKSONÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  BREATHITTÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.12Â  INCHES
JEREMIAH 1SÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  LETCHERÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.11Â  INCHES
KINGDOM COME ST PARK HARLANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.12Â  INCHES
LONDON CORBIN APTÂ Â Â  LAURELÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.46Â  INCHES
MONTICELLO 3NEÂ Â Â Â Â Â  WAYNEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.00Â  INCHES
MOUNT STERLING 5NÂ Â Â  MONTGOMERYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.41Â  INCHES
MOUNT VERNONÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  ROCKCASTLEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.77Â  INCHES
ONEIDAÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  CLAYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.54Â  INCHES
PAINTSVILLE 1EÂ Â Â Â Â Â  JOHNSONÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.55Â  INCHES
PIKEVILLE ST POLICEÂ  PIKEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.05Â  INCHES
PRESTONSBURG 3NWÂ Â Â Â  FLOYDÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.09Â  INCHES
QUICKSANDÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  BREATHITTÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.52Â  INCHES
RELIEFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  MORGANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.18Â  INCHES
ROGERSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  WOLFEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.82Â  INCHES
SALYERSVILLEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  MAGOFFINÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.28Â  INCHES
SANDY HOOKÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  ELLIOTTÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.67Â  INCHES
SKYLINEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  LETCHERÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.20Â  INCHES
SLADE 5NEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  POWELLÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.86Â  INCHES
SOMERSET 2NÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  PULASKIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.74Â  INCHES
STANTON 2WÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  POWELLÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.88Â  INCHES
STEARNS 2SÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  MCCREARYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  5.09Â  INCHES
VICTORY 5NWÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  LAURELÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  4.13Â  INCHES
WEST LIBERTY 3NWÂ Â Â Â  MORGANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.67Â  INCHES
WEST LIBERTY 11NWÂ Â Â  MORGANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.57Â  INCHES
WHITESBURGÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  LETCHERÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2.50Â  INCHES
WHITESBURG 2SEÂ Â Â Â Â Â  LETCHERÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3.21Â  INCHES
WILLIAMSBURG 1NWÂ Â Â Â  WHITLEYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  5.14Â  INCHES


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT JACKSON WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE
DEDICATED COOPERATIVE WEATHER OBSERVERS FOR THEIR TIMELY REPORTS."

Filed Under: Big South Fork, NRRA, Cave Run Lake, DBNF, Cumberland Gap, NHP, News, Red River Gorge, Sheltowee Trace, Weather

First Frontier Audio Driving Tour

April 15, 2008 by cartography Leave a Comment

Download and print the two-hour audio driving tour.

What trails will you blaze through this new frontier?

You will travel over ancient buffalo traces and Native American trails that frontier settlers cut into roads seeking the fertile lands of Kentucky. You will walk through Cumberland Gap where the Wilderness Road and the Warrior’s Path meet and look out upon America’s First Frontier. Along the Kingdom Come Scenic Parkway, you will hear the rushing headwaters of the mighty Cumberland River.

Download Hi quality (220 meg)

For adventuresome spirits, the unexplored road lures you to rugged mountain settlements and luxuriant coves of rhododendron blooms. Autumn hues of amber and scarlet sweeten your memories of fall vacations. Springtime stirs enchanting old-time songs and the colors of redbuds and dogwoods in our mountain festivals.

Website

Filed Under: Cumberland Gap, NHP, Free Maps, Maps, Pine Mountain Tagged With: Free Maps

Cumberland Gap Trip Planner

January 20, 2008 by cartography Leave a Comment

Great Backcountry Trips at Cumberland Gap
This webpage with zoomable map shows awesome backcountry trips in color-coded loops, all of which use some segment of the Ridge Trail. Trips are organized as weekend excursions with suggested camping and water access. The map is a simplified version of the full topographic trail guide found here. The full map also contains the useful elevation profiles for trails.

The page also has links to audio about recreation in Cumberland Gap. The audio is part of the free audio driving tour we produced entitled, The First Frontier Audio Driving Tour. The entire tour can be download for free at firstfrontier.org.

Cumberland Gap Trail Guide
Ownership: Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, NPS
Google to trailheads

Cumberland Gap Trail Map: $12

Interactive maps: 3D and 2D

Visit the Cumberland Gap trail planner for your next backcountry trip.

Filed Under: All Hikes, Cumberland Gap, NHP, Hikes: Cumberland Gap, News Tagged With: Hiking Maps