As we gear up for the Sheltowee Trace topographic map, I thought it would be interesting to see if a complete 3d map of the ST could be printed. Unfortunately, it would have to be a huge sheet of paper to get the detail necessary for a good map. But as an online viewer, I see potential. This sample is a raw render output and you can see well the basic physiography. Now we just need to add trails, transportation, labels, etc….nothing too much, just about 6,000 sq. mi. for the Daniel Boone NF.
Explore this map through a zoomable flash map
(raw) 3D map of Eastern Kentucky
April 16th, 2009New Red River Gorge Map
April 16th, 2009
5th Edition Red River Gorge Backpacking Map
It’s almost ready for release!
A complete remake of our popular backpacking guide with the green maps. This new set keeps all of the great features of the old maps, but in full-color and updated trails and data.
Visit our Gorge webpage to learn more: http://www.outrageGIS.com/gorge
In January we looked at the previous editions, all 2-color with an travel elevation profile booklet, and thought how we could improve it. We had used aerial photography to show landcover type, which did a good job indicating density of canopy, open areas, sunlight, and offered a rustic green background for our GPS trails.
However, most people are confused when they look at aerial photographs…they think hills are valleys and vice versa. This terrain inversion is a significant cartographic problem, but we were confident then when most people *used them in the field* they made sense.
While unique advantages exist using photographs, for the new edition we used a custom created, full-color hillshade that shows forest canopy cover type and open areas. We artificially lit the landscape from the west and eliminated terrain inversion. We added a distinct stream symbol to clearly mark drainage. With 50-foot contours and spot elevations, this new edition offers a handsome way to stay located.
Since most GPS applications are now by default in the latitude/longitude (decimal degrees) coordinate system, we added this graticule to the map. A UTM grid is also labeled. With scales on the corners of maps that can be seen while folded, a hiker can quickly determine distance and locate themselves with a GPS in either dd.dddd or UTM coordinate systems.
We still have all of the trail profiles, side trails, backcountry campsites that were in the previous edition. The new edition actually covers more area and trails.
| Red River Gorge Backpacking Map: $14 |
 |
A Tale of Two Smokies
April 15th, 2009
April 15, 2009. We see two very different Smokies today and the highest peaks in the southern Appalachians provide an atmospheric boundary.
On the west side of the mountains we see low dense stratus clouds, but on the east side we have clear skies. As the atmosphere is uplifted over the the highest ridge of mountains there’s cooling and abundant cloud formation. That’s half the story.
The winds are form the northwest and the Smokies (along the Tennessee/North Carolina stateline) provide the highest barrier the winds must cross over. On the leeward side, as the winds cross over the mountains, they descend, warm, and prevent cloud formation especially just east of the summits.
Link to more: http://pixel.outragegis.com/v/weather_maps/090415_TwoSmokies/
These images and animation show a textbook situation of topographic control of weather, but over a very large area.
Easter Morning Sunrise
April 12th, 2009Weather in the Smokies this spring has been very active. Just last week, Mt. LeConte had 14 inches of snow. This morning the sun rose as a golden fireball that lit the mountain ridges in clear relief. Mt LeConte is the peak at the sun’s 4 o’clock position. Over six inches of snow lingered at the highest elevations for a few days. May has given measurable snowfall.
View from Look Rock
Great Smoky NP caves and mine shafts closed to public
April 3rd, 2009From the National Park’s website
“Contact: Bob Miller, (865) 436-1207
In response to a growing concern about a new malady that has killed an estimated 400,000 bats in the Northeast, managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park have closed all of its caves to public entry until further notice.
According to biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a condition called White-nose Syndrome (WNS) is taking a heavy toll on bats that hibernate in caves and mines in nine states from Virginia north to New Hampshire. WNS is named for a white fungus that shows up on the faces of bats, including the endangered Indiana Bat. The Indiana bat has been recorded in the Park and is among several species of special concern relative to this disease.
The disease causes bats to come out of hibernation severely underweight to the point that they often starve before the insects on which they feed emerge in the spring. Once a colony is infected with the fungus, it spreads rapidly and may kill up to 90% of the bats within that cave in one season.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Wildlife Biologist, Bill Stiver said, “Biologists are still uncertain about the cause of WNS in bats. However, it is believed to be transmitted from bat to bat but also may be inadvertently transported from cave to cave by humans. It has not yet arrived in Tennessee or North Carolina, so we are closing all our caves to reduce the odds of the fungus hitching a ride to our protected caves on a caver coming from a state where it is already established.”
“The Park is closing its caves in response to a recommendation from the Fish and Wildlife Service.” Stiver continued, “That closure advice does not apply to commercial tourist caves, but Fish and Wildlife is planning on working with commercial operators to minimize potential for spread from those sources. There is no known human health risk related to WNS.”
Park managers say that the Smokies has 17 caves and two mine complexes that are now closed under the advisory and that a permit has always been required to enter them. No permits will be issued and violators face fines of up to $5,000 or six months imprisonment.
More information on the disease and this closure is available at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/caves.htm”
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/caves.htm