Pebble Beachin' Tour Guide Neogeography (Week 3)

View Pebble Beach Tour in a larger map

Personally, I think neogeography can be a great tool as it allows anyone the ability to share knowledge of places and things that only they might have with the rest of the world through the creation of maps. I think there is huge potential for neogeography for the benefit of all people as it can instantly turn a tourist into a local or make the newly re-located feel right at home. I personally have used neogeography many times to my advantage when visiting places I have never been so that I can get to the local favorites and skip the tourist traps. I think you can get a much better feel for a new place when you follow what the people who live there see and do everyday instead of just going to the standard crowded tourist attractions. Also, through neogeography, people have the ability to show an area without their "visitor" physically being there. This essentially allows anyone to visit a place virtually if they cannot physically be at the location they desire.

There are, however, definitely some pitfalls and negative consequences of neogeography as well. Since literally anyone has the ability and means to make a map and make it public on the internet, the quality is obviously not going to be consistent. Sometimes peoples' opinions can get in the way of true facts as biases and personal experiences will always be a conflicting factor. Bad maps or maps made by people with very little knowledge of the places and attractions they include may lead people in the wrong direction, and thus giving the "visitor" a bad experience. The ease of making a map will make the sheer quantity of maps available so large that it will become increasingly difficult to find the good ones. Essentially, high quality maps will be diluted with poor ones. Also, for locals who prefer to keep their favorite spots secret, one person can make a map and instantly reveal all the places it took them years to find. In this way, I think that neogeography definitely takes away some of the pride involved with getting to know a place intimately by living there and discovering things on your own or through real life interactions. Neogeography so easily available on the internet makes visiting places less personal; instead of asking someone how to get somewhere or for a tip on where to eat, we now go straight for our computers or cell phones and search the internet.

Beverly Hill Quadrangle, Understanding Maps (Week 2)

1. What is the name of the quadrangle?

Beverly Hills Quadrangle which is located in California

2. What are the names of the adjacent quadrangles?

Canoga park
Van Nuys
Burbank
Topanga
Hollywood
Venice
Inglewood

3. When was the quadrangle first created?

1966

4. What datum was used to create your map?

The datum used to create the Beverly Hills Quadrangle is the North American Datum of 1927 (horizontal datum) and later updated with the North American Datum of 1983. The other datum used was the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (vertical datum).

5. What is the scale of the map?

1 : 24000

6. At the above scale, answer the following:
a) 5 centimeters on the map is equivalent to how many meters on the ground?

1cm = 240 meters -> 5 x 240 = 1200 meters

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

1in. = 2,000 ft. -> 5 x 2,000 = 10,000 ft. -> 10,000ft./5,280ft. = 1.89 Miles

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

1 mile = 5,280 ft. -> 5,280 ft./2,000ft. = 2.64 inches

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

3 kilometers = 3,000 meters -> 3,000/240 meters = 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:

34*04'30"N = N34.075

118*26'33"W = W118.443

b) the tip of Santa Monica pier:

34*00'30"N = N34.008

118*30'00"W = W118.500

c) the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir:

34*06'15"N = N34.104

118*24'41"W = W118.411

9. What is the approximate elevation in both feet and meters of:
a) Greystone Mansion (in Greystong Park)

580ft

176.8m

b)Woodlawn Cemetery

140ft

42.7m

c)Crestwood Hills park

800ft

243.8m

10. What is the UTM zone of the map?

Zone 11

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

Northing 3763000m and Easting 362000m

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

1,000 meters x 1,000 meters = 1,000,000 sq. meters.

13. Obtain elevation measurements, from west to east along the UTM northing 3771000, where the easting of the UTM grid intersect the northing. Create an elevation profile using thse 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?

plus 14 degrees

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

The water flows North to South

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

Map It (Week 1)

This simple map was found on a website called Outside In (http://outside-in.typepad.com/outside_in/2011/12/how-big-is-china.html). It is a map that juxtaposes the outlining border of the United States to that of China's. I find this map very intriguing as everyone seems to say that "China is so big." However, according to the map, China is actually not as big as everyone thinks. I love how this map elucidates this misconception.

I found this map on a website called The Survivalist (http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/interesting-maps-to-consider-when-choosing-a-retreat-location/). Using various colors, this map represents all the gang activity by location within the United States. I find this map interesting, as well as disturbing, to know that the majority of gang activity is predominately located in California. More specifically, the majority of gang activity takes place within Southern California in the Los Angeles region.

One map that I find very interesting was found on a website called FlowingData (http://flowingdata.com/2012/03/28/live-wind-map-shows-flow-patterns/). This map illustrates the speeds, flows, and directions of wind as it moves through the United States. I find this map appealing as it is able to illuminate wind, which is something invisible, in a manner that seems visible. Aesthetically, I like how the wind is depicted as flowing hair, a representation of wind I have never seen before.