Tuesday, April 24, 2012

My Map: A Europe Trip

Copy and past the link to your browser to view my Interactive Europe Trip Map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=209510638344327995222.0004bde4d184fae086381&msa=0&ll=60.586967,1.669922&spn=24.929166,75.234375


Monday, April 16, 2012

Lab #2: Learning How to Read a Map


What is the name of the quadrangle?
-        Beverly Hills Quadrangle
What are the names of the adjacent quadrangles?
-        1) Canoga Park, 2) Van Nuys, 3) Burbank, 4) Topanga, 5) Hollywood, 7) Venice, 8) Inglewood
When was the quadrangle first created?
-        1995
What datum was used to create your map?
-        The North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27) and the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)
What is the scale of the map
-        1:24 000
At the above scale, answer the following
a.     5 centimeters on the map is equivalent to how many meters on ground?
- 500 meters
b.     5 inches on the map is equivalent to how many miles on the ground?
- 5 x 24,000 = 120,000. 120,000 ÷ 5280 = 22.73 miles
c.     One mile on the ground is equivalent to how many inches on the map?
- 0.22 inches
d.     Three kilometers on the ground is equivalent to how many centimeters on the map?
- 30cm
What is the contour interval on your map?
-        20 feet
What are the approximate geographic coordinates both in degrees/minutes/seconds and decimal degrees of:
e.     The Public Affairs Building: 34°4’30”, 118°26’15”: 34.075, 118.4375
f.      The tip of Santa Monica Pier: 34°0’30”, 118°29’45”;  34.008333, 118.495833
g.     The Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir: 34°7’0”, 118°24’40”; 34.116667, 118.411111
What is the approximate elevation in both feet and meters of:
h.     Greystone Mansion (in Greystone Park): 570 feet, 173.7 meters
i.      Woodlawn Cemetery: 140 feet, 42.7 meters
j.      Crestwood Hills Park: 760 feet, 231.6 meters
What is the UTM zone of the map?
-        Easting 362000 – 373000
-        Northing – 3763000 - 3776000
What are the UTM coordinates for the lower left corner of your map?
- 362000, 3763000
How many square meters are contained within each cell (square) of the UTM gridlines?
1000 x 1000 = 1,000,000 square meters
Obtain elevation measurements, from west to east along the UTM northing 3771000, where the easting of the UTM grid intersects the northing. Create an elevation profile using these measurements in Excel. Figure out how to label the elevation values to the two measurements on campus. Insert your elevation profile as a graphic in your blog.

What is the magnetic declination of the map?
- 14° east
In which direction does water flow in the intermittent stream between the 405 freeway and Stone Canyon Reservoir
- South
Crop out UCLA from the map and include it as a graphic on your blog.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Cool Maps!

 
SSSMOKIN! The Global Tobacco Trade
http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/images/infographics/smoking_big.jpg


This map delineates the trade markets that cigarettes run through. It provides the viewer with a bird's eye view of how such a controversial product is cycled throughout the world. One can see that many smaller nations are used as transit hubs, while larger ones are the distributers to poorer nations, smuggling the cigarettes to avoid high taxes and tariffs. It also shows that some countries, such as Russia, have moved to online sales, and that many traces of cigarette distribution has disappeared. Due to recent crackdowns on cigarette sales and raises in tariffs, these corporations have moved to the black market to distribute their goods. The smokey trails of smuggling create a vast web of underground sales that are very difficult to engage despite the eminent danger of the product. I think this map is interesting because of its incorporation of relative tangents. It breakdown the percentages of transportation devices used, outlines the dangerous aspects of cigarettes and even provides some interesting facts about the industry. By integrating these things on an easy to read and interesting communication display, I believe the "Global Tobacco Trade" makes an effective and helpful use of mapping. 
 
Who's Your City?: "The Singles Map" by Richard Florida
http://www.creativeclass.com/_v3/whos_your_city/maps/FIG_13.1_The_Singles_Map.gif

"The Singles Map" shows the distribution of single men and women throughout the country. The larger circles represent a greater quantity of single individuals in that given area and the smaller ones represent fewer numbers. Most of the numbers are split between the east and west coast, with few data sets provided from the Midwest and scattered results in the South and North. I think this map is interesting because it shows a distinct disparity between singles on the east and west coasts. There is a significantly higher number of single males on the west coast, and an even greater number of single females on the east coast. Unfortunately, the map does explain why there is this disparity, but it does provide the reader with a general view of the distribution of single individuals throughout the country. It also is interesting how the larger number of singles are clumped in the major cities, such as New York,  Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, Las Vegas, Memphis and Miami. When looking at more rural areas or in the midwest, the map does not show any single people.  

"The Magic Bean Shop" and "The Fries that Bind Us" by Flaming Toast Productions
http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/images/infographics/starbucks.jpg

This Princeton-based research studies the amount and location of Starbucks Stores and McDonald's Restaurants throughout the world. It shows that the main concentration of stores for both companies are in the United States. Starbuck's second distributing location is China and other parts of Asia, while McDonald's has a large number of restaurant in Europe. Being an older company, McDonald's has spread itself to South America, Australia and even South Africa as well, whereas Starbucks is mainly split between the United States, Europe and Asia. An interesting aspect of the map is the resource arrows provided for Starbucks. Much of the coffee beans comes from places in which there are no Starbucks stores, such as Central and South America, and Africa. They receive their paper for cups mostly from Norway, Sweden and Finland where no stores are located either. Lastly, they only get their sugar from two tiny locations off the coast of Australia and in Brazil, also areas in which no stores are to be found. This map also shows the stature of McDonald's over other fast food chains despite its dwindling reputation in the United States. It receives almost four times more revenue then its next leading competitor, Burger King. Most of this revenue is made from locations across the world, not in the United States.