Final lab

               The last lab included an analysis of the wildfires that took place in California in the summer of 2009. On August 26, 2009, the largest wildfire, known as the Station Fire, spread across LA County in California. Los Angeles is particularly prone to wildfires due to the enormous amount of dead vegetation covering the surface.  The wildfire further progressed as a result of the hot climate and high winds. The fire burned approximately 160,577 acres of land, destroyed over 200 buildings, and took the lives of two firemen. The Station Fire ended on October 16, 2009. However, the Station Fire damaged many infrastructures, caused delays throughout Los Angeles County, and damaged the environment.

            My first map is a reference map that displays the progression and the areas the fire spread to over a 5-day period. On August 26, 2009, the fire started a few miles away from the Angeles Fire Station on the Angeles Crest Highway. The legend displays the progression of the fire on a day to day basis. On August 29, the fire spread slowly throughout the mountains. On September 2, the fire nearly doubled in size and expanded in the west and east directions. The reference map serves as a vivid representation of the total area the fire covered.

            My second map is the thematic map which displays how transportation was affected by the Station Fire. The black lines on the thematic map represent the highways throughout Los Angeles County. As seen by this map, many freeways connecting to counties outside of LA County were inaccessible. Additionally, major airports such as LAX, and Burbank airport were affected by the Station Fire. Due to the close proximity of the Station Fire, many flights were delayed and traffic delays increased.

            I decided to create a shaded relief map to display the features of the surface such as canyons, mountains, valleys, and the differences in elevation. The map displays these features in relationship to the Station Fire. It is evident from the map, that the fire spread on the mountain as opposed to the flatter terrain. The lighter green areas on the map represent the mountain, whereas the darker green color represents the lower elevation regions where the fire was not as prominent. Fires tend to burn faster on steeper terrain as opposed to flat land. Since the fire originated in an area near the mountain, I am sure it contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.

            The reference map above displays the damage and impact the fire had on the surrounding areas of Los Angeles. The Station Fire was recorded as the largest fire in Los Angeles history and the 10^th largest fire in California. The fire burned for over a month and affected the environment, buildings, and people living in the area. Major highways and airports were impacted as a result of the fire. Animal habitats were destroyed and natural water sources were polluted with soot and ashes.

Bloomekatz, Ari B. "Station Fire Was Arson, Officials Say; Homicide Investigation Begins."LA Times. Tribune, 3 Sept. 2009. Web. 14 March 2013.

"InciWeb the Incident Information System: Station Fire Announcement." InciWeb the Incident Information System: Current Incidents. Web. 14 March 2013.

"Mapshare: UCLA's Spatial Data Repository." GIS at UCLA: Mapshare DB. Web. 15 March 2013.

Pringle, Paul. "L.A. Now." L.A. County Fire Doubles in Size; More Homes Destroyed; Mt. Wilson Threatened [Updated]. N.p., 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 16 March 2013.

Randal C. Archibald. "After a Devastating Fire, an Intense Study of Its Effects. The New    York Times. The New York Times Company. 2009. Web. 15 March 2013.

lab 7

           This map displays the percentage of people that identified themselves as African-American across the United States in the year 2000. It is evident from the map that the majority of African-Americans are heavily concentrated in the southeastern region of the United States. The western states are the least concentrated compared to the southeastern states. The lightest colors of pink and blue, represent at least 10% of the population that is black. Based off of the map, the majority of counties in the United States have less than 10% of black people.

          This map displays the percentage of people that identified themselves as Asian in the United States in the year 2000. This map displays the western and eastern regions of the United States such as California and New York having the most people of Asian ethnicity. The largest percentage of Asians in a specific county barely reaches 50%. On the other hand, the lowest percentage of asian population is .0085% . Based off of the legend, it is evident that Asian populations are relatively low throughout most of the United States.

        The last map displays the percentage of people that identified themselves as "some other race" in the United States. The "some other race" category consists of people with various or mixed racial ethnicities. The Census Bureau indicates that the "other race" category is mainly comprised of people of latino or hispanic descent.  The most notable aspect of the "some other race" census is the amount of diversity on the western region of the United States. Someone observing this map may infer that the United States is very diverse in the west compared to other parts of the country, when in fact it is mainly representing the percentage of hispanics/latinos.

         The three maps we created were helpful in visually seeing where certain ethnicities within the Unites States reside. It is also important in identifying certain similarities and patterns evident in the maps. For example, the western regions and coast seemed to have the densest concentration of Asian, black, and "some other race" ethnicities. Based off of this information, I would assume that these regions are probably the most diverse regions of the United States.
       This lab is very beneficial in terms of personal and profesional applications. Initially, using the tutorial guide became tedious and confusing. However, our fantastic TA showed us how to complete the lab and it became much easier and more enjoyable than the tutorial. This lab was another great GIS application that can be applied to real life. I also think this lab was a great way to show how easy it was to add data from a reliable source in order to generate maps. I am excited to use GIS and learn more about the software and its endless capabilities.

Lab 6

                Digital elevation models are digital representations of the Earth's surface. Digital elevation models can be represented through raster models or TIN (triangulated irregular network). The maps we created in this lab included shaded-relief, aspect, slope and 3-Dimensional maps.  DEM's are widely used for multiple map applications. Creating a DEM was extremely easy and I think that is an important aspect to DEM. The fact that digital elevation models are relatively easy to create is helpful when creating physical models of the Earth's terrain. Moreover, DEM's can exhibit morphology of land elevation and this is significant in terrain analysis. However, a DEM map is not 100% accurate as a cell value can hold only so much detail. Overall, this lab was an enjoyable experience.

         

lab 6

A map projection is defined as a 3-dimensional representation of the Earth on a 2-dimensional surface. In order to construct a map projection, developable surfaces are necessary. There are three types of developable surfaces that you can use; planes, cylinders, and cones. Selecting a certain type of developable surface, impacts the way the map image is distorted. Map projections are often classified by the map elements they preserve. The three types of map projections we created in this lab were the equidistant map projection which preserves distance, equal area map projections preserves area, and conformal map projection preserves projection.

            Map projections are important in providing accuracy of a map. In viewing the six different maps, I noticed the disparity of distances between the two cities of Washington D.C. and Kabul. It was interesting how each map, even the original map we created, showed different distances between the two cities. As a result, choosing the right map is significant when attempting to display desired features. Map projections are also significant because they allow people to see what is actually on a map. For example, the conformal map projection I used, the Hotline Oblique Mercator and Mercator, do not accurately reflect the sizes of each country. This is important information for people who are traveling.

            One of the perils of map projections is that it is almost impossible to preserve all properties of the Earth. Since the Earth is not physically smooth it cannot be perfectly projected onto a 2-Dimensional surface. In turn, the accuracy of one map element must be sacrificed in order to present an accuracy of a different map element. Although the equidistant map projections such as the Two-Point and Conic preserve area between designated points, they distort area size which impacts the representation of distance between areas. Additionally, equal area maps such as Behrmann and Craster Parabolic, accurately represents the area of each continent. However, discontinuities in the map skew the actual distance and distance cannot be measured accurately.

            There are a few overall potentials of map projections. The fact that we are able to easily access and obtain information through maps is an example of a potential of map projections. Another aspect to map projections is that it is user-centric and people have the ability to specialize their maps according to their preferences. Map projections are a very useful tool when trying to explore different aspects of society. Similar to any program, there are always potential drawbacks that should certainly be taken into account when creating or exploring maps.

lab 4

       My experience using the ArcGIS program was certainly a challenging one. I do not have very much computer experience so it was very difficult following the steps and making sure to complete each step correctly. I think that people with more computer experience can find the ArcMap program relatively easy to use.The tutorials were very helpful and if there were not any tutorials, I am sure I would have struggled even more. In the end, I appreciate how elegant the map turned out. It was certainly a challenging experience and hopefully with more practice, I can continue to enhance my computer/GIS skills.
    One of the benefits of this program is that you can easily see the details on a map.  It was fascinating to see all of the different information available by using the different features on ArcMap. Being able to view one specific detail and view all of the details in one view, is an effective way to collect information. Often times, the simplicity of maps can be overlooked. Using ArcMap showed me how important using charts and the attribute tables. Overall, a major benefit of this program is being able to complete multiple tasks on one program.
     Besides the potential benefits of GIS, there are also consequences. I think it is important to note that there is an immense amount of information that can be presented. This is difficult when trying to learn how to layer and present the data. It took awhile for me to get to used to the different toolbars, layout features, and other editing features. It was frustrating when I had to switch to zooming in and out, and trying to remember how to return to the original view because I was not comfortable with the system. Another pitfall, is that we constantly have to save our work because if we do not, we have to start all over again. Secondly, it is extremely time consuming to adapt the skills necessary to become comfortable using GIS. Additionally, since all of the data provided is established from the work of geographers, we have to rely on how accurate and how often their data is updated. In my opinion, the biggest downfall of the program is how challenging it is to use.
       In my opinion, the potential benefits of GIS outweigh the bad. This system allows people to discover relationships which in turn can be easily transmitted to the public. Although GIS is difficult to use and is sometimes hard to understand, it can be very effective in helping people understand the various aspects of society. Overall, this program allows for maps to be constructed and manipulated to present multiple dimensions of geographic data in an effective way. As this program becomes easier to use, we can further advance the way in which we present geographic information.
 

   

Lab 3-neogeog

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200156193084279395710.0004d3fb68b36c427f445&msa=0&ll=-9.535749,-74.685059&spn=15.233362,14.150391

      Neogeography has allowed for the expansion of new information all over the world. It has allowed for many areas in the world to be easily accessed by way of the internet. The tourism and business industries often benefit from this type of tool. People who are interested in traveling can easily search sites and sift through recommendations, reviews, and more. Travel agencies are no longer needed as a result of numerous maps created and posted on the internet by people. A friend and I wanted to hike up to a waterfall in Malibu once and the only way we were able to find the route was through a website and map someone had personally created. I remember exact pictures and descriptions of all the places we had to turn. Moreover, neogeography increases geographic awareness among people which allows for people to share experiences.
          Although there are benefits, there are certainly negative aspects of neogeography. One major consequence of neogeography is the fact that anyone can create maps. Professionals no longer control the information being transmitted through the internet. As a result, erroneous information can easily be generated and spread throughout the internet. Another concern is that too many maps can be created which can ultimately allow for existing maps to conflict. I actually had a situation where information presented on two maps conflicted. I remember having to search through a few maps and even look on a government site in order to validate the information I was searching for. Additionally, the fact that homes and other businesses are visible without consent causes worry. I think it is safe to say that neogeography is not a perfect tool, there are many negative aspects and potential benefits of this type of technology.

Lab 2

1. The Beverly Hills Quadrangle
2. Canoga park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, Inglewood.
3. 1966
4. The North American Datums of 1927, 1983 and 1929
5. 1:24000
6. a) 120000/100=1200m
b) 120,000/63360= 1.89 miles
c) 120,000/24,000=2.64 inches
d) 300,000/24,000=12.5 cm
7. 20 feet
8. a) Public affairs building: 34 4' 30" N 118 26' W or 34.158N 118.43 W
b) Tip of Santa Monica Pier: 34 0'30" N 118 30' W or 34.008N 118.50 W
c) The upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir: 34 6' 15' 118 24' 25" or 34.1031N 118.4122 W
9. a) 600 feet or 182.88 meters
b) 140 feet or 42.672m
c) 580 feet or 176.436m
10. Zone 11
11. 3763000 meters N, 362000 meters E
12. 1,000,000 sq. m.
13.
 

14. Plus 14 degrees
15. North to South
16 UCLA map below