Lab 1b: Reading a Topographic Map

1. Beverly Hills Quadrangle
2. Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, and Inglewood.
3. 1995
4. The datum used is the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 along with the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27) and the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).
5. 1:24000
6. A) 5cm = 1200 meters
   B) 5 inches = 1.89 miles
   C) 1 mile = 2.64 inches
   D) 3 km  = 12.5 cm
7. The contour interval is 20 feet.
8. Public Affairs
   34.07424° N, 118.43922° W
   34°4’27” N, 118°26’21” W
   
   Tip of Santa Monica pier
   34.00746° N, 118.50004° W
   34°0’26” N, 118°30’0” W
   
   Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir
   34.1222° N, 118.40950° W
   34°7’20” N, 118°24’34” W
   
9. Greystone Mansion =
   570 ft
   173.736 m
   
   Woodlawn Cemetery =
   140 ft
   42.672 m
   
   Crestwood Hills Park =
   700 ft
   213.36 m
10. UTM zone is 11.
11. UTM coordinates are ³⁷63000 N and ³62000 E
12. 1,000,000 square meters
13. 
    
    
    
14. Magnetic declination = 14°48’
15. Water flows southward (north to south)
16. 
    
    
    
    

Lab 1a: Analyzing Maps

The above map is from the website Ifitwasmyhome.com. This website creates an interactive map that allows users to place the extent of the BP oil spill over their home city or any other location in the world. It uses map data from Google in order to render the map. The interactive map enables people to see the area affected by the oil spill and how far oil has extended. It is also possible to see how much the spill has grown. For instance, I decided to create a map that puts the oil spill over Southern California, with Los Angeles as its center. Through this map, I saw that the east side of the spill almost reaches the California-Nevada border. The map allows me to realize how big the spill has become because I know how far the border is, it takes almost three and a half hour’s drive to reach the border. Furthermore, it brings the disaster close to home when you see how much it extends over Southern California. The spill covers most of the Mojave Desert, reaches South down past Encinitas, and extends West past the Channel Islands. Moreover, it reaches North past Santa Barbara and Goleta. I find this website and map interesting because it’s interactive. The map allows a person to move the spill to different geographic locations. Also, it utilizes another resource, Google, in its geographic inquiry of the oil spill and how big it has become.


For my second map, I chose a historic map found at David Rumsey’s Map Collection online LUNA browser. Created in 1861, the map is a historical, panoramic map of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. Titled the “Panorama of the Seat of War”, the map shows the Chesapeake Bay and the towns and cities locate in the area around the bay. One thing I enjoy about this map is that it has markings to indicate where the towns are located. The amount of markings differs to show the difference in sizes between the towns and cities. Furthermore it is well detailed and includes roads, rivers, hills, and mountains. It has names all the towns, cities, and waterways. In addition to its detail, different size fonts are used to indicate significance. I find it interesting that the map maker drew in ships moving into and along the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay. The map is detailed for a historical map but one must be critical of it because it provides a bird’s eye view of an area during a time when getting a bird’s eye view of an area, especially such a large area, was difficult. The technology was not easily available to create such a well detailed map so the cartographer must have used other maps of the area, such as topographic maps, in order to create the reliefs and draw the mountains, rivers, and cities.


Created by Princeton (www.princeton.edu/~ina), the above image shows the global distribution of Starbucks and McDonald’s locations. I chose these maps because both companies are widely distributed and has entered the global market. It is interesting to see the extent of each company’s distribution. I am also able to compare and see which company has a wider distribution. From this map, one can view the wide distribution of these companies in populated areas such as the United States, Western Europe, and China. However, the maps are not great because of its simplicity. For instance, Princeton uses different size bubbles to indicate the amount of Starbucks or McDonald’s locations in a region. The bubbles overlap – making it difficult to see which country the bubbles represent. This is especially true in the case of the McDonald’s map when looking at Europe. The bubbles show a generalized distribution of the two companies so one must look at another map for specific details. Despite its simplicity and generalization, the map provides a great visual to view the extent of two U.S. companies in the global market. I did not know that there were Starbucks locations in the Middle East. Also, I never realized how many McDonald’s could be found on the African continent. This map allowed me to see the global locations of Starbucks coffee shops and McDonald's restaurants.