Lab 3

Geog 413, Computer Cartography

This lab has three parts. The first two areworking on critiquing maps; the third is hand-drafting a map from a text description.

For the first part: some of the most important things you can learn in cartography are 1) be critical of all maps (including yours), 2) all maps are lies, 3) all maps must be interpreted relative to their purpose, and 4) map-making is an iterative process - you will typically make a number of drafts.

Thus, this lab: your task is to critically examine two maps/posters that can be found on the walls of Lind Hall (or even elsewhere on campus) - or on the data drive within the carto subdirectory (there is a folder in there with a whole bunch of posters/maps in pdf format).

Steps:

Part 1:

1. Wander around, check them out. Any and all are fair game. Pick two
2. Make a quick sketch map of each map/poster so you can refer to certain parts (and so I have a reference, too)
3. Write out what you think is the purpose of each map/poster.
4. Relative to #2 and #3, critically examine the poster/map (remembering the 4 points in the intro paragraph of this lab):
   1. What did you like
   2. What sucked
   3. What would you change and why? (note, the 'why' is very important)
5. Write up #3 and #4, hand in (typed) along with your sketch maps.
6. Also, there are three maps on G:\comp_carto\lab3\. Check them out and give a brief summary (same as 4.1 - 4.3 above).

Part 2:

The poster 'It was a dark and stormy night' was designed to be something that would catch a viewer's eye, suck them in, and then be absolutely horrible in the details.

Your task is to find as many errors as you can.

In addition to the list of errors you find, evaluate the poster regarding how well it fulfills the intent (to suck people in from a distance with an interesting design, then fail at all attempts to communicate useful information).

Part 3: Map Drawing Exercise - Extract from Gregory's Journal

OBJECTIVE: To produce a scaled plot from a field description of a plot of land.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED: Paper, ruler, protractor, and pencil. Yes, you will need all of those to complete this lab.

METHOD: Using the below extract from one of Gregory's journals, prepare a map at a scale of 1:100,000 (one centimeter = 1 kilometer) of the land and features mentioned.

• Assume a walking rate of 6 km/hour for the expedition party.
• Orientate the plot to Magnetic North. ( 0 degrees is N, 90 is E, 180 is S, etc.)
• The plot should be:
  - on letter sized paper
  - include a North arrow, legend, and scale bar.
  - include a title and border
  - detail of the land resources mentioned and the bearings you used to generate the map
  - be neatly done in pencil
• note - plan to do a rough draft, then overlay/recopy for the copy you hand in.

Extract from the Journal of A.B. Gregory, 1854

11 June. Left the base camp at 10:00 AM and proceeded upstream on a magnetic bearing of 88 degrees for one hour. The bed of the Oakover River here is very wide, averaging 400 meters in width, and because at this tine of the season it contains only infrequent pools of water, we were able to walk in its bed for the whole distance.

We rested at the junction of a substantial tributary, 100 meters wide, entering the river from 358 degrees Magnetic. This I named the Jinna Creek. Our resting point was on the south bank of the Oakover.

Having rested, we again followed the river upstream, this time on a bearing of 63 degrees for one hour. Again, we were able to walk in its bed for most of the time. For the last 1000 meters, we were forced to leave its bed and proceed along the southern bank because of the presence of a very fine pool of water which reached from bank to bank. We rested at the upstream end of this pool, which I named the Walee Pool. From this place, a solitary hill was seen on a bearing of 78 degrees and I named this hill Mount Alone. Also, the southern end of a range was noted on a bearing of 289 degrees (Black Range). This point at the end of the range was on a bearing of 28 degrees from our first resting place. After lunch, we again followed the river downstream, this time for one and a half hours on a bearing of 29 degrees, reaching at this point another 100 meter wide tributary, entering from 45 degrees, which I called the Wild Dog Creek. We camped for the night on the northern bank of the Wild Dog at the point whree it joins the Oakover. Mount Alone lay on a bearing of 147 degrees from here.

12 June. I wished to travel to the west, but was prevented from doing so by the Black Range, and so was forced to follow the Oakover upstream once more, on a bearing of 348 degrees. Having travelled for five minutes short of the hour, we reached a point on the western bank, from which I was able to see past the northern end of the range. From this point, we travelled due west, passing the northern tip of the Black range at 20 minutes. The range averages 2 kilometers wide from here to its southern extrimity.

One hour after leaving the Oakover, we struck the Jinna Creek and followed it downstream on a bearing of 206 degrees for 75 minutes until reaching a tributary entering from a bearing of 308 degrees. This I called the Boroo Creek. We camped for the night on the northern bank at this junction.

13 June. In the morning, I was able to observe a large swamp, the center of which lay on a bearing of 235 degrees from our camp site. This swamp, the Bandaroo, is no less than 3500 meters in diameter, and its center is 3 km from here. We followed up the Boroo Creek this morning. Its bed was 50 meters wide and though we travelled for 1.25 hours, its direction was unchanged and we found no water in its bed. We then returned to the Jinna and followed it down on a bearing of 178 degrees, reaching a 300 meter long pool 30 minutes after leaving the junction, and the Oakover River one hour oafter that. Form this point, the site of our first resting place of 11 June, we returned to the base camp.

the end.

Due date: Monday, 19 April 2009. 6 points.

Website design and maintenance by
Dr. Robert Hickey