Lab 8: Mapping the Census

In the USA 2000 Census reported that there were 36.4 million people, or 12.9% of the total population, that reported as being Black or African America. This map shows the population percentage of African Americans per county in the United States based of the 2000 Census. About 60 percent of all African Americans lived in 10 states. The highest percentages are in the southern and south eastern parts of the country, including, but not limited to, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, and New York. There are also high percentages in California counties, notably in Southern California and near San Francisco. The lowest percentages are found in the northern Midwest, ranging from parts of eastern Washington to parts of western Wisconsin.  

In the USA 2000 Census reported that there were around 12 million Asian people, or 4.3% of the total population, that reported as being Asian. This map shows the population percentage of Asian Americans per county in the United States based of the 2000 Census. The highest percentages are in California, Arizona, Washington, and the North East. The most notable areas are Los Angeles area, around San Francisco, and Seattle. Throughout the rest of the country many counties are spread out and have smaller percentage trends. 

This map shows the population percentage of other races besides White, Asian, and African American per county in the United States based of the 2000 Census. The highest percentages are found in California, Washington, Southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Most of the Midwest, South, and East Coast have very low populations, with a small amount in parts of Florida. 

These maps are very interesting because they reflect historical and geographic trends of these populations. The highest populations of African Americans reflect the history of slavery, the majority of slavery occurred in the South of the United States. Although there are also Asians in the Northeast, the highest numbers in California and Washington reflect their relative proximity geographically to Asia. The other race population also reflects geographic trends. Although all of the "other race" category are not all latino, the majority of the population who are not white, Asian, or African American are hispanic. The 2000 Census found that 32.8 million Latinos, 12% of the total population, lived in the United States. Since California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas all border Mexico, it makes sense geographically and historically that that is where the majority of hispanics would live. These maps show an objective visualization of populations in the United States. If compared with later or earlier Census maps, trends would be very easy to highlight. These numbers and population percentages can be important in for different uses, including but not limited to, government, business, and social welfare.

Taking this class has showed me the power and utility of Geographic information systems (GIS).  It is apparent that it is vital to many fields: geography, cartography, remote sensing, natural resource management, urban planning, government, and more. GIS allows its users to integrate, store, edit, analyze, and display information that can inform important decisions. I have enjoyed learning this interesting computer software and I am looking forward to taking intermediate GIS next term. 

Lab 7: Mapping the Station Fire in ArcGIS

In 2009 there were 63 wildfires in California. These fires burned more than 300,000 acres of land and lasted from July until November. They destroyed hundreds of structures and lead to the death of two people. In Southern California august was full of noticeably severe and large fires. The most notable of these was the Station Fire.

The Station Fire started in the Angeles National Forest near highway 2. It was the largest and deadliest wildfire in 2009 and the 10th largest in California history, burning over 160,000 acres and killing two firefighters who were trying to put it out. The fire is remembered by many from the towering clouds of smoke that loomed over Los Angeles for days. Investigators discovered a substance where the first started that they believed accelerated the flames and thus was an act of arson. 

The flames reached part of the Angeles Crest Highway, melting road signs and leaving burned debris in the road. The fire lead to neighborhood evacuations as the flame was uncontrolled and spread in three different directions. This put many communities and neighborhoods at risk of losing their homes or worse, their lives. As my theme map shows, two hospitals were located very close to the fire and were at risk of burning: Verdugo Hills Hospital and Villa Oaks Hospital. Evacuating a hospital is a hard and potentially dangerous process for patients that are serious ill. Verdugo Hills Hospital was the most at risk. Workers could literally see the flames from the hospital. 

A year after the Los Angeles house members questioned the U.S. Forest Service officials if costs concerns had hampered their response time to the fire. The U.S. Forest Fire denied these allegations. A Forest Service commander overseeing the firefight claims that there was a window of opportunity that wasn't taken. This lost opportunity left these communities and hospitals in these communities at serious risk. The house thinks that a desire to control the costs slowed the arrival of vital resources that could have stopped the fire before it rapidly augmented. These concerns are important because of the proximity and potential danger the fire posed to local hospitals.

At the end of the fire more than 12,500 homes were threatened and 6,600 were ordered to evacuate. It took more than 2,800 fire fighters, 12 helicopters, and 8 air tankers to contain the fire. Urbanization has fragmented the landscape and helped facilitate fast and powerful fires like the Station fire. After the fire, the Angeles National Forest turned into a research site as scientists studied the environmental aftermath of the burned forest. Scientists studied bugs, fish, tadpoles as well as vegetation because loose soil could produce huge mudslides. They also analyzed the effects the fire retardant used to contain the fire had on the eco-system. The chemicals it contained could affect vital water sources that could be harmful to patients in nearby hospitals. 

Bibliography:

1. "L.A. County fire doubles in Size; more homes destroyed; Mt. Wilson Threatened." L.A. Now. Aug. 31. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/la-county-fire-doubles-in-size-more-homes-list-mt-wilson-threatened.html>

2. 'Angry Fire' roars across 100,000 California acres. CNN U.S. Aug. 31. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <http://articles.cnn.com/2009-08-31/us/california.wildfires_1_mike-dietrich-firefighters-safety-incident-commander?_s=PM:US>

3. "2009 California Wildfires." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 1. Nov. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_California_wildfires>.

4. "After Devastating Fire, an Intense Study of Its Effects." The New York Times. Oct. 2. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/science/earth/03fire.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1>

5."Station Fire's lost Window of Opportunity Recounted." LA Times. Oct. 13. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/13/local/la-me-station-fire-20101013>

Lab 6: Dems in ArcGIS

The area I chose is the East Bay of the San Francisco bay area. The elevation in this area is very interesting because of its proximity to San Francisco. People can go up to the top of the mountains and see a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, the San Francisco Skyline, and many more iconic sites of the Bay Area. The geographic coordinate system that is used in this area is the 1983 N. American GCS, based on the 1983 Datum and the area is found in UTM Zone 11. The extend information is Top: 37.998, Bottom: 37.773, Left: -122,343, and right -121.984.

 

Lab 5: Projections in ArcGIS

Map projections are used to represent the surface of a sphere or another shape on a plane. They are critical in creating maps but it is important to note that they always distort the surface in some way. This distortion is very apparent by the difference in distance from Washington D.C. to Kabul, Afghanistan in the maps. Map projections are used to preserve many different properties of Earth, but not all of them at the same time. Each map projection I modeled (equal area, conformal, equidistant) acts to preserve specific properties and have unique applications.

Equal area attempt to preserve the area. Preserving area is essential for many important applications of maps: scientific information of geographic distributions (pollution, deforestation, crop yielding, etc...) and education atlases and charts. Equal area maps serve to display true area ratios that are hard to interpret from a table.

Conformal map projections preserve angles. They are usually used for large-scale applications; conformal maps are used in solving engineering and physics problems. They have been important in the study of the electromagnetic field, the gravitational field, and much more. They are generally better used for calculations than continental or world maps.

Equidistant map projections are used to preserve distance from a standard line or point. The distances are only correct between points along a straight line and otherwise are not accurate. Useful application are a polar projection, where all the distances from the center are measured along any longitudinal line will be accurate, to show airline distances, and for seismic and radio work.

Lab 4: Introducing ArcMap

I enjoyed my tutorial with ArcMap. Although I only completed the tutorial and followed a list of instructions, it allowed me to see the control I will have when creating GIS maps. I think it is very cool that you can make so many different maps with different layers and then juxtapose them in one page. This has allowed me to see how valuable GIS is and can be in many different ways. I look forward to learning more about GIS and how it is used in our society.

There is a lot of potential with GIS. The use of GIS is augmenting rapidly as environmentalists, cities, the FBI and many more have adapted the mapping technology. GIS offers a way to visualize the real world and calculate objective consequences that may happen if specific events occur (such as deforestation, crime rate, starvation). It can be used as a mediator to help people on different sides work together. GIS has and will continue to have a huge impact on many key decisions for the future of our society.

Although there is a lot of potential, there are also a lot of pitfalls. GIS is only as good as its data, which isn't always accurate. GIS can do a lot to mimic the real world but in the end it is only a computer program and cannot truly see into the future.

Overall I think there is much more potential than pitfalls; as long as people realize that it is only a computer model and use it accordingly. GIS is changing the way that many aspects of our society visualize problems and possible solutions to those problems, and ultimately impacts their final decision. GIS is here to stay and with an increase in social and environmental issues, its importance will only increase.

Lab 3: Neogeography

Neogeography is a new and interesting way to look at maps. It is a dynamic map that is user-centric, allowing its users to make personal marks by sharing locations, interests, history, and much more. Neogeography allows users to share information as well as show their interpretation of space and how move through it. It can be used in many positive ways, like sharing a good route to walk through a city, showing your friends and family restaurants you like, and helping people visualize a vacation that you took (or plan to take in the future). Although there are many positive aspects and a lot of potential with neogeography, there are also some negative aspects as well.
The lack of privacy is one of the main consequences of neogeography. By allowing the public to know where you are and/or like to go, you are give up your right to privacy. An example of this is the map that showed who gave money against prop 8 and their addresses. Although this information is interesting and can be used in positive way, there is a lot of potential for negative use. If people are emotionally against something and can access all of the personal information of the people who are for it (or vice versa), it is a recipe for disaster. Neogeography though, is not inherently evil and it is up to its users to viewers to use it in positive ways.


View My Trip to South America in a larger map

This map is my trip to South America that I took in 2008. I started my trip in Peru then went to Northern Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and ended my trip in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This map shows the cities I visited and how I got from place to place. The map is big and in many areas it is necessary to zoom in to see the details. Every city has a photo, the polygon is located near the city of Cusco, Peru, and the video is of the tourist attraction Machu Picchu, which also near Cusco, Peru.

Lab 2: USGS Topographic Maps

1. Beverly Hills Quadrangle.

2. The names of the adjacent quadrangles are: Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, and Inglewood.

3. The quadrangle was first created in 1966.

4. The map is produced by the horizontal datums of The North American Datum of 1927 and North American datum of 1983 and the vertical datum of National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929.

5. 1 : 24,000

6.

a) 5 cm / x = 1 / 24,000

x = 5 cm(24,000)

x = 120,000 cm

120,000 cm (1 m /100 cm)

= 1,200 meters

b) 5 in/x = 1/24,000

x = 5 in(24,000)

x = 120,000 in

120,000 in(1 ft/12 in)(1 mile/5,280 ft)

= 1.89 miles

c) x/ 1 mile = 1/24,000
24,000 x = 1 mile
x = 1 mile  /24,000
1 mile / 24,000 *(63,360 inches/1 mile)
= 2.64 inches

d) x/3 km = 1/24,000

x = 3 km/ 24,000

x = 0.000125 km

0,000125 km(100,000 cm / 1 km)

= 12.5 cm

7. The contour interval is 20 feet.

8.

a) Public Affairs Building: 
Coordinates: 34°04' 28" N / 118°26' 21.1" W 
Decimal Degree: (34°, - 118°)
b) Top of Santa Monica Pier: 
Coordinates: 34°00'30" N / 118°30'00.5" W
Decimal Degree: (34°, -118°)

c) Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir
Coordinates: 34°07'13" N / 118°24'36.9" W
Decimal Degree: (34°,-118°)

9.

a) Greystone Mansion: 580 feet / 176.78 meters

b) Woodlawn Cemetery: 140 feet /  42.67 meters

c) Crestwood Hill Park: 660 feet / 202.17 meters

10. UTM Zone 11.

11. 361500 m Easting, 3763000 m Northing

12. 1000 m x 1000 m = 1,000,000 meters squared
13.

14. Positive 14 degrees.

15. The water is flowing south.
16.