Final Lab Project

         For my final project in Geography 7, I was tasked with providing a reference and thematic of the Los Angeles County Station Fire of 2009. To accomplish this endeavor, I had to utilize all the skills that I had learned using ArcGIS and ArcMap 10 to create the two maps for the project. For the thematic map I decided to incorporate a plan showing the extent of the smoke from the fire and the airfields that were affected due to the fire's large scale. 

         Creating the initial reference map, for me, was one of the most enjoyable parts of the entire project. Utilizing the fire perimeter data from http://egis3.lacounty.gov/eGIS/index.php/category/gis-data/fire/, I inputed the layers onto ArcMap 10 and ramped the colors to show the changing perimeter of the fire over a four day span. To help viewers locate where the fire would be in regards to Los Angeles, I placed the data for major roads and highways from http://gis.ats.ucla.edu/ , the UCLA Mapshare. Finally, creating the north star, scale bar, and legend were fun because I got to use whatever design I liked best, and I think making and setting the legend was the most fun of the entire project in and of itself. 

         Next, I began to do some research on what I could do for my thematic map. I thought about how immense the fire was, and how much smoke and debris it would have produced and released into the air. I knew that airplanes could not fly in such terrible quality, so I wondered how many airfields in Los Angeles County were grounded due to the smoke from the fire. I went to http://phys.org/news171040668.html, and looked at how the fire spread and how the wind blowing in from the Pacific Ocean sent the fire eastward after it was blown north and south along the mountainous areas of Los Angeles.

         To create my thematic map, I made a layer of the extent of the smoke from the Station Fire and imposed it below the fire's total perimeter. Next, I added the data of airports and airfields in Los Angeles County, and observed and noted which ones were affected by the fire's smoke. It was interesting to see how large the smoke and debris field from the fire extending throughout Los Angeles County, and how the scale bar shows it was close to fifty miles across, and immensely larger than that south to north. 

         This final project for Geography 7 was enjoyable and fun, and definitely put what I had learned over the course of the quarter to good use. I incorporated numerous skills that I had come to master along the way, and some of these included legend creation, ramping and setting colors correctly, using the identify button to see which data sets and what, and making maps ascetically pleasing. 

Bibliography

http://egis3.lacounty.gov/eGIS/index.php/category/gis-data/fire/

http://gis.ats.ucla.edu/ 

Lin, Rong-Gong II. Los Angeles Fire Map. The Los Angeles Times, 11 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 June 2012. <http://www.latimes.com/>.

Smoke From Station Fire Blankets Southern California. Physics Organization, 1 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 June 2012. <http://phys.org/>.

Station Fire Map. Pasadena Star-News, 8 Aug. 2009. Web. 12 June 2012. <http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/>. 

Lab 7

         The map on Asian population in the U.S. is interesting because it shows how densely populated Asian people are in small areas of the country, and how sparse they are in the vast majority of the U.S. Specifically, they seem to be densely centered around the counties that contain the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Washington D.C., and a few central U.S. cities. As for the rest of the country, their seem to be low percentages throughout.   

         While the map on Black population within the U.S. features some counties that have a medium density, like the ones that contain Los Angeles, Seattle, and Miami, the blatantly obvious center is in the Southeastern United States. The states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia and eastern Texas and northern Florida are thickly populated by a high percentage of Black people. This is especially true in the counties that contain Atlanta, New Orleans, Birmingham, Mobile, Little Rock, Charleston, and Raleigh.  

         The map on Race Alone within the U.S. is almost assuredly about the Native American population in the United States. The areas that are densely populated, central Florida, southern Arizona, southern Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, eastern Washington, and northern Utah, are all areas that are very sparsely populated, but of the population there, many are Native Americans. Now, when looking at California, then entire southern and central areas of the state are shaded darkly, indicating that these are places where a race that describes themselves as "other" reside. While I do not know exactly which race this is, it makes sense that it is in an area that is heavily populated so that numerous races could mark themselves under "other."

         This census map series was quite interesting to create because it showed the real uses of GIS in outputting data into informative thematic maps. It's also very rewarding knowing that you're working with data that's extremely important and that can be utilized in a way to make things better or more efficient in today's society. Censuses are vastly important for projects such as development and construction within cities, governmental funding, academic school information, and many other facets of civilized life.

         My overall impression of GIS is that it is a completely necessary and helpful system that many of use without even really thinking about it. Of course there are maps and reference tools, but GIS is also utilized in our iPhones and computers, in our cars and airplanes, and without them, we'd often find ourselves at a loss. GIS allows us to live in a global world where we can stay connected even thousands of miles apart, and it without a doubt is a unique and vital tool. 

Lab 6

 

         The area I selected for my maps was located in southeastern California, along the border between California and Nevada. I chose this area because of the range of elevations and the fact that it is quite mountainous. The decimal degree of the area is -118.374 E, -117.503 E and 36.936 N, 36.459 N. The geographic coordinate system used was the GCS North American 1983 survey.

Week 6 Lab

         Using map projections is an extremely helpful tool in today's society, but there are a few pitfalls involved with it. Map projections are 3D models placed onto 2D references, and there are many different types. Some preserve the equal area of the map, some the equal distance, and some are conformal. The six above have two representations of each.

         Map projections help give a greater sense of the world around us. As previously stated, there are many different kinds, and for each kind, there is a specific projection that is appropriate for the information that is being shown. Projections are important because they help map users create maps, most of which are quite unique and some that are not very practical, but still interesting. 

         The downside to map projections is that they do not always present a picture of the Earth that is completely accurate. For instance, the state of Alaska looks extraordinarily larger than it really is on the Mercator map projection, and the Behrmann Equal Area Cylindrical map projection presents a map that makes the northern and southern areas appear smaller in comparison to areas around the equator. Also, as shown above, distances can be warped and skewed based on what type of measuring system is used. 

         Map projections are useful devices for creating and manufacturing maps, even though they possess some faults. These problems are not grave, however, if the person reading the maps knows about the differences and can pick the correct map for the information they desire.

Lab 4 Final Product

         GIS (Geographic Information Systems) are extremely beneficial tools, but do have a few drawbacks. For this lab report, I used the ArcGIS program to create and edit a map from preexisting data. The map was based upon an airport and its surrounding area, and the airport's proposed expansion, along with how the noise form the airport affects schools and residential communities within a certain range. 

         GIS are useful because they allow individuals to compose and consolidate data into a visual map or reference that can be used in any number of different applications. It allows a person to not only figure out where something is, but also what it is and why it is there. Information and data are inputed into a GIS, and the outputs are the maps, scales, and surveys we use frequently throughout our lives. Without even thinking about it, we use our iPhones and MapQuest and other applications to make our everyday lives easier, and all these are made possible by GIS.

         The problems with GIS are that they are often quite expensive programs and take a while to get to know how to use. They are quite effective, but they are not simple, and without the introduction to ArcGIS presented at the beginning of this lab, I would have been completely lost. Also, the outputs of GIS are time consuming to create, and I am well aware of this fact. I spent a collective 4 hours working on this lab. 

         All in all, the benefits of GIS far exceed the costs. While it does have a few downsides, its an extremely advantageous and productive tool, and without a doubt the most effective way to create and compose geographic information into references.  

1. Beverly Hills Quadrangle
2. Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, and Inglewood Quadrangles
3. 1966
4. North American Datum of 1927, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929, and North American Datum of 1983
5. 1:24,000
6a. 120 meters
6b. 1.89 miles
6c. 2.64 inches
6d. 12.5 centimeters
7. 17.8 feet
8a. 34°4'30"
34.075N 
8b. 34°0'30"
34.008N
8c. 34°7'15"
34.121N
9a. 635.6 feet, 193.73 meters
9b. 140 feet, 42.672 meters
9c. 617.8 feet, 188.305 meters
10. Zone 11
11. Easting (362) and Northing (3763)
12. 1,000,000 meters²
13.

14. 14°
15. South
16.

Map of World War II in Europe

 http://www.kenbrown.info/stokes/world_war_ii_map.html

This map comes from the USAF Museum, and depicts the opposing sides during World War II. The red areas are where the Axis powers expanded to, and the green are areas controlled by the Allies. World War II encompassed an era of conflict and strife never seen by the world before, and not since, and as a history major, I'm quite interested in the political, social, and cultural aspects that took place during the war.