Final map!

Super Typhoon Haiyan (weekly blog post #9)

This may not exactly be viewed as being a map. However, this was one of the largest storm ever to occur in recorded history and I wanted to find an image/map where the magnitude of the storm could actually be seen.

Bivariate map (weekly blog post #8)

I guess this would actually be considered a trivariate map, but is there anything wrong with a little overachieving and adding an additional stage? This map combines median household income with high school graduation rates and college graduates. The color ramp and individual county values within this map must have been extremely hard to accomplish. Although there are probably a hundred or so distinct colors within this map, the colors don't seem to clash too terribly with one another. I actually think they blend pretty well, but this could be because the three additive colors were chosen to represent the three fields being measured.

Dot Map, Weekly blog post #7

I spent a considerable amount of time trying to find a decent dot density map and couldn't find anything for quite some time. I found this dot density map which actually isn't a static map, but one that lets you change various features such as race, language, and median income for the country of South Africa. The geographical area of South Africa isn't what first comes to mind when I think of mapping any phenomena, but that's another reason why I chose this map. The dot size is good, the colors are a good choice, and the colors even are transparent to a certain degree.

Color map, (weekly blog post #5)

I'm a big fan of infogrpahics, so when it comes to putting on maps I'm all for it! This map does a really good job of associating overall themes and unique characteristics pertaining to every state. While the map may be a bit busy, however being 'busy' is part of what makes an infographic an infographic. The colors aren't so strong that they repel you away from the map. A color distinction between 'cold' and 'hot' states can also be made as the states that are generally warmer in weather have warm colors and the states that generally have cooler weather have cooler coolers applied to them.

Type, (weekly blog post #3)

The type associated with this map goes along very well with the ancient or old style the map maker is trying to illustrate. Furthermore, I also think that the style of font chosen for this map really has a native american sort of appeal to it.

Lab 10!

Final Presentation Proposal

Why this map? This upcoming January I’m planning on a trip to Hawaii. More specifically, I plan on going to the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. I, like some people I’m sure – and I hope, am not the best when it comes to planning and preparing for trips. I do all the basic things such as finding a hotel, booking my ticket, and looking at various modes of transportation, but I haven’t been known to go to that next level of actually finding cultural landmarks in the vicinity, beaches of the beaten path, or various activities to partake in. So in an effort to better prepare my girlfriend and myself for this trip, I am going to make a map tourist/general reference map of Kauai depicting the various beaches, parks, highways, and other points of interest around the Island. I’ve found many tourist themed maps of island, and while they are good enough to get the job done, I think I can do a much better job. Type of map I’m envisioning My finished product will not only be more aesthetically pleasing, but will include two inset maps to give the viewer a better sense of Kauai’s location (being a decent percentage of American citizens seemed to be spatially challenged). I will also seek to include topographic relief in the form of shaded relief, color to denote elevation, or via the use of topographic and bathometric isolines. Hawaii is known many different things to include alluring beaches, awesome surfing, magnificent sunsets, and luscious foliage among a vast majority of other appealing natural features and occurrences. In order to highlight these aspects associated with the island, I’ll make changes to the neat line, symbols, and other map features in an effort to portray my map with an overall Hawaiian theme. Another route I may pursue is mapping the Island of Kauai with an oblique view (a diagonal view down from atop) as opposed to the normal bird’s eye view commonly associated with maps. My map, when finished, should be a cross between a general reference map and a thematic tourist map with a slightly cartoonist feel to it. How do I plan on mapping Kauai, and are there any potential Challenges? My base map, (at least the main element of Kauai) will be entirely dependent of what route I decide to choose to go in mapping the elevation data on Kauai. If am to use shaded relief, than I will use Google Earth or another source for my base map. If I decide to use topographic lines or color to denote elevation, than I can simply use the base map of the 50 states that we were provided with in class earlier this semester. If I decide to map Hawaii using an oblique view I will be poised with quite an undertaking given that I’ve never created a map using an oblique view. However, I am aware that I can obtain an oblique view of the Island from Google Earth. I could run into problems with coloring and layering as well. If I fail to create certain features such as the neat line and symbols representing various locations, I will need to import vector based symbols in their absence. Expected production steps 1. Choose a topic – Oh yeah, already done with step 1! (November 7th) 2. Acquire base maps (November 14th) 3. Complete two insets, border, title, and legend (November 21th) 4. Compare base maps with completed insets and border and choose (November 24th) 5. Complete coloring of Kauai and place selected legend features around island (November 28th)

Lab 9! West Virginia Coal Tonnage Dot Density Map

After hour upon hour of placing dots, my lab is finally complete! I find it a bit funny that although we've been given the reigns to utilize the power of color, I chose to go in the opposite direction. I did so however trying to augment the theme of my map since the phenomena being mapped is coal. I also tried to include elements of mining around the map. A known way of coal being mined in West Virginia is strip mining. The title and other elements of text around the map are supposed to illustrate strip mining. Everything around them has been stripped or dug up, and only the text is left, just like strip mining with coal!

Isoline Map, (weekly blog post #6)

I chose to select a type of map other than one that shows elevation or weather data commonly associated with the isoline mapping technique. Isolines are commonly used to denote territory either lost or gained through military advancements or expropriations of land by states through out history. I've been to Bosnia and Herzegovina and this map depicts the growth of Bosnian lands through the middle ages. The color ramp consists of four shades of pink that gradually get darker. Though numerical values are not associated with the different color layers, we can see that the darkest pink is associated with the actual origin of the Bosnian people, as well as a higher concentration in cities or town centers.

Lab 8 SMERG!

I tried to play around with the font a little bit. For whatever reason when I hear the word "smerg" it conveys some sort of noxious gas to me. I think the smokey letters came out pretty good!

lab 7 Graduated Symbol state parks map!

Proportional/Graduated symbol map (approved by professor Hallden to make graduated symbol map)

Lab 6, total percentage of state parks per state!

While working with color produces a more aesthetic product, it presented a bigger challenge trying to get a range of colors that work in concert with one another. I do believe that the light blue background fill I chose, combined with the radial gradient, mesh extremely well with the yellow/orange color ramp I picked. However, I am a bit worried that after countless minutes of experimentation with the color ramp, a better option for a color ramp exists. The title has been reworded and now it is easier to decipher the exact phenomena that is mapped. When contrasting and comparing the colors between my printed product and the computer based version, the colors appear to be quite similar. Although I believe my jumps between colors aren't one hundred percent crisp, I am happy that the colors between the computer based version and printed version remain true. I also added a small snippet of how to read the data classified within my map in hopes of eliminating any confusion with the data I chose.

Choropleth map post (weekly blog post #4)

The data illustrated on this map may not be the most welcoming, however I do like the mappers selection of their color ramp. It's crisp and easy to distinguish the differences between values. The selection of county level data also gives the viewer more information as opposed to the selection of state data.

Lab 5!

Given the distribution of the data being mapped, I've noticed that by mapping my data based off of natural breaks, the map is a bit more aesthetically pleasing to viewer. A wider range of grays are used through out the map as compared to the data being mapped using Quintiles as the classification method. Quintiles however create an equal amount values through out my five classes, giving it a higher degree of organization.

Lab 4!

Lab 3

Lab 3!

Lab 2

Lab 2!

Map projections post (weekly post #2)

We are typically adept to viewing maps with either square or rectangular borders. This map is unique in that it is bound by a rectangular boundary. Distortion is least along the vertices of all three corners as they extend to the middle of the triangle and at the vertex. Distortion increases after the vertices pass through the vertex and extend to the sides.

Lab1 Earth Surfaces

I really wanted to incorporate a title because I some neat ideas for adding an artistic title. This lab however, does not call for one. I am pleased with my final image of the Earth's surfaces though!

First Blog Post! (weekly post #1)

The Olympics are the world's most heralded sporting event. Members from every just about every nation gather every four years to participate in both summer and winter sports. This map is a great representation of a bivariate map that illustrates which counties in the United States produce high and low amounts of both summer and winter Olympians.

http://blog.education.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/27/five_for_friday_olympic_maps/