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!