Lab 3: Neogeography - Dalal

My Map


View Natural Reserves in Lebanon in a larger map

My map shows the natural reserves in Lebanon which are only a few. I chose to do this map because some people, including myself are unaware of some reserves. Also, these reserves are where most green vegetation can be found while most other plants and trees have been cut down due to urbanization. 

Neogeography, according to class lecture, is new geography but has been around since 1922 but today involves the internet and GIS. Unlike standard maps that we find today, such as maps produced by USGS, neogeography are maps made at the person's discretion and on their own terms. Neogeography leads to a positive and negative effect. The positive aspect is that a person is able to express themselves in a map and show what is important to them. As a new map is created, it can be shared with others and the person's process of thinking and knowledge of space are also shared. In addition, it doesn't require a lot of experience and more importantly, it's user-friendly. Finally, it allows a person to be creative.

On the other hand, neogeography maps may mislead a viewer of such a map since they some locations may not be accurate. Also, a viewer may easily misconstrue a map when they are accustomed to standard maps. Similar to Wikipedia, there is no one checking for accuracy before I make a map public to the internet. Also, some neogeography maps may show points closer than they actually are and vice versa which may confuse the viewer and navigation. Although neogeography is user-friendly, people who are new to creating maps are more likely to make mistakes than those who have done a couple maps. Finally, creativity doesn't always go hand in hand with accuracy.

Week 2 Assignment - Dalal

1. The name of the quadrangle is Beverly Hills.

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

3. The first quadrangle was first created in 1966.

4. The datum used to create this map were the North American Datum of 1988.

5. The scale of the map is 1:24,000.

6. a) 5cm on the map is equivalent to 1200m on the ground.
    b) 5in on the map is equivalent to 1.89mi on the ground.
    c) 1mi on the ground is equivalent to 2.64in on the map.
    d) 3km on the ground is equivalent to 12.5cm on the map.

7. The contour interval on the map is 20ft.

8. a) Public Affairs Building: 34.07419 N, -118.43933 W; 34º4’27” N, -118º26’21”W
    b) The tip of Santa Monica Pier: 34.00753 N, -118.49995W; 34º0’27”N, -118º29’59”W
    c) The Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir: 34.12039 N, -118.41034W; 34º7’13” N

9. a) Greystone Mansion: 560ft, 170.68M
    b) Woodlawn Cemetery: 160ft, 48.76M
    c) Crestwood Hills Park: 634ft. = 193m

10. The UTM zone of the map is Zone 11.

11. The UTM coordinates for the lower left corner of the map are 3,763,000 Northings and 362, 000 Eastings.

12. The number of square meters contained within each cell of the UTM gridlines are 1,000,000m².

13.

14. The magnetic declination of the map is 14°.

15. In the intermittent stream between the 405 freeway and Stone Canyon Reservoir, water flows from north to south.

16.

  

Week 1 Assignment - Interesting Maps - Dalal Chamas

Land Use. 1993. Photograph. Leb Guide, Beirut. Web. 2 Oct 2012. <http://www.lebguide.com/lebanon/images/maps/lebanon_land.jpg>.

The first map I chose was of Lebanon's land use. I'm originally from Lebanon and I have seen pictures in the past of when my parents used to live there with trees and green everywhere. Unfortunately, most trees are found in sanctuaries which aren't funded and taken care as much as they should. The pollution is on the rise as well since many trees have been cut. I found this map on: http://www.lebguide.com and it was from the Atlas of the Middle East 1993. The map shows the land use in Lebanon and what stands out is the orange which is arable land. Also there is a small strip of irrigated land while the rest is land for permanent crops and some woodland/forest. I also liked that the map identified where certain crops tend to grow in relation to their region and geographic location. What I found interesting is the ratio of arable lands to woodland/forests which is the first thing that stood out to me when I first saw the map. The map was done in 1993 and unfortunately many more woodlands have been cut down due to construction and urbanization.

Population Density. 1993. Map. Leb Guide, Beirut. Web. 2 Oct 2012. <http://www.lebguide.com/lebanon/images/maps/lebanon_pop.jpg>.

The second map I chose, Population Density, was from the same website, http://www.lebguide.com, and it was from the Atlas of the Middle East 1993. I chose this map to compare and contrast the reasons why certain woodlands/forests were located where they were identified on the map. Also I wanted to see what was located around densely populated areas such as Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Beirut is shown on the Land Use map as "urban/built-up", therefore the land is not used. In this map, Beirut and its surrounding neighborhoods are "moderately populated" with a population of 1.4 million. What I found interesting is three other smaller densely cities surrounding Beirut while Beirut remains the center. I also found interesting that the surrounding "moderately populated" cities still made use of their land unlike Beirut. For example, Sidon uses its land for growing citrus and olives and they are known for making olive oil which I was able to taste. In Zahlah, they use their land for growing grapes and are known for making wine and many winery's can be found. Overall, I was able to have a better understanding of the correlation between land use and population density in Lebanon.

Map of Los Angeles. 2004. Photograph. Golden Horizon Travel, San Francisco. Web. 2 Oct 2012. <http://www.goldenhorizontravel.com/photos/california-tour-map.gif>. 

 The last map I chose was of Los Angeles in where I was born and raised and I this map stood out to me when I was searching because of how animated it was. Although it's animated and created by a travel agency, it's distorted and makes all the attractions seem so close to one another. For example, a car ride from Los Angeles to Las Vegas takes about 5 hours. I think the travel agency achieved their goal of making all the attractions appealing but may upset some people when they realize how far everything is from one another. The map also shows all the nice things and attractions of California and Nevada with icons although the map is titled Map of Los Angeles. What I found interesting is how close the travel agency made the attractions seem to one another and how other attractions such as the Griffith Observatory or Huntington Beach Botanical Garden aren't located.