Lab 4

This introduction to geographic information systems was incredibly fun and a lot more rewarding and creative than I thought it was going to be. It took a lot of patience to figure out what exactly were the differences between ArcGIS 9 in the tutorial and ArcGIS 10 as the actual software that was being used. I can see now that geographic information systems takes a lot of patience in general, even if you know what you are doing. The painstaking process of following every direction meticulously drove the point home that this is a software that can do amazing things but only if used correctly. This is why neogeography is a cool phenomenon, but one with many downsides. Having a trained geographer create maps makes all the difference in cartographic processes.

I was concerned that maybe this first tutorial would turn me off from geographic information systems completely. I've thought about careers in public policy and planning and figured that GIS knowledge would assist me greatly in achieving those goals. I thought that if I did not like this experience, I would have to think of new fields to go into. Thankfully, although the process was long, it was fun and only piqued my interest in the planning field even more.

There are many advantages to using geographic information systems. One useful component are the layers. You can mix, match, and manipulate data to show only the information you want out of the tons of information available to you. The organization is impeccable and gets rid of a lot of work that would otherwise have to be done manually. Computers make the process of making maps much quicker than ones done by hand. In the event of an emergency, maps are critical to have, and the quicker processes make response more feasible.

However, the process of learning GIS is time-intensive and does not forgive mistakes easily. People can easily get frustrated with the software and stop from learning it altogether. The software market is also dominated by one company, ESRI, which hinders competition from developing possibly better tools. It is also easy to get carried away with the creativity allowed in GIS. Choosing a certain color scheme has all the effect in the presentation of the data and can either facilitate or harm the point you're trying to make.

Week Two: Lab Assignment

1. What is the name of the quadrangle?
Beverly Hills Quadrangle
2. What are the names of the adjacent quadrangles?
Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Burbank, Topanga, Hollywood, Venice, Inglewood
3. When was the quadrangle first created?
1966
4. What datum was used to create your map?
North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27). North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929.
5. What is the scale of the map?
1:24,000
6. At the above scale, answer the following:
a) 5 centimeters on the map is equivalent to how many meters on the ground?
1200 meters
b) 5 inches on the map is equivalent to how many miles on the ground?
1.894 miles
c) one mile on the ground is equivalent to how many inches on the map?
2.64 inches
d) three kilometers on the ground is equivalent to how many centimeters on the map?
12.501 centimeters
7. What is the contour interval on your map?
20 feet
8. What are the approximate geographic coordinates in both degrees/minutes/seconds and decimal degrees of:
a) the Public Affairs Building; 34 degrees, 4' 15" North, 34.070833; 118 degrees negative, 26' 45" West,118.445833
b) the tip of Santa Monica pier; 34 degrees, 0', 40" North, 34.011111; 118 degrees negative, 29' 45" West, 118.495833
c) the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir; 34 degrees, 6' 0" North, 34.1; 118 degrees negative, 24' 45" West, 118.4125
9. What is the approximate elevation in both feet and meters of:
a) Greystone Mansion (in Greystone Park); 600 feet, 182.88 meters
b) Woodlawn Cemetery; 140 feet, 42.67 meters
c) Crestwood Hills Park; 700 feet, 213.36 meters
10. What is the UTM zone of the map? Zone 11
11. What are the UTM coordinates for the lower left corner of your map? 3763000 Northing. 3620000 Easting.
12. How many square meters are contained within each cell (square) of the UTM gridlines? 10000 meters
13. Obtain elevation measurements, from west to east along the UTM northing 3771000, where the eastings of the UTM grid intersect the northing. Create an elevation profile using these measurements in Excel (hint: create a line chart). Figure out how to label the elevation values to the two measurements on campus. Insert your elevation profile as a graphic in your blog.
720, 615, 640, 520, 480 ucla west,  420 ucla east, 415, 350, 290, 250, 150

14. What is the magnetic declination of the map?
 14 degrees
15. In which direction does water flow in the intermittent stream between the 405 freeway and Stone Canyon Reservoir?
South
16. Crop out (i.e., cut and paste) UCLA from the map and include it as a graphic on your blog.